sponsored by :

A pink tractor was raffled.

2009 marked the first Tough Enough To Wear Pink Rodeo in the Helena area. On Friday, July 24th, rodeo participants and fans joined cancer survivors and sponsors at the Last Chance Stampede and Fair for an afternoon and evening of PINK festivities.

There was a Survivor Social; the raffle of a Craftsman Pink Garden Tractor Mower, Pink Electric Guitar, Pink Tom Boy Tool Set, and more pink prizes; the Grand Entry of the TETWP flag and celebration of cancer survivors; the live auction of custom Chaps by Dennis Deaton; and an old-fashioned grandstand Pass the Hat fundraiser during the rodeo. The 2009 Chicks 'n Chaps Women's Rodeo Clinic
was also held on the 24th, with 150 "chicks" in attendance to support the cause..

At the end of the day, a total of $31,000 was raised to benefit breast cancer patients being treated at St. Peter’s Cancer Treatment Center.

For information call – St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation – 406.444.2370 or email foundation@stpetes.org.

Miss Montana models the pink chaps that were auctioned at the rodeo July 24.

TETWP History

This campaign to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer was the brainchild of Terry Wheatley, a breast cancer survivor. It has grown to be one of the most creative and visible awareness campaigns in the country. 
In 2004, Terry was looking forward to attending the Wrangler National Final Rodeo in Las Vegas, with her son, a consistent WNFR finalist in team roping (header) and her husband, Jim, a six-time WNFR team roping qualifier.

Terry said, “It seemed as if everyone I knew was affected..”  And she knew that early diagnosis and treatment is the key to a successful outcome with breast cancer. She toyed with some ideas to rally the rodeo community to get that message across. What if on one night of rodeo’s greatest spectacle, the competitors could be convinced to wear pink shirts? Not a color normally associated with bull riding and steer wrestling, but that was the point. To make a powerful statement and do it on national television. From the first 200 to thousands of pink shirts across the US, the rodeo community now proudly supports Tough Enough To Wear Pink and breast cancer patients.