Houston Rodeo’s Trailblazing Women Celebrated In a Rollicking Western Party That’s 2,200 People Strong
Flamboyant Looks, Shopping Mania, Male Models Galore and a Dance Floor Takeover
BY Shelby Hodge //
Honorees Tammy Barrier, Beth Cardono, Jennifer Lowery, Julie Sacco, Wendy Lewis Armstrong, Lisa Blackwood at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Trailblazers Awards Luncheon (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)
When the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Trailblazers Committee dubbed its 2026 awards luncheon “The Greatest Luncheon on Earth,” they weren’t far off. With 2,200 rodeo devotees voluntarily packed into the fourth floor ballroom of the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, this had to be something absolutely special.
And it was. Think a sea of femmes dressed in their most colorful (some most flamboyant) Western threads and gents in suits accessorized with Western hats and boots. All spotlighting six women with remarkable commitment to RodeoHouston.
Taking bows and a jaunt down the lengthy runway were Tammy Barrier, Lisa Blackwood, Beth Cardono, Wendy Lewis Armstrong, Jennifer Lowery and Julie Sacco, each individually recognized for her time, talent and generosity representing 157 combined years of service on 23 different rodeo committees.
But holy moly, the ballroom was packed to the rafters at last year’s luncheon with a mere 2,100 guests. Imagine another hundred more folks on top of that, attending this 26th annual Trailblazers Awards Luncheon this time. The crush was formidable. No complaints. Enthusiasm for this event is unmatched. Such is the dedication of Houston rodeo enthusiasts and the old school excitement that this happening generates every year.
KHOU news anchor Mia Gradney emceed the event that included remarks from RodeoHouston board chair Pat Mann Phillips, Trailblazer officer in charge and Rodeo vice president Stacy Stidham Anderson and Trailblazer chairman Ann Massey along with an invocation from RodeoHouston president and CEO Chris Boleman.
The afternoon included a Saks Fifth Avenue fashion presentation, produced by Lenny Matuszewski and Tamara Klosz Bonar, for which the crowd showed plenty of love. Particularly when the male models strutted their stuff.
The Allen
Shopping, shopping and more shopping is another integral element of this Rodeo mania with scores of curated merchants setting up mini shops in the two ballroom lobbies. Yes, two lobbies as the famed After Party took place on the hotel’s second floor. The head count was 1,000 well into afternoon as the party mood kept the dance floor packed and the credit card machines buzzing.
PC Seen: Luncheon vice chair Kirby Lodholz, vice chair of ticketing Victoria Nelson, Zane and Brady Carruth, Monica Guerra, Cindy Seligmann, Ellie and Michael Francisco, Cyndy Garza Roberts, Robin Young-Ellis, Diedra and Terrence Fontaine, Katie Clapp, Courtney Adame, , Dr. Kelly Larkin, Fatemah and Roger Camp, Arlene and Ray Hinsley, Kristina Somerville, Tabbetha Lopez, and Erin Jackson.
