The 25th annual Pro Rodeo League of Women Fashion show and Luncheon was held at South Point Hotel Casino during the 2012 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The wives of NFR contestants and first-year barrel racers modeled the fashions of Wrangler and Panhandle Slim for this great charity benefit.
This 25th Annual NFR ladies charity luncheon raised $100,000 with raffle, and auction sales for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. The Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund assists injured cowboys and cowgirls with their living expenses and helps put them back on the road to pursue their gold-buckle dreams. The ladies luncheon has raised more than $1.3 million for Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund.
For the Launch of the Wrangler 2013 clothing line at their Pro Rodeo Fashion Show, Wrangler opened the red carpet for a cowgirl from Ennis, Texas who brought an incredible story about overcoming adversity and devastation, through perseverance and self-discipline.
At 53 years old, Mary Walker has had to overcome rough obstacles in her Barrel Racing career with a long list of injuries and discouraging rehabilitation processes. She suffered a brutal injury (seen in the picture with her arm spread apart). Two months later, Mary soon found out that would not be her last injury that year as a barrel racer.
On June 10th, Mary Walker experienced this terrible injury at a rodeo in Crosby, Texas. While riding her new bay horse named Latte, the horse unfortunately slipped as they were going around the final barrel and fell extremely hard on her. As a result, Walker broke her hip in three places, her pelvis, two vertebrae, and a few of her toes. That fall, Mary underwent surgery in Houston the very next day; incidentally, during her surgery doctors used eight plates and eleven pins to stabilize her crushed hip.
After Mary’s gruesome surgery, she faced a prolonged and discouraging rehabilitation process. Indeed, with full support from the Justin Boots Cowboy Crisis Fund, Mary was able to get back on her feet and begin doing what she so dearly loves, barrel racing. Nevertheless, she quickly rose to the occasion and ended up qualifying for the 2012 Wrangler National Finals for the very first time.
From the beginning of the very First Go-Round, until the Final Go-Round, Mary Walker enjoyed the full experience competing in her very first NFR. Besides, Mary didn’t go through all that effort just to make an appearance at the WNFR; she was there to show the world that she is a World Champion Barrel Racer. And Mary Walker did just that, as CLN cheered on Contestant #10 as she pulled off a flawless victory to become a true World Champion Barrel Racer at the 2012 WNFR.
Mary Walker was so ecstatic after competing in her last go-round; in fact, she was even more thrilled that she had won a new Ram Truck to go along with her newest accessory, which was her very first 2012 WNFR World Championship Belt Buckle. The miraculous Mary Walker has accomplished the unthinkable at the 2012 Wrangler National Finals this last December in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This year, Mackenzie Carr, Miss Rodeo America in 2012, and the newly crowned 2013 Miss Rodeo America, Chenae Shiner, shared the stage as they presented various gifts, raffles, and clothing lines to the attendees in the audience.
At the same time, CLN was overjoyed to see Mary Walker recoginized as the star and role model she is. Wrangler presented their finest jeans to America’s finest. Too often people of character are overlooked, and it is good to see a company buck the trend.
Even the young cowboys and cowgirls shared the spotlight during the release of the Wrangler 2013 Kid’s Clothing Line, as they awed the audience with their cute looks on the fashion show runway. As a matter of fact, Stephanie Field, wife of two-time World Champion Bareback Rider, Kaycee Field, made a run down the runway as she held her belly, as they both are expecting their first baby in April of 2013.
Three World Famous Bull Fighters, Rowdy Barry, Rob Smets, and J.W. Harris cut it up on stage for the ladies performing “Gangnam Style.” Turning up the heat in their fresh Wrangler Jeans.
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