First of all let me tell you about the most exciting thing that has happened in my entire 17 years of life. I was just crowned Miss rodeo Iron County in August and I am thrilled about it. I have never worked harder for anything in my entire life. Lets start from the beginning.
It all started in January of 2011 when i decided to start riding horses again. I originally quit when i was four because i got bucked off and snapped my little wrist in half. After lots of encouragement I was talked into trying out for the St. George Lions Dixie Roundup princess contest in May. Well May came way to quick and it was competition day. I tried out and lost and that was one of the most devastating moments in my life.
(Stephanie won Queen, Mikalya won Princess)
However I decided that I wanted to be a rodeo queen and I would try out for another contest. Well the next one was Iron County in August and I thought sure why not, Lets go for it. I practiced day and night and finally it was the night before the contest. iron county let you come to the arena we would be trying out in and ride our horses in it to get them used to the surroundings While i was there i noticed that there was only one Queen trying out and I was only two weeks away fro being old enough to be in the queen category Vs. the princess one.
I asked the coordinators if they could adjust the age a little bit, at least so that the queen would have a first attendant in case she couldn't make it somewhere i could cover for her. They even had first attendant prizes made so I couldn't see why they wouldn't let me try for queen. They said no though, and I was stuck trying for princess.
The pageant went on and once again I lost, but this one hurt even worse than the first since at this one i got appearance. I thought I actually had a chance of winning it. Driving home I threw my hat, clothes, boots, everything into the back seat screaming, "I don't even care if this crap gets ruined, I'm DONE queening!"
My mom the whole time was telling me to be careful because when I decided to try out for the next one I'll need this stuff in good condition. She knew from the beginning I was determined to win. Like moms always are, she was right and I signed up for high School Rodeo and got ready to high school queen.
First high school rodeo was in Cedar city on my birthday in September and I had no idea what i was getting into. These girls were the big leagues and i was a small fish in a giant pond. There was only four girls though and there was four prizes; queen, 1st attendant, 2nd attendant, and miss congeniality.
Crowning came and they named all the prizes and last but not least they had miss congeniality I thought I would for sure get it since I was the only person left to get an award. I was wrong. The queen also got miss congeniality and it was one of the most embarrassing/awkward moments of my life. I had to stand up there bannerless while all the girls had their moms take pictures. However I did win 25 bucks for getting last place so I wasn't completely devastated. (I promise this story does turn good, hang in there)
Moving on we have the Dixie Six. Over the month of November six rodeos are held over three weekends and surprisingly I was excited even after my first experience at cedar. Every weekend the same three girls won, but i was improving and I could see it on the score sheets. I was only losing by 10-20 points instead of the 50-60 before. However towards the end It was getting harder and harder to keep losing, but hey six contests is plenty of experience and I wouldn't have traded it for the world.
( Heres a picture of me modeling at the Dixie Six)
Even though I was excited the season was done, I couldn't wait to try out for the Dixie Round up again last May 2012. I had gotten so much experience and I knew I had a real chance. I worked my butt off day and night and I was set on winning this contest. I wanted it more than anything in the world.
May 3rd couldn't have come quick enough. I was ready. The morning went perfect. I gave my speech perfectly, modeled gracefully, and my interview went smoothly. Next was horsemanship and i knew that pattern forward and back ward. I was still in the princess division and there were 8 girls.
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| Sorry its blurry! From left to right: Sarah, Sadie, Naiomi, Me, Brinkli, Mckinzie, Kaitlin, Trinity |
WHAT? HOLD UP. I won four categories and didn't even get first attendant?! My heart was crushed in a gajillion pieces. I couldn't move. There I was standing in the middle of the arena with my arms full of my prizes getting ready to break down. I kept my emotions held together until my friend Bailey came to help me get my stuff and get out of the arena.
I knew that even though I had lost this contest I needed to stay strong because next up was West Jordan Western Stampede May 12 and I needed to forget and move on. My confidence had been shot and at this contest I was going for QUEEN. I couldn't even win a dinky Princess contest, how on EARTH could I even imagine winning a QUEEN contest.
Indoor started and I totally BOMBED my speech. I forgot it right in the middle. I just couldn't shake losing just the week before. Luckily I came through and rocked interview and impromtu. Crowning came once again but this time I wasn't expecting anything, especially after my speech fiasco. Amazingly I got first attendant and I was ecstatic. (Well it was a love/hate relationship with first attendant I was always reminded that i still hadn't won.)
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| Here I am with Amber (second attendant) Jessica ( Queen) and Me (first attendant) |
After driving up to salt lake every weekend from June to the end of July it was time to try out for the Great American Stampede the very last weekend of June. I was stoked to try for this one, the coordinators ROCKED. I went to all the clinics they held and I knew I stood a chance here. Contest day came and I did the best I have ever done in horsemanship (at least up until then).
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| Left to Right: Micky, Chloe, Sarah, Trinity, Brinkli, Riley. Me, Kora, Danicka |
Indoor went good, i didn't do as well on my interview as I wanted to but I killed modeling and speech. (at least in my oh so humble opinion). Once again crowning came and I was called to collect my prizes for modeling and photogenics. I was disappointed I didn't get speech but I thought I might have enough points to pull me to the top. Oh i forgot to say that the girl who won horsemanship had a broken foot.... it was bogus.Well time ti find out who won. spoiler alert, it wasn't me once again. I didn't even get first attendant.
This time I wasn't sad, I was mad. The girl with a broken foot won and I could help but feel like she only one because she had a cast on her foot. She couldnt even model because she was on crutches! Ridiculous right? Moving on I decided to try one last time and go for Iron county again. This time though I would be in the Queen category and was really hoping it would be like the year before and only have one or two girls trying out for it. Once again I was wrong and more contestants came than in any years past.
In case you haven't noticed I have awesome luck. So as the contest gets closer I hear that Mikayla, the girl that beat me in the Dixie round up princess contest, was trying out.She intimidated the crap out of me and I thought for sure she was going to beat me here just like she did at Dixie the year before. I knew i still had to try though and that's exactly what I did.
Horsemanship went great and i pushed my calf in perfect for the first time ever. Next up was the indoor and this is where i knew i needed to do perfect. Interview was first and I answered almost every question right except for one about the county seat and who the commissioners were. Darn it, I really needed to get those right. Any ways next was modeling and speech and I modeled the best I ever had. I was on cloud nine after modeling and it carried me over to give a great speech.
I didn't do as well on impromptu and that made me worry because I couldn't give away any points Mikayla was killing it also. I knew it would be between me and her. Now the moment I was excited/terrified for; Crowning.
First up they announced all the jr. princess winners, then the princess and finally it was queens. "Photgenics goes to mikayla, impromptu goes to Mikayla, congeniality goes to Kaity, appearance goes to Jade, modeling goes to Kaity, Speech goes to Kaity, horsemanship goes to Riley, and interview goes to Kaity."
I WAS SO CLOSE. "Second attendant is Riley." I was praying they wouldn't call my name as first attendant. I have never felt my heart beat so hard. "First attendant is....... Mikayla. And your 2012 queen is Kaity!!!" I was ECSTATIC. Even better than winning is that my second family made it right in time to see me win ( they had been at a high school rodeo, their son Bailey does bareback). They had gone to every contest I had ever tried out with my family so I was thrilled they were able to see that all the hard work paid off.
anyways, I know this sounds cheesy and totally cliche but no matter what always keep trying. Quitters never win and winners never quit. I am living proof of that. I hope my determination and drive carry me to win miss rodeo Utah and eventually Miss rodeo America but for now I am focusing on the more contests to get me there. I hope you now have a better understanding of who the Rockin' rodeo Queen is and I hope you visit here often to learn more about here. For now though I am just focusing on being Miss Rodeo Iron County. :)
-Kaity
In case you haven't noticed I have awesome luck. So as the contest gets closer I hear that Mikayla, the girl that beat me in the Dixie round up princess contest, was trying out.She intimidated the crap out of me and I thought for sure she was going to beat me here just like she did at Dixie the year before. I knew i still had to try though and that's exactly what I did.
Horsemanship went great and i pushed my calf in perfect for the first time ever. Next up was the indoor and this is where i knew i needed to do perfect. Interview was first and I answered almost every question right except for one about the county seat and who the commissioners were. Darn it, I really needed to get those right. Any ways next was modeling and speech and I modeled the best I ever had. I was on cloud nine after modeling and it carried me over to give a great speech.
I didn't do as well on impromptu and that made me worry because I couldn't give away any points Mikayla was killing it also. I knew it would be between me and her. Now the moment I was excited/terrified for; Crowning.
First up they announced all the jr. princess winners, then the princess and finally it was queens. "Photgenics goes to mikayla, impromptu goes to Mikayla, congeniality goes to Kaity, appearance goes to Jade, modeling goes to Kaity, Speech goes to Kaity, horsemanship goes to Riley, and interview goes to Kaity."
I WAS SO CLOSE. "Second attendant is Riley." I was praying they wouldn't call my name as first attendant. I have never felt my heart beat so hard. "First attendant is....... Mikayla. And your 2012 queen is Kaity!!!" I was ECSTATIC. Even better than winning is that my second family made it right in time to see me win ( they had been at a high school rodeo, their son Bailey does bareback). They had gone to every contest I had ever tried out with my family so I was thrilled they were able to see that all the hard work paid off.
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| Here I am right after winning with My Grandpa |
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| My amazing saddle, crown. buckle, and banner. |
-Kaity
