Recognized as Committee Woman of the Year by The Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, Debbie Mills is the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo Fair Board Director.
Debbie, starting in the middle, can you share about traveling to rodeos with your girls when they were younger?
They did youth rodeo in high school, primarily National Little Britches Rodeo, while online schooling. So, we would leave on Wednesdays and go to Utah, Kansas, Wyoming, all over Colorado, every weekend, year-round. You know, you can do it as much as you want to. And it’s great because of the relationships they built. They still keep in touch with kids from when they were kids. Traveling like that gives you an opportunity to meet people that you would never normally get a chance to meet. It is really like a family.
Did you grow up familiar with the rodeo?
No. My parents got me a pony when we moved to Colorado. I hated [moving locations] when I was in fifth grade. [It was a hard transition], and that pony was so mean. It dragged me around and kicked me, and I never told my mom. She would just drop us off. Those were the days when you just kind of got dropped off, and you just survived until it was dark and you had to come in.
So, when our girls started riding, we wanted to make sure they knew what they were doing and make sure they were safe. It’s like anything: the more you get into something, the more specialized your equipment gets, the more you know.
What made it a passion for you?
Every little girl loves a horse, right? So, it was just knowing that I had one. Not everybody gets that opportunity. We lived a mile from where we kept the horses, so I used to ride my bike to go feed them. It was my friend’s property, so we took turns taking care of things. I mean, that’s the thing about animals, 4-H and horses: they have to be your priority. You can’t say “Oh, I’m gonna go out with my friends.” You have to take care of your horses.
[For example], when our girls went to college, they had seven horses at the time. It makes you realize it’s a lifetime sport.
How many years have you been with the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo?
20 years this year! It’s amazing that it’s gone that fast, and it’s changed tremendously [over] the last 20 years. Because we are a fair and rodeo, you can go ride carnival rides, check out the animal barns and vendors. You can do [activities] along the midway. There are food vendors. There’s a lot to do! I think the average stay is about two and a half hours. You get a little bit of everything.
Can you share about your distinct style?
My motto is turquoise goes with everything. I love turquoise. I always wear it. I also love vintage. To me, it’s something you can do year-round and no matter where you go.
What does it mean to be a part of the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo for you?
I love it! I can remember when we used to meet in the back room at Village Inn on Free Pie Wednesday. You know, we’d have these meetings, and at the end of the fair, all the directors back when it was a private association would pull out their checkbooks and write checks for what wasn’t covered. It has grown so much!
For me, it’s exciting to see the changes and the things we’ve been able to do. We’ve been able to appreciate the heritage, but bring new things in and keep people involved in it.
We’ve been around since 1918, and there’s a lot of history there. Agriculture will never go away. If you eat, you’re part of agriculture. It’s important to keep people involved.
Purchase tickets to the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo at douglascountyfairandrodeo.com.