By Stacie Jones
This wasn’t
Suzanne Anderson’s
first rodeo. But when she and
her sister arrived at the Kootenai
County Fairgrounds last summer
and entered the dusty arena filled
with nearly 150 boisterous women
clad in boots, cowboy hats and
matching hot-pink T-shirts, she
knew it would be an experience
unlike any other.
Last August, Suzanne, a Coeur
d’Alene resident, took part in her
Since her treatment, Suzanne has been
able to get back to her life as a wife,
mother and grandmother and participate
in her favorite hobbies, like gardening.
R O D E O F U N D R A I S E R H E L P S W O M E N
B U C K B R E A S T C A N C E R
first Chicks n Chaps event at the
North Idaho Fair and Rodeo, where
she and other participants in the
women-only rodeo clinic spent an
afternoon finding their inner cow-
girl. Using bull-riding dummies,
hay bales and other props, profes-
sional cowboys taught the women
to rope, ride and even line dance.
The special event also featured a
style show, silent auction and VIP
seating in the “Chick Pit” during
the fair rodeo.
“It was a fun, fun event,”
Suzanne said. “We even did barrel
racing with toy stick horses. It was
hysterical.”
Suzanne is a fan of the rodeo,
but her motivation for attending
Chicks n Chaps was much more
personal. The annual rodeo clinic is
a fundraiser that benefits the Koo-
tenai Health Foundation’s Cancer
Patient Support Fund; all proceeds
go directly to local women who
are fighting breast cancer—a fight
Suzanne knows all too well.
CowgirlUp
WOMEN’S HEALTH
8
