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Western Wishes Concludes First Decade with a Special Breakfast of Champions

                                                                                                                                                            
                    By David G. Brown

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Western Wishes Foundation celebrated ten years of helping
cowboy-kids make wishes come true by hosting a very special “Breakfast of
Champions,” on December 11, 2004 with a special child, a number of Wrangler
National Finals Rodeo contestants, previous Wish-Kids, and a variety of celebrity
guests. Boyd Gaming sponsored the event, which included breakfast at the Stardust
Hotel, to help make a very special dream come true for Tyler Hatfield, an eight year-old
child who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a progressive disease for which there
is no cure.
        Boyd Gaming generously donated Gold Buckle Tickets to the WNFR, for the 5th
round, for Tyler and some family members, as well as Alyssa Bigon, Western Wishes
very first Wish-Kid from ten years ago. Alyssa survived leukemia, and is now a horse
trainer in Oklahoma.

It was very appropriate that the very first Wish-Kid join the Ten-Year-Anniversary Wish-
Kid to watch the rodeo. Tyler and Alyssa enjoyed incredible seats for the rodeo on
Tuesday night, which was the first part of Tyler’s special wish.


        The second part of his wish was to be able to meet with some of the cowboy
athletes in person, as well as some of his favorite Country entertainers, for pictures and
autographs.


To continue Tyler’s wish, and to celebrate a decade of dreams-come-true at Western
Wishes, Boyd Gaming hosted a very special “Breakfast of Champions,” which featured
several “champions,” previous Western Wishes recipients and cancer survivors Jay
McDonald and Rachel Hanson, as well as former world champion bull riders Charlie
Sampson and Gary Leffew. Also attending were Clyde and Elsie Frost, parents of world
champion Lane Frost, who was killed at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1989. Other former
world champions were also in attendance, such as Saddle Bronc champ Clint
Johnson. Also at the breakfast were rodeo champions and WNFR contestants K.C.
Jones, Ryan Mapston, Jason Havens, Jake Barnes, Allen Bach, Rod Lyman, Rowdy
Berry, Kirt Jones and Miss Rodeo Canada, Christa Lawrence, and many others. In
addition to the children and the rodeo athletes, special “champions” of the
entertainment industry also joined the fun, including Blue Collar Comedian Bill Engvall,
and Nashville recording artists Ricochet.

            
         The breakfast was hosted by previous wish recipients and cancer survivors Jay
McDonald and Rachel Hanson, who helped celebrate ten years of Western Wishes and
the foundation’s work helping dreams come true for Cowboy Kids. Jay and Rachel,
known as Western Wishes “Ambassadors of Hope,” embody the fighting spirit of
Western children, and prove that with cowboy grit and determination, even cancer can
sometimes be beaten.


         Many of the cowboy contestants, Miss Rodeo Canada and representatives from
various rodeo committees, addressed the group to share their personal reasons for
contributing their time to help kids over the years, through Western Wishes, as well as
for Tyler’s special day.

       Ricochet provided musical entertainment with an impromptu vocal rendition of their
hit song “Daddy’s Money” for Tyler and the group. Comedian Bill Engvall was both
touching and hilarious when he spoke to Tyler and the crowd, showing his talent as a
comedian while exposing a caring and generous person behind the character.


Tyler also was given numerous gifts from a variety of sponsors and rodeo committees.
Christmas came early for this young man!

As a result of the breakfast, Tyler’s family was later invited to an afternoon concert by
Ricochet, and they were unexpectedly given tickets to the tenth round of the WNFR by
rodeo sponsor Dodge Trucks. By the end of the WNFR-week, the rodeo world and
generous sponsor Boyd Gaming, created a new tradition – the Breakfast of Champions,
which gave Tyler Hatfield a book of memories he will cherish for the rest of his life.