June 2008 June 25, 2008 As I write this we are in the beginning stages of our busy summer run. I have just finished my two runs in Reno, where unfortunately I finished with a no time on my first one. However, I rebounded nicely and turned in a 4.1-second run. I will have to wait until the second round is over on June 27 to see if I won any money. After Reno, we loaded up and headed north to Canada for Ponoka and Airdrie. We will be back to Reno on Saturday, June 28, as Jason is currently leading the average. From there it is the Fourth of July run and as you can see from my rodeo schedule it is pretty crazy. Due to the fuel prices we are planning on using my horses at the U.S. rodeos and Curtis Cassidy, one of my traveling partners, horses up in Canada. Since I last wrote, my wife Lindsay and I welcomed our first child into the world. He arrived a little sooner than we were expecting but the doctors said he was healthy. He was born at 2:30 a.m. on June 7 and weighed just 5 lbs. He was soo small but has already started gaining weight and growing like a weed. I can’t believe how much he changes from day to day. It is going to be hard to be away from him on the road, because he will change so much between now and then. While I am on the road, Lindsay will be spending time with her family and they will be helping to take care of the little guy. Oh, I guess I should say that we named him Mark Cade and will call him Cade. I spent most of May and early June in the great state of California. I did alright at the rodeos I went to. I finished fifth at the Woodlake Lions PRCA Rodeo with a time of 7.5 seconds on May 10. The next day I took third at the Mother Lode Round-up in Sonora, Calif., with a 6.7-second run. The next week I tied for fourth at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo in Hayward, Calif., with a time of 6.2 seconds. My traveling partner Billy Bugenig won the event with a time of 5.1 seconds and my brother, Casey won the tie-down roping with a time of 10 seconds flat. So all in all, that was a pretty good rodeo for us. The end of May found me at the Showdown Rodeo in Palmdale, Calif., and the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo. I placed second in Palmdale with a time of 4.7 seconds. The Santa Maria rodeo is basically my hometown rodeo and it is a chance for the whole family to participate. This year was special in that the Elks honored my mom, Brandy, as their special “Person of the Night” on Friday night, May 30. My mom and dad, John, are longtime Los Alamos ranchers that grew up on ranches in the Santa Ynez Valley and started our family ranch when they were married in 1972. When the Elks began the color guard in 1973, my mom was one of its original members, so they recognized her this year at the rodeo. Then on Saturday night, we all had the chance to sit and watch mom and dad compete in the team roping competition but they didn’t compete together. My mom was entered in the Elks Team roping, while my dad was in the regular PRCA team roping with my cousin John Barlogio Jr., of Nipomo. Neither one of them had any luck but we enjoyed watching just the same.
Before heading to Reno, I finished in a tie for fifth at the Livermore Rodeo with a time of 5.2 seconds. I am looking to repeat what I have done the last couple years over the Fourth of July by winning at least $20,000. I will update you once all the dust has settled. After the Fourth, I will be heading to Calgary for the big Calgary Stampede and hope to bring home the big check from there as well. After all I now have diapers and formula to buy for my son.
I hope to have a couple photos of Cade posted in my photo gallery soon, so hope you enjoy those. Well it is time for me to say goodbye, so I hope everyone has a Happy Fourth of July and I will talk to you on the other side. Thanks for reading, Luke |
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