2008 Yellowstone Slide Champs
Author: Wendy Deans
Date published: Jul 14 2008
The Yellowstone Reining Horse Association held the Yellowstone Slide at Anderson Training Stables in Wilsall, Montana, on July 10 - 12. We had a great turn out (approx. 300 entries) from all over the state, Idaho and Wyoming. What’s not to like with a payout of $8300, tons of great prizes and more drawings than ever before!
It was a bit hot on Thursday during the club classes and a tad breezy as a front was trying to move through the area. The cool-down that it brought even gave us a little frost on the lawn chairs in the morning. We’re all pretty broke to the weather though and no one comes to these shows without a heavy jacket in addition to sleeveless shirts and gallons of water.
Ariat International has been a club sponsor for many years donating gift certificates for a free pair of boots worth up to $200. Each day of the show we drew a member's name for one of the gift certificates. The lucky winners were Anne Kent, Dave Leithead and Christy Hayden. Congratulations and thanks to Rob Davis of Ariat International for their sponsorship.
The big give-away of the show was a Duane Latimer saddle made by Bob’s Custom Saddlery. The saddle was sponsored by YRHA and Four Corners Saddlery of Bozeman. Any YRHA member that won a class at the show had their name put in the drawing for the saddle. Hailey Hagan was the lucky winner of this beautiful saddle. Congratulations to Hailey!
We also held a fund raising raffle for a custom-made Rocky Mountain Hat Company hat. Thanks to John Morris and his son, John, for the generous sponsorship for this raffle which was won by Kirstie Blakeley of Emigrant. Kirstie was thrilled to death about winning the raffle as she’s never won anything ever before and has been dreaming of a new hat for a long time. Gill Deans sold her the winning ticket. 
The class prizes were a big hit this year thanks to the work of board members Lanette Frye and Nicole Mather along with Nicole Welker of the Rusty Spur. Winners had their choice of 3 items for each place, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Folks were quick to come gather their loot and very few prizes were left at the end of the show.
Class Champions brought their prizes and gathered their family and friends for win photos outside the arena in front of the new YRHA banner that sported the new YRHA logo. The new logo was a group effort by the YRHA board and thanks to Lanette Frye for getting it on the banner, ball caps and clothing that was seen and worn at the Yellowstone Slide.
Folks took advantage of RainDancer Video’s TV at the out gate to review their runs. This has been a big asset to riders to be able to look at their runs with it fresh in their minds and go over it with their trainer or friends. And thanks to RainDancer Pets (Rainy and Dan), there were lots of adorable puppies at the show for everyone to enjoy. At every show there is someone that can’t resist the cute puppies Rainy lays on the counter for you to play with. They are way too much fun and anyone that has adopted one (including this writer) loves the heck out of them.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to renew your membership with YRHA. Membership truly has benefits! There were a number of people that won a class, but never joined YRHA this year and therefore were not eligible for the saddle drawing. Think about it, for $25 for a single or $30 for a family membership, they could have had a good chance at winning a Duane Latimer saddle. We want you all to have a chance at these drawings and year-end awards, so next year don’t forget to renew your membership!
This was the third show in YRHA’s four-show circuit this year with the last one being the Crazy Mountain Summer Slide to be held at Anderson Training Stables September 5-7.
We’d like to thank George King and Leo Fourre for judging the show. And thanks to all the many people who help put on the show and especially to our sponsors. We couldn’t do it without you! Your generosity with your time and financial support means so much to every rider. Good luck to everyone at the MRHA Derby and we’ll see you in Wilsall in September.
Article and photos submitted by Wendy Deans