Ron DeSantis’ family hit Houston Rodeo as he skips CPAC in Washington

Ron DeSantis‘ wife and children looked every inch the perfect family at a Houston rodeo on Friday as the Florida governor skipped the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Three-time national champion equestrian Casey DeSantis was all smiles as she rode horses with her two children Madison, six, and Mason, four, in a sweet video uploaded to her Twitter account.

But their father was noticeably absent from the scene as he geared up to give a speech at the annual Harris County Lincoln Reagan dinner on Friday night.

It came as DeSantis missed CPAC after it was moved from Florida to Washington this year – leaving Donald Trump to take center stage at the event. 

The two are thought to be on course for a head-to-head battle for the 2024 Republican presidential primary, as polls consistently show DeSantis to be Trump’s toughest competition.

Casey DeSantis is pictured enjoying a rodeo with her children as her husband skipped CPAC to give a speech at the annual Harris County Lincoln Reagan dinner in Houston

Casey, a three-time national champion equestrian was all smiles as she rode with Mason, four

DeSantis is yet to announce whether he will run – though observers note he is fiercely raising his profile.

Florida’s first family appeared to shrug off any political tension over the weekend as they spent the day at Show and Rodeo – the largest livestock show in the world.

Casey captioned the post: ‘The kids and I had a great time in Houston!’

 The video starts out with the family enjoying a horse ride at the rodeo while later shots show the children playing on the rides, feeding animals and eating ice creams. 

DeSantis’ team told Fox News that Casey has won at three national equestrian championships.

It was a busy week for Casey who unveiled the Cancer Connect Collaborative on Thursday – an initiative designed to ‘rethink Florida’s approach to combating cancer.’ 

Meanwhile her husband was at the Harris County Lincoln Reagan Dinner at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Friday night.

The family are later seen eating ice-creams, feeding animals and trying out the rides in a video uploaded to her Twitter account

Casey and son Mason ride down a slide. She captioned the post: ‘The kids and I had a great time in Houston!’

Florida’s first family appeared to shrug off any political tension over the weekend as they spent the day at Show and Rodeo – the largest livestock show in the world

His team told Fox News it was a sold-out event and the most attended in the dinner’s history – despite some progressives staging protests against his education policies. 

Trump appeared to make several barbed comments about DeSantis during his CPAC speech – for which he was given top billing.

While he did not mention the governor by name he did allude to enemies ‘in our own party.’

‘We’re not going back to people that want to destroy our great Social Security system,’ Trump said in his speech. 

‘Even some in our own party. I wonder who that might be.’

It was seen by some as a dig at DeSantis who previously voiced support for privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age.

He recently distanced himself from that stance, declaring ‘we’re not going to mess with Social Security as Republicans.’ 

The Desantis family are pictured at Christmas. The Florida governor has been fiercely raising his profile ahead of an anticipated bid for the 2024 Republican presidential primary

DeSantis was noticeably absent from CPAC after it was moved to Washington from his home state, Florida 

CPAC was moved to Washington, having been held in Florida for the past two years due to the pandemic.

Trump also took his moment to trash other top members of the Republican Party while claiming he had prevented World War III. 

He labelled Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, labeling him a ‘China-loving politician’ and encouraged the crowd to boo Sen. Mitt Romney.

The former President also decisively won a CPAC straw poll with 62 percent of conference attendees saying they wanted him to be the 2024 GOP nominee. 

‘In 2016 I declared I am your voice. Today I add, I am your warrior, I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,’ he told the enthusiastic crowd.

He also took aim at President Joe Biden by mocking for falling off his bike and stumbling on Air Force One’s stairs.

At one point, his speech was interrupted by a protester who loudly played the song FDT (F**k Donald Trump).

Trump is shown on one of the jumbotrons at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland during his CPAC address

Audience members at CPAC hold up a ‘Thank You Trump’ banner as the former president speaks Saturday evening 

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