An 'Enchanted' Lunch Honors Rodeo Trailblazers — and Lassos a Record-Breaking Crowd of Thousands

An 'Enchanted' Lunch Honors Rodeo Trailblazers — and Lassos a Record-Breaking Crowd of Thousands

Camille Connelly, Audrey White, Julie Chen, Amanda Boffone, Daniella Hernandez, Melissa Moncrief

THE 24TH ANNUAL Trailblazers Awards luncheon and fashion show kicked off Rodeo season in style! The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo took over the entirety of the Hilton Americas-Houston's ballroom spaces and welcomed a record-setting crowd of more than 2,000 for its big afternoon fete, which this year adopted the theme of Enchanted Garden.


This year's honorees, recognized for all the time, talent and generosity they've lent to the Rodeo over the years, included Isela Garcia, Michelle Iversen Jeffrey, Kristie Manning, Nancy Motley, Taryn Sims and Jennifer Currey Van Matre. Recipients from previous years were also in attendance, cheering each other on during the fashion show, produced by Lenny Matuszewski and Tamara Klosz Bonar.

The main event featured spring fashions from Saks Fifth Avenue (and cowboy dancers, naturally). Inspired by the production, many attendees sipped and shopped around a colorful marketplace erected in the hotel, and others stayed in the ballroom for an afterparty with tunes courtesy of DJ Johnny Bravo. Yee-haw!

Katy Tomasini, Jennifer Arnold, Heather Loesberg

Victoria Nelson, Debbie Young

Amanda Alvarez, Laura Salinas-Pruneda, Susie Molina, Leticia Rios

Vanessa Kriegel, Roxy Sanford, Sylvia Ready

Tiffany Halik, Tricia Verbois, Lesley Noto, Krista Shamaly

Cassie Sinor, Christina Wilson , Dana Barton

Carol Sawyer

Susannah Causey, Johnny Causey

Fashion models

Chris and Kendall Hanno

Steve Newmyer, Andrew Clendennen, John Grimes

Erin and Preston Hall

Kelly Larkin, Anita Sehga

Julie and Alan Kent

Daniella Hernandez, Cinthya Reade ,Felicia Stone

Heidi Turney, Liz Weisberg, Hasina Starks

Jarrett Adame, Tyson Dunn, Joe Van Matre, JW Daubert

Parties
Leadership in Action: Entrepreneur Saba Syed of Moroccan Bath Determined to Build ‘Lasting Legacy’

Saba Syed, Founder of Oasis Moroccan Bath

How did you get to where you are today? My journey began with a need to be financially independent and an even a deeper drive to create a lasting legacy. The centuries-old Hammam tradition has always fascinated me—not just for its relaxation benefits, but for its holistic approach to cleansing the body, mind, and soul. So, combining my passion with a vision to bring an authentic yet luxurious Hammam spa experience to Houston, I took the leap less than two years ago to open my own spa.

Keep Reading Show less

The Cottages at the Boat Basin

THERE'S A REASON that many Houstonians glorify a quaintly picturesque life on Nantucket. Actually, there are several: a storied history, charming shops, cobblestone streets, impossibly fresh oysters (and need we even mention the weather?).

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places

Jacob Hilton, a.k.a. Travid Halton, at home in his kitchen, where he enjoys cooking as a form of therapy.

PINK FLOYD'S THE Wall. Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours. Beyonce’s Lemonade. Three divergent examples of the album as a cathartic, psychological, conceptual work, meant to be experienced in a single sitting. Houston singer-songwriter Jacob Hilton, 37, who records as Travid Halton, a portmanteau of his mother and father’s names, might balk at being mentioned in such company. (This is a thoroughly unpretentious man, who describes himself as an “archaeologist turned singer-songwriter.”)

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment