Cowboy poet Red Steagall heard a little red-headed girl singing in an Oklahoma City hotel lobby. He took the NFR contestant’s daughter straight to the committee and said, ‘This little girl needs to sing our National Anthem.’
Reba McEntire’s pure voice danced nimbly through every anthem at every opening until the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo moved to Las Vegas 33 years ago.
On December 14, 2017, just before the start of Round 8 of the 2017 WNFR, she stood in that spotlight and sent chills through the house as a superstar.
Go behind the scenes with Reba McEntire and Justin Boots as Reba sings the National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo! #RebaByJustin!
(Video courtesy of Justin Boots: https://www.facebook.com/justinboots/)
Horses Help, a non-profit center for Equine Assisted Activities and Learning, has been serving the special needs, at-risk, and military/fire/police populations for over 30 years. 
On Wednesday, December 20th, Horses Help will host its annual Winter Open House. 
Along with all the fun and meeting the horses, visitors, who are so inclined, can choose a star from the horses’ Wishing Tree to help give them their Christmas gifts. The items on the stars will help maintain each horse’s daily care, such as halters, hoof picks, brushes, just to name a few. So come, have some fun and check out the Wishing Tree!
Mocs are made for walking and CLN is going to follow Britt Bailey on her adventure while covering the WNFR. Her show “Kickin It with Britt” will feature interviews with Country Music artists, synopsizes and reviews of shopping experiences and much more. Our CLN team members will need comfortable shoes to keep up with this cowgirl. 
When it comes to the latest styles, the Twisted X Moc corners the market. Jess Edge with Western Edge in Ames, Iowa helps design the exclusive moc that debuts each year at Cowboy Christmas (and other Christmas location), noted Britt. The Western Edge store is not your ordinary western store. It is run by family members and features new and used tack, home décor, and furniture. Jess told CLN, we see many people thru our store and we listen to what they are looking for when they talk about the mocs and turn those wishes into reality with the help of Twisted X. 
The crowd will be dancing to twin fiddles, triple at times and a fourth on occasion. Band members Benny McArthur, Mike Daily, Ronnie Huckaby, Mike Kennedy, Jon Kemppanien, Rick McRae and Tom Batts will take the stage gifting rodeo fans with traditional country music. “It is fantastic to have twin fiddles and incredible for triple fiddles,” said McArthur. 
McArthur told CLN about writing the song lyrics, “A friend of mine ran a Ford dealership, called me up… want to make $100 by taking a one-ton dually from Austin to Franklin, Texas?” he said. McArthur agreed to the dealer transfer and by the time he reached Bastrop, Texas he’d written the lyrics “there may not be snow in San Antonio.” Eleven pages of verses later he’d whittle them down with the help of the “song doctor” his wife. 
The crowd at the Tropicana will experience a large musical selection. How does the Texas Jamm Band select their sets? “There is one rule of thumb…we play the kind of music you can dance too. We play up-tempo, medium and slow by alternating. Amarillo by Morning will always fill the dance floor,” he replied. In addition to their music, the sets will include songs by Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, George Jones, Mel Tillis, Ray Price and yes, of course, George Strait tunes. Brown informed CLN that each night would have a different setlist…but confirmed some favorite songs would repeat. 
McArthur, a very accomplished fiddle player, is self-taught. “You’re Something Special to me….has a really good fiddle, everybody just packs the floor,” he kindly mentioned when asked about some of his favorites. 
Click on the link below to vote for Horses Help and let’s show Arizona the incredible impact Horses Help makes on the lives of special needs individuals.
CVS Health and ABC15 have joined forces for the first year of Community Heroes, a grant program that provides $30,000 in grants to local nonprofits in Arizona.
