COMPANION PASS: Kellie Collier — Hello

“2017 NFR Qualifier!”…that is what you will hear when I run down the alley.

But let me tell you, I am much more than that; much more complicated, and much more messy than that phrase announcers like to use to sum me up. Don’t get me wrong, I am more than proud to hold that title, but it takes a lot more hard work and long hours than most people know. It is quite literally a 24/7 job. Now try adding a love life into the mix of all of that… NO THANKS.

Hi everyone! I am Kellie Collier and here is the raw/real me. From 2017-2020, I was busy - busy trying to chase my dreams. Little did I know, my future “companion pass” was busy doing the exact same thing. During that time I didn’t care to be in a relationship, not because I didn’t see myself getting married someday, but because I was “doing me” as they say. I wanted to accomplish my goals before I added more to my plate so I was focused on that. But, what’s the famous saying? “The best things happen when you least expect it”, (or something like that). Well, in this case it was true.

Now, no laughing when I tell you this story because, yes, it's cheesy (and unlike most “love stories”). It was May 20th, 2020 and I was sitting at a friend’s place in Arizona after running in the slack at Cave Creek, AZ pro rodeo that morning, scrolling through facebook,when I see that Stetson Jorgensen had changed his profile picture. Well, I SIMPLY press the like button. Now girls, this is not me telling you to go to liking every guy’s profile picture to find your one. I am telling you this because it was 100% a God thing. I am not your typical “liker.” I mean, I will comment here and there on occasion, but I am not one to scroll through and like every post that pops up. For some reason, I never once hesitated to click that damn like button on Stetson’s picture though. It is not even like the picture was of his abs or anything cool like that, it was just another bulldoggin’ picture just like the rest. HAHA! Maybe it was Mable (Stetson’s incredible horse) that got my attention. This action of liking was so out of character for me, that I forgot I had even done so. What do you call this? Fate? Right place at the right time? Or just God doing God-things? Wellllll a couple hours go by and I ever so casually get the “Hey, how did slack go for you this morning?” message on Facebook from my future companion pass and the rest is history (kinda). We still joke today about who made the first move. Although I think we ALL know it was obviously him.

Here is where it gets tricky. Two people trying to make a relationship work while on the road traveling thousands of miles with the same end goal, to make the NFR…… is a whole lot tougher than you think.

Who is the priority?

Who must compromise?

Why do we not travel together?

All the questions. All the doubts.

And if you know anything at all about bulldoggers you know that they travel in packs of like 4, sometimes 12!! So try to imagine a barrel racer trying to travel with 4 to 12 guys… yeah it doesn’t work. Also, slack times are NEVER the same for guys and girls, so that doesn’t quite work either.

But the hardest question is who ends up being the priority? ME! Right? Wrong. Him! Right? Wrong. Neither of us.

We have figured out a little trick that works for us to be able to continually support one another while we continue to chase our dreams: Stetson and I have a pact to not go longer than 5-6 weeks without seeing each other. Does it get a little rocky in the midst of those weeks? Of course it does. It is hard to be away from each other, but we make it work. Even if it's like the one time we realized we would be passing each other going the opposite way on the interstate so we planned to stop at the same truck stop to be able to sneak in a quick hug and kiss. Those little things mean the absolute most. Y’all might think I am crazy, but it is just what we do.

Sometimes, we even get SUPER lucky, draw up the same at a rodeo and get to get dinner together. Along with the 12 other bulldoggers in the rig! This is no lie, in Red Bluff, California I asked Stetson to go on a date and of course he didn’t hesitate to say yes. Then, as we are leaving to go eat, a couple of guys walked up to the pickup to “bullshit” and before I know it, they were going on our date too. I am pretty sure I dated Stetson and about 4 other bulldoggers at the same time - pretty much still am. HAHA. On a real note, being in the bulldogger family is the most amazing family to be a part of, you never have to worry about not being taken care of or looked out for.

Now I’m going to brag on Stetson a little. He just made his third consecutive NFR this past year, and I couldn’t be more proud of his hard work and dedication. I’ll admit I had some mixed feelings when he invited me to be his plus one at the 2021 NFR, sounds selfish, I know. I am not the “arm-candy” type, or at least I didn’t think I was. In all reality, I was a little sour about not making the finals myself, but I knew for a fact that I wanted to be there for Stetson and cheer him on. I wouldn’t miss that for the world. So I got all my outfits ready and I went! I told Stetson he better take a good look, because he was about to get 10 whole days of me putting on make-up and dressing up, then it was back to reality after that. I don’t know if I want to admit this to the public, but I am not joking when I say I was prouder of being his “companion pass” those 10 days then I could ever have imagined possible. Being able to watch him have so much success made all the long drives and sleepless nights 100% worth it. He had worked so hard for it and being able to be alongside him meant more to me than being able to be there competing myself.

Holding one another's companion passes is not always easy, but the most rewarding when you know you have someone in your corner that truly understands the unique ups and downs of rodeo. I will forever be thankful to be Stetson Jorgensen’s companion pass, and to have him as mine as well.