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event. Last year, this wish came true when Red Lodge joined the scores of professional rodeos including breakaway roping in the slate of events. Now, Sarah and other lady ropers can compete in professional rodeo and Cowboy Christmas like never before.

“We’re just so grateful for the committees providing equal money, and even if it isn’t equal money, we’re still just grateful to be there,” she said.

The eternal proverb “iron sharpens iron” is true for rodeo competitors, and the wisest know their travel companion matters. Sarah often rides with two-time National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier, Joey Williams of Broadus, Montana. Both are mothers and ranch wives, so wrangling kids and caring for their equine athletes is a priority in their rig.

Timed event competitors have unique challenges on the road, especially during a week as stressful as the “Fourth Run.” Not only is their own health a priority, but they must also provide the best care for their horses including comfortable travel and rest space, regular feed and water, injury prevention, and constant health monitoring. Their pickups and trailers – no small outfits to maneuver – are liable at any time to flat tires or faulty engines. All things considered, travel must be deliberate and much slower, so careful planning is crucial.

This is where their roughstock counterparts have the advantage. “Roughies,” as they are known, have no horses in tow, so they typically travel with as many men as possible packed in a camper van or pickup with a Capri camper. They can simply throw their gear bags in and head down the highway, as Ruger Piva said.

Ruger, a native of Challis, Idaho, now lives in Luther, Montana, so Red Lodge is the nearest “big town.” With plans to become a permanent Montana resident after his June wedding, the onetime NFR qualifying bull rider feels right at home amongst the mountains, ranch work, and great rodeos the state has to offer. Last summer’s Cowboy Christmas only delivered a bag of coal to Ruger as he sustained two fractures in his hip socket at the Cody Stampede. After seven months in recovery, his first bull ride back on the scene was The American Rodeo qualifier in Heber City, Utah, where he advanced to the finals in Arlington, Texas in March. Riding through several rounds, he won reserve champion at The American Rodeo and $25,000 for his efforts.

Like Sarah, Ruger also travels with a fellow competitor whose presence pushes him to be better. He and four-time NFR qualifier, Jordan Spears, put on thousands of miles during Cowboy Christmas. This pair starts the week in the southwest in either Arizona or Utah, before heading north to the Montana and Wyoming rodeos. The Xtreme Bulls events at both Cody and Red Lodge allow the bull riders to lay over an extra day to compete for double the money. Rounding out the Montana rodeos in Livingston, they then swing over to Mandan, North Dakota before finishing up in Oregon at St. Paul and Malala.

“You don’t sleep much,” Ruger laughed.

He and Jordan trade driving time so the other can sleep in the passenger seat as they continue down the road. They opt out of air travel as the potential to lose a gear bag or have a canceled flight is too risky.

Entering rodeos is a tricky game itself. Contestants must call the entry line, ProCom, on specific dates and claim draw preferences and traveling partners with the goal to attend as many rodeos as possible with the least amount of costs. But oftentimes, the contestant is subject to the “luck of the draw.” During entry windows, preference is given to Professional Rodeo cardholders and those highest in the standings, making it even more difficult for the rookie to have an advantage.

Sarah and her traveling partners had an even more sporadic Cowboy Christmas last year than Ruger, but she was unbothered, and just happy to be competing.

“When they added [breakaway] to pro rodeos, I was like, ‘sign me up,’” she said.

Professional breakaway roping is relatively new, though the event has been prevalent on the college and amateur level for decades. Prior to 2019, a woman wanting to compete in professional rodeo was limited to the single event of barrel racing. Thrilling as it is, not every woman fits the mold.

“For lots of people, breakaway really resonates,” Sarah said. “You definitely need a good horse, but also you can work really hard as an individual, so you don’t necessarily have to have the most money or backing. There are girls of all shapes and sizes being successful in breakaway. ProRodeo is not a one size fits all for women anymore.”

The committee at the Cody Stampede was one of the first to add breakaway roping four years ago, along with a few others on the circuit.

“It was very progressive of these rodeos to say, ‘that’s a legitimate event that people want to see,’” Sarah explained.

From there, it only exploded in popularity.

“I didn’t think it would grow as fast as it has. The numbers are phenomenal,” she said.

Each year, more rodeos have added the event, including the NFR. For the past two years, the top 15 women in the world have competed in Las Vegas at the National Finals of Breakaway Roping, held separate from the rest of the famed rodeo, but still a wondrous opportunity beyond Sarah’s wildest dreams.

Success during Cowboy Christmas can largely impact year-end standings. Sarah qualified for the first ever breakaway roping at the Montana Circuit Finals in 2021, finishing third in the year-end. She was also 27th in the world, earning her the “qualifications” to enter large winter rodeos like the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, RodeoHouston, and RodeoAustin.

“That is one of the pinnacles of my career. I wound up being the first breakaway roper ever to run a calf at Houston,” she said proudly.

Sarah’s success is due, in part, to the opportunities she has to enter top-notch rodeos in her home state.

“It’s exciting to be a part of this circuit,” she said. “Everybody who is anybody in the breakaway is in Montana in the summer; there are so many great rodeos.”

Having suffered tough seasons last year, both Sarah and Ruger seem to be on upward trends. Besides his success at The American, Ruger is currently “dabbling” in the Professional Bull Riders Association, entering tour events and putting his name in the draft for the Team Series. With any luck, he will repeat his NFR qualification again this year. Sarah was in the top two at both the early pro rodeos entered so far, so she has her eye on another Montana Circuit Finals qualification.

Sarah’s daughters, Paisley and Quill, who are 13 and 11 years old, often travel with her on the rodeo road. Where Sarah used to sit in the stands at Red Lodge, they now sit watching both their mom and dad. Someday soon, she hopes they will each have their go in the arena. For now, though, they will join the thousands of other spectators who make rodeo a Fourth of July tradition.

As seed prices increase, saving seeds is a cost saving way to make your garden even more economical. But there’s more to it than simply gathering them at the end of harvest season. It begins in the spring while making planning and purchasing decisions. Along with a few tricks along the way, and knowing which varieties to grow, your garden will be full of the vegetables you love the most.

It’s important to first understand the difference between openpollinated, heirloom, and hybrid plants and how they pollinate.

To save seeds which will grow the same as the parent plant, use an open-pollinated or heirloom variety. Heirlooms are always open-pollinated; an heirloom variety is simply one over 50 years old and often passed down through families or regions.

Open-pollinated plants are pollinated naturally through wind, insects, selfpollination, or even with a little help from a human with a paint brush, and they produce fruit or plants true to the parent plant. With the exception of cross-pollination with a similar species, saving seed from open-pollinated plants will grow the same variety the following year.

Hybrids are developed to combine the best characteristics of each parent plant to produce offspring which performs well and maintains desirable features. However, subsequent generations do not grow the same as F1 hybrid, therefore hybrids are not a good option for seed harvesting.

Vegetables either pollinate by self-pollination or crosspollination, which is an important consideration when organizing a garden. Self-pollinated plants are monoecious, meaning they contain male and female parts on the same plant, therefore, a second plant is not required to create seeds. On the other hand, dioecious plants are distinctly male or female. For example, an elderberry bush is either male or female.

Most garden plants, such as tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, peppers, lettuce, beans, corn, and peas, are self-pollinating. The trick is ensuring cross pollination doesn’t occur, particularly if more than one variety is grown in a garden. Cross pollination will result in a hybrid which will not grow true the following season.

The easiest way to prevent crosspollination is to plant a single variety of each plant. If other varieties are present, contain the pollen by covering the flowers to prevent bees from carrying pollen from a different variety nearby. Use a simple cage covered with screening or floating row cover material to segregate single plants such as broccoli, kale, lettuce, eggplant, and similarly sized plants during flowering. When flowering is complete, the barrier can be removed for the remainder of the season.

Some plants, like tomatoes and peppers, have “perfect flowers,” meaning the male and female components are not only on the same plant, but also within the same flower. These are less likely to cross-pollinate with another variety, but it’s still wise to take measures to ensure there’s no risk of cross-pollination. Use a mesh bag or wrap the flowers with the lightweight floating row cover to keep them out of reach from pollinators.

Members of the squash family, also called cucurbits, require SPRING more attention. Pumpkins and squash will readily cross-pollinate if planted in the same area. In this situation, manually pollinating the plants with a small paintbrush can help ensure selfpollination. A mesh or lightweight (never plastic) bag placed over the flowers is still needed to prevent any accidental pollination. Then, in the early morning, just as the flowers open, use a small paintbrush to collect pollen from the male flowers and transfer it to the female flowers, which are easily identified by the small fruit behind the blossom. After pollinating, replace the bag or tape the blossom shut.

Corn is even more challenging unless there is adequate space between neighboring corn crops as it is wind pollinated. According to Ohio State University, corn varieties should be planted at least 600 feet apart. If this isn't possible, plant with a privacy fence or a building separating the corn patches to reduce the risk of potential cross-pollination.

After preserving the variety of plants to grow the following spring, the fun part is collecting the seeds during the summer. For most of the varieties, it’s simply a matter of harvesting the vegetable after it has reached complete maturation.

In the cucurbit family, vegetables are cut in half, then the seeds are scooped out, rinsed under water, and allowed to dry thoroughly on a rack or paper towel. Peppers, particularly sweet varieties, should develop into a deep red or orange before similarly cutting in half, scooping out seeds, and allowing complete drying prior to storage.

On broccoli, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, and spinach the seed heads must mature on the plant, resembling a stalk of tiny pea pods once complete. The easiest harvest method is to pull the entire plant, hang it upside down to dry completely, then twist the pods over a sheet of paper to collect the seeds.

Peas and beans should be left in the garden until the pods are quite dry and crunchy. Prior to the first hard freeze, the entire plant should be harvested and hung upside down until the seeds rattle inside the pod, which can take weeks. Once reaching this stage, the pods can be cracked open to remove dried seeds.

Tomatoes are different than most other garden crops due to the pulp encasing the seed, but there is a simple trick for separation. After selecting fully matured fruits, cut the tomato in half, scoop out the seeds and place them, pulp included, in a pint-sized roughly half-way with water then place a cheesecloth or paper towel lightly over the top. In two to four days, it should start fermenting and the mixture might smell during this process, but the seeds are ready once a layer of mold can be seen on the floating bits of pulp and the seeds have sunk to the bottom of the jar. At that point, the pulp should be skimmed off, the seeds collected in a strainer, then thoroughly rinsed before setting out to dry on a paper towel for several days before storing in an envelope.

In low humidity areas, like Montana, seeds can be successfully stored for years. Thoroughly dried seeds should be stored in an envelope or jar in a cool, dark location. While these should last years, added longevity can be achieved by storing them in the freezer. Add a desiccant packet in the envelope or jar for three days to remove any remnant moisture before freezing.

Harvesting seeds adds to the economic advantages of gardening, ensures preferred varieties are grown year after year, and can add another enjoyable step for gardening enthusiasts. So, identify those favorites this spring and take the steps to save seeds this fall.