It is said that everyone will experience their fifteen minutes of fame, but more importantly, everyone should experience a moment where they feel truly loved. This moment of love came for me this weekend. Two months ago, I was involved in a life changing accident. To help pay for some of the medical bills and expenses, my friends decided to put on a Cowboy Challenge horse show and donate the proceeds to me. They even added in a silent auction to help raise a little extra money. To begin with, I was absolutely blown away by the number of items donated. I was expecting a few things here and there, but we received over 75 items, ranging from artwork, to stallion's stud service, to Professional's Choice items. Even before the week started, rain was forecasted for the weekend, and I was worried about the show. Practical advice suggested putting off the show to another day, but we had already purchased the food, paid the cattle fee, and the judges had donated their time, so there was simply no turning back. Everyone knows that real cowboys ride in the rain, and so could we. On Friday, the day before, it had started with a steady drizzle, we got countless calls asking if the show would go on. I spent the entire evening setting up the course and placing tarps to keep people sheltered from the rain. The morning of the show, I sat there terrified no one would come. Yes, it was not raining, but with only an hour until start time, only two trailers had pulled in. Then out of nowhere, the entire place filled up. People who I didn't even know came out to have fun, and contribute to my cause. An even bigger miracle was that it poured rain everywhere in all of San Diego, except for right over my ranch. There was just a little off and on light drizzle all day, complete with pockets of sunshine. More than forty "cowboys" took the fun challenge, which had everything from jousting for rings, to pulling a log, to filling up a bucket of water from a well, all while riding for time. As soon as the show was over and pretty much everyone had packed up, the clouds opened up and rain suddenly came down in sheets. Overall, the day could not have gone better. Everyone had fun, some people earned beautiful belt buckles, and love poured like the rain throughout the day.


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