By Mitzie McDonnell
Blue Creek Arena in McEwen, TN hosted a Charmayne James clinic May 5 - 8. There were 32 students who traveled from several states to participate in the clinic.
Two of the students were sisters who came from their farm in Missouri. The week before the clinic had been a hard one for them. Amanda Presson-Martin and Catherine Presson are part of a farming family and community in Wyatt Missouri. Their farm is located near where the levee was exploded, so their farms were flooded in order to save a small town. They and their parents and their uncle all lost their homes and all of their crops. They only had 5 days’ notice to empty out their four homes, barns, equipment and animals. It’s hard to imagine what these families are going through! The girls had been given the clinic as a Christmas present and they were not going to come, but their family insisted that they go ahead and make the trip.
When I learned of their story, I made sure that Charmayne knew about it too. Charmayne was so gracious and down to earth with everyone, especially these girls. Not only did everyone learn about barrel racing from the 11 times World Champion, but also everyone was blessed to experience compassion for one another. The weekend was truly a blessing for everyone involved, especially me.
About Charmayne James:
Charmayne James earned the title of World Champion Barrel Racer at the young age of 14, a title she continued to hold for the next 10 years. Each of the consecutive ten titles was achieved with the same horse – Scamper.
She grew up in Clayton, New Mexico where she had only open spaces, practice barrels and a drive to succeed. In 1984 she was awarded Rookie of the Year honors by the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo for 19 consecutive years, also beginning in 1984, and was National Finals Rodeo Average Champion seven times. In 1992, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. With her horse, Cruiser, James won the 2002 WPRA World Championship, her 11th WPRA World Title. Charmayne retired from rodeo competition in 2003 to devote herself to training horses and riders with the same single-minded determination that earned her over $2 million in the arena.
For more information about Charmayne James, visit http://www.charmaynejames11.com/ . For Blue Creek Arena, visit http://www.bluecreekarena.com .
Photo cutline: WYATT, MO - MAY 03: Amanda Presson-Martin (R) wipes a tear from her eye as she stands with her sister Catherine (C) and father Roy on the edge of State Highway HH looking out at their family farm on May 3, 2011 at Wyatt, Missouri. The Presson home and 2,400 acres of land which they farmed was flooded when the Army Corps of Engineers blew a massive hole in a levee at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to help save the town of Cairo, Illinois. (Getty Images photo, posted on daylife.com)
Blue Creek Arena in McEwen, TN hosted a Charmayne James clinic May 5 - 8. There were 32 students who traveled from several states to participate in the clinic.
Two of the students were sisters who came from their farm in Missouri. The week before the clinic had been a hard one for them. Amanda Presson-Martin and Catherine Presson are part of a farming family and community in Wyatt Missouri. Their farm is located near where the levee was exploded, so their farms were flooded in order to save a small town. They and their parents and their uncle all lost their homes and all of their crops. They only had 5 days’ notice to empty out their four homes, barns, equipment and animals. It’s hard to imagine what these families are going through! The girls had been given the clinic as a Christmas present and they were not going to come, but their family insisted that they go ahead and make the trip.
When I learned of their story, I made sure that Charmayne knew about it too. Charmayne was so gracious and down to earth with everyone, especially these girls. Not only did everyone learn about barrel racing from the 11 times World Champion, but also everyone was blessed to experience compassion for one another. The weekend was truly a blessing for everyone involved, especially me.
About Charmayne James:
Charmayne James earned the title of World Champion Barrel Racer at the young age of 14, a title she continued to hold for the next 10 years. Each of the consecutive ten titles was achieved with the same horse – Scamper.
She grew up in Clayton, New Mexico where she had only open spaces, practice barrels and a drive to succeed. In 1984 she was awarded Rookie of the Year honors by the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo for 19 consecutive years, also beginning in 1984, and was National Finals Rodeo Average Champion seven times. In 1992, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. With her horse, Cruiser, James won the 2002 WPRA World Championship, her 11th WPRA World Title. Charmayne retired from rodeo competition in 2003 to devote herself to training horses and riders with the same single-minded determination that earned her over $2 million in the arena.
For more information about Charmayne James, visit http://www.charmaynejames11.com/ . For Blue Creek Arena, visit http://www.bluecreekarena.com .
Photo cutline: WYATT, MO - MAY 03: Amanda Presson-Martin (R) wipes a tear from her eye as she stands with her sister Catherine (C) and father Roy on the edge of State Highway HH looking out at their family farm on May 3, 2011 at Wyatt, Missouri. The Presson home and 2,400 acres of land which they farmed was flooded when the Army Corps of Engineers blew a massive hole in a levee at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to help save the town of Cairo, Illinois. (Getty Images photo, posted on daylife.com)
