COUNTY LIFE
Kids from ‘Down Under’ ready to rodeo Texas-style
By BARBARA GREEN
They may be 9,000 miles apart, but when it comes to kids and rodeo, it’s one big family.
Two Australian families spent the last week in Bowie receiving assistance with horses for their children to compete in a junior youth rodeo in South Texas.
A team of 22 youth from the Australia Junior Rodeo Association were invited to compete at a Texas Youth Rodeo Association final in Gonzales this week. The children are ages 10-12.
After being selected for the team, the riders had the choice to work with the group in obtaining horses for the event or they could out-source the horses.
Jackie Priestley is mom to 11-year-old Olivia, traveling with father, Ben, and brother Jack. Louisa Hutton is mom to Thomas, age 12, with his dad, Terry.
The Priestleys live at Black Hill and the Huttons in Maitland, both in New South Wales, just north of Sydney, Australia.
They decided to out-source horses, which led them to Montague County. Priestley explains she has an “Aussie” friend, Rodney Lidgard, who lives at Nocona, so she called him to see if he could help them out.
“I rang him up,” said Priestley, “and said we need to get some good horses. He put us on to Charmie Sanders and Cindy Hedeman, and they have been terrific.”
Read the full feature in your weekend News.
Olivia Priestley Halliday runs the barrels. (Photo by Barbara Green)
Thomas Hutton learns goat-tying. (Photo by Barbara Green)
The last big holiday of 2024 arrives on Dec. 31 with News Year’s Eve.
Most government offices and the post office will be closed on Jan. 1. The Bowie News office will close on Dec. 31 and on Jan. 1.
The Bowie News will have an early print deadline on Monday and go out to readers one day earlier on Tuesday. The print edition will be delivered to the post office and racks, while the e-sub will also go out on Tuesday morning.
Bowie Community Development presented awards to the window decoration contest during the Candy Cane Sip & Stroll. Gaylynn Burris of the BCDB presented Rustic Wings/Belle Rose Boutique with the first place award. Second place went to Rustic Rose Furniture and Treasures. Studio 81 Tattoos and Hwy 59 Boutique were third and fourth place winners. The contest is sponsored by Bowie Community Development.
See photos of all the winners in the weekend Bowie News.
Jan. 1, 2025 is the first day of a new elected term for many Montague County officials. There will be a swearing-in ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 1 in the courthouse annex.
The public is invited to attend with refreshments to follow.
Officials being sworn in are: Sheriff Marshall Thomas, County Attorney, Commissioner One Roy Darden, Commissioner Three Mark Murphey, Constables Jerry DeMoss and Harvey Johnson and Tax Assessor Kathy Phillips.
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