Coronation

2010 Miss Rodeo America Pageant Official Results

Miss Rodeo America 2010: Kelli Jackson- Miss Rodeo Mississippi
First Runner-up: Freya Ford – Miss Rodeo Idaho
Second Runner-up: Courtney Smith - Miss Rodeo South Dakota
Third Runner-up: Taryn Brady – Miss Rodeo Arizona
Fourth Runner-up: Amber Dell – Miss Rodeo Tennessee
Appearance: Kelli Jackson – Miss Rodeo Mississippi
Personality: Kelli Jackson – Miss Rodeo Mississippi
Horsemanship: Allie Bass – Miss Rodeo Wyoming
Photogenic: Taryn Brady – Miss Rodeo Arizona
Speech: Kelli Jackson – Miss Rodeo Mississippi
Congeniality: Eileen Lenzner – Miss Rodeo Wisconsin
Raeana Wadhams Spirit Award: Allie Bass – Miss Rodeo Wyoming
Written Test: Ashley Hoffmann – Miss Rodeo California
Western Region Scholarship: Allie Bass - Miss Rodeo Wyoming
Central Region Scholarship: Jenna Johnson – Miss Rodeo Minnesota
Eastern Region Scholarship: Charla Wacker – Miss Rodeo Virginia

Top Ten Contestants:
Taryn Brady – Miss Rodeo Arizona
Jenna Johnson – Miss Rodeo Minnesota
Kelli Jackson – Miss Rodeo Mississippi
Allie Bass – Miss Rodeo Wyoming
Audra Dobbs – Miss Rodeo Colorado
Freya Ford – Miss Rodeo Idaho
Courtney Smith – Miss Rodeo South Dakota
Chris Wade – Miss Rodeo Utah
Amber Dell – Miss Rodeo Tennessee
Brooklynn Chester – Miss Rodeo New Mexico

Other Awards
Scrapbook Awards:
1st Place – Jenna Johnson – Miss Rodeo Minnesota
2nd Place – Courtney Smith – Miss Rodeo South Dakota
3rd Place – Amber Dell – Miss Rodeo Tennessee
4th Place - Kelli Jackson – Miss Rodeo Mississippi

Achievement Award (given to high seller for MRA Scholarship Foundation Drawing): Victoria Jeffcoat – Miss Rodeo Alabama

Chap Award (Scholarship from Women’s Professional Rodeo Association for contestant with unique chaps & story): Courtney Smith – Miss Rodeo South Dakota

People’s Choice Text Voting Award: Brooklynn Chester – Miss Rodeo New Mexico

Special Congeniality Award: Jessinta Hammer – Miss Rodeo North Dakota, Jessinta was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease and was unable to participate in the pageant per doctors orders.

Random Scholarships:
Meredith Holland – Miss Rodeo Kansas
Andrea Lynch – Miss Rodeo Nevada
Amy Amack – Miss Rodeo Nebraska
Brooklynn Chester – Miss Rodeo New Mexico

Alumni Reception

On Friday morning, Melanie Mooney and Gayle Plackemeier hosted the Alumni Social, sponsored by Alyssa Plackemeier, Miss Rodeo Texas 2007.


Alumni were treated to light hors d'oeuvres and champagne, John Shooter took lots of pictures, and discussion was held as to how the alumni could better stay in touch through the year.


Melanie Mooney is sponsoring an Alumni Membership for the next year, for anyone who signed up that wants to join.


In addition, Gayle Plackemeier handed out sheets earlier in the week to all National Directors, with a listing of all of the known contestants from their state, and places to gather their contact information. Gayle will do her best to update the information as it is given to her. For many of us, just having the list of former MRA Pageant Contestants is a great start. Thanks Gayle.


Hopefully next year we will see more alumni attend - and make this a fun, annual social event for former MRA contestants!

Pageant Emcee - Creed Roberts

This year's pageant featured a new emcee - Creed Roberts. Creed is an accomplished rodeo announcer from Sealy, Texas. He was raised in the western lifestyle and was president and spokesperson for his high school FFA chapter while being thoroughly involved in the cattle industry. He competed on the Stephen F. Austin State University rodeo team but found his true success in rodeo would be behind the microphone. He has been selected as the voice of the National Bucking Bull Association and has announced at rodeos and events across the United States. Creed is married and has three children, and at home he enjoys working with his rodeo cattle on the Blood Line Bucking Stock Ranches.


I had the opportunity to talk to Creed for a few moments in between events on his busy schedule, to find out what it has been like for him to be the emcee for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant.


Creed says he didn't really know what to expect coming into the pageant. He came in with an open mind, and it is a good thing. Over the course of the events we've seen Creed dance with another man, wear a captain's outfit and a sailor's cap and even jump off a pier to catch the boat. Was it difficult? Sure, Creed said - "I kept drawing the line and telling DeShannon & Jeana 'I ain't gonna do that' ... but in the end I guess I did end up doing that. Somehow the line just kept getting farther and farther away!"


When I asked how it was working with the girls, he says they have been great. "It's all so positive, there's no negative," says Creed. "These are the neatest girls and they've all been really great to work with."


One thing he didn't realize was how many volunteers there are in this organization and how each and every one of them pays their own way to get here, to stay here, and pays for their own tickets to each event. "It's an amazing organization, I had no idea," Creed said.


He feels that his experience as a parent helps him in that he can imagine what the parents are going through, and he tries very hard to be mindful of everything he says and how the parents will perceive it. Creed has a great sense of humor and has had fun at every event. Jeana Allen, Fashion Show Production Coordinator, said she has developed some new muscles from laughing so much with Creed.


While the schedule has been very tight and Creed is with the girls just about all of the time - including late night rehearsals and early mornings; he thinks the schedule is put together just right, and it all works out.


It's been great, he says... it's been a blast!

Speech Session #3

Contestants giving their speech today were:


Miss Rodeo Missouri
Miss Rodeo Wisconsin
Miss Rodeo Oklahoma
Miss Rodeo Tennessee
Miss Rodeo Nebraska
Miss Rodeo New Mexico
Miss Rodeo Illinois
Miss Rodeo Colorado
Miss Rodeo Wyoming
Miss Rodeo Utah



Maegan entertained the crowd with stories from her year. Door prizes were provided by Montana Silversmith, Absorbine & Tandy Brands Accessories, Inc.


More than 200 people were in attendance for speeches this year.

PRCA Luncheon

The President's Luncheon was a sold-out event at the South Point Hotel & Casino. This is always one of the best events, with the contestants showcasing their beautiful chaps.


Special guests included:

• Mr. Keith Martin, Chairman of the Board, PRCA
• Mr. Karl Stressman - Commissioner & CEO of PRCA Properties, PRCA
• John Cavey & Pat Thompson, Miss Rodeo America Sponsors
• Mr. Steve Miller, Montana Silversmiths

To start things off they conducted a fundraising auction for the MRA Scholarship Foundation, first up was a 100X Hat, donated by MRA sponsor Bailey, it was purchased for $450; and two plaza level tickets for tonight's rodeo which went for $300.

Miss Rodeo America, Maegan Ridley, had the opportunity to speak and say that the most special things to her over the past year were the friendships that she made in all of the places that she went - thanking rodeo committees, sponsors and host families.

After the contestants came in and gave an introduction/information about their chaps, Mr. Karl Stressman was invited to speak on behalf of the PRCA. He talked of the similarities between his job and that of Miss Rodeo America, how stressful it is to be traveling all of the time, and also of the common bond that they share - a passion for the sport of rodeo. He also said that next year he would like to have Miss Rodeo America be "Commissioner for a Day" - during the Hall of Fame week - and actually sit at his desk, answer his phone, and see what it's like to be the Commissioner of the PRCA.

Mr. Stressman made the announcement that Keith Martin had a $10,000 check from the San Antonio Livestock Show & Rodeo, to be given to the Miss Rodeo America Scholarship Foundation. The San Antonio Livestock & Rodeo has been extending their generosity to MRASF for several years now and their contributions to the scholarship fund are greatly appreciated.

Contestants then had the opportunity to give their rodeo impromptu question answers. The format this year was new. Each contestant was given two topics on the bus ride to the luncheon, allowing them to prepare their answers. It worked well, all of the girls did great on their answers and I have to say, this is one SHARP group of contestants! They have truly studied. Miss Rodeo Washington was the first to go, her topics were "Luke Branquinho" and "Hall of Fame".



A sampling of other topics were:

"Justin McDaniel & Media Guide"
"JW Harris & Buckeye"
"Donnie Gay & Wrangler"
"Trevor Brazile & Rodeo Camp Series"
"Larry Mahan & Roughstock"
"Erv Korkow & ProRodeo Live"
"Ike Sankey & WNFR"
"Clem McSpadden & Justin"
"Joe Beaver & WPRA"


On behalf of the Women's Professional Rodeo Association, Randy Rae Britt presented the Chap Award, the winner receives a $500 scholarship from the WPRA and a Back Chap Belt sponsored by Beastmaster Rodeo Products, Inc. The winner: Miss Rodeo South Dakota, Courtney Smith. Her chaps were a tribute to Casey Tibbs, purple in color, featuring rhinestones and bucking horses.

Speech Session #2

Thursday morning was the second day of speech presentations. Miss Rodeo America 2009, Maegan Ridley entertained the audience with tales from the trail. She made reference to several trips throughout her year and told how she was amazed that even now, certain foods bring back fond memories of those trips. Some of the things she fell in love with were tea parties, feathered hats and butter beans in Tennesee, carrot cake in North Carolina, and chocolate steak in Wyoming! Between each contestant speech Maegan told stories about her trip to Spain.

Day two saw Miss Rodeo Arkansas, Micky Musick present her speech along with Miss Rodeo Iowa, Lindsey Ahrenholtz; Miss Rodeo Oregon, Jackie Gibson; Miss Rodeo Texas, Devin Felger; Miss Rodeo Alabama, Victoria Jeffcoat; Miss Rodeo Mississippi Kelli Jackson; Miss Rodeo Idaho, Freya Ford; Miss Rodeo Florida, Jessica Davis, and Miss Rodeo Nevada, Andrea Lynch.

Fashion Show Cruise!

Cruise, you say? That's right... the S.S. Wrangler from the Red Wilk Cruise Lines embarked from The Orleans Showroom tonight with a BOAT LOAD of beautiful contestants in the Miss Rodeo America Pageant.

The master of the ship, Captain Creed Roberts, set the stage for each port of call. The contestants were divided into two groups. The first "port of call" was Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which featured all of the contestants modeling clothes from Wrangler. The second "Port of Call" was Viva Las Vegas, featuring contestants Alabama through Montana The third "Port of Call" was Aloha Hawaii, featuring contestants Nebraska through Wyoming doing a Hawaiian dance. The fourth "Port of Call" was the Mexican Riviera Fiesta and the first group of contestants came out with maracas and did the limbo. The final port of call was Rock 'n Roll in New York, and the contestants had sunglasses and pink guitars.


Captain Creed welcomed some special guests onto the cruise, including the pageant judges, the escorts: Mr. Berlyn Miller from Las Vegas Events, Mr. Joe Hertz - Wrangler Vice President and General Manager, Mr. Craig Errington - Wrangler VP of Consumer Marketing, and Kelly Baxley, from the MRA Scholarship Foundation.


Special entertainment was provided by MJ2 of Las Vegas. They are two sets of twins with wonderful voices, from Las Vegas - and ironically, each sets of Twins has one Mollie and one Jackie! You can find them on facebook, twitter, and myspace; and their new song "You Can't Say Love Enough" is available for download on itunes.


The contestants then came out one at a time, in alphabetical order by state, in their fashion show dress. This year, there were four black dresses, along with just about every other color of the rainbow. At the very end, Miss Rodeo America Maegan Ridley came out in a stunning floor-length black gown with gold trim, an off-the-shoulder dress that was complimented with her Landstrom's Original Black Hills Gold Jewelry and Crown atop a black hat.


The performance lasted approximately 90 minutes after which the contestants were able to come out and visit with family and friends.


The Fashion Show Committee and Sponsors deserve a special thanks for putting on such a great show!


Jeana Allen, NE - Production Coordinator
DeShanon Davis - Choreographer
Sponsors: Red Wilk Construction, Red & Cindy Wilk
Shumway Farms, Weekley Brothers/David Pro Rodeo, Miss Rodeo Florida Pageant, Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Pageant.

Rodeo Royalty Seminar Detail

The annual Rodeo royalty seminar was well attended this year by many of the state title holder ladies-in-waiting, along with many others. Maegan Ridley, Miss Rodeo America 2009 began the program by telling everyone a little about her experience competing for the title last year, and stressed that to be a rodeo queen you must become the "total package", and asked each girl to really get to know herself, and ask herself why she really wanted to be a rodeo queen.

New to the program this year was a presentation by Judy Rogers and Sherry Stickelman on fitness and health called the "Four Pillars of Strength" which gave terrific information for preparing and maintaining health for competition and during a year of reign, and that hopefully one would make the habits a life long lifestyle change. The women discussed nutrition, exercise, supplements and managing stress.

Tara Rowe, Miss Rodeo America Executive Board member and a pass Miss Rodeo America continued with the program and spoke about how important first impressions can be. She also stressed the importance of being responsible and maintaining a spotless reputation while holding a queen title. Another main point in Tara's presentation was the importance of studying before coming to compete at the national level.

Next, the seminar attendees were treated to a presentation by rodeo stock contractor, Mr. Ike Sankey. He provided valuable stock contractor insight as to what would be expected of a queen when she attends pro rodeos, and reminded them that as a queen, they are servants to the sport, and should act accordingly. He also spoke briefly about how to handle animal rights activist should the need arise.

Commander Deb Dilly was next up with a presentation about safety for young women who may be traveling alone. She gave many tips and instructions, along with a mini demonstration on self-defense techniques.

Kiki Shumway closed the program by giving excellent information on how to go about obtaining sponsorships, and the importance of being cordial, kind, gracious, and to make sure that sponsors realize your gratitude. She also talked about how to conduct yourself as a queen when giving both radio and TV interviews.

Lady-In-Waiting Social

Nineteen young ladies attended the Lady-in-waiting social hosted by Red & Cindy Wilk, Kathy Shumway & Kiki Shumway.

Each lady was presented with an official Miss Rodeo America Pageant contestant coat donated and presented to them by John Cavey & Pat Thompson.

Pizza and Bowling was enjoyed by all. At the completion of the social, each 2010 titleholder received a gift bag of goodies which was put together and presented by Kathy Shumway. This is such an awesome opportunity for the ladies-in-waiting to meet and get to know each other before their reign begins.

Top Horse Awards

During the Horsemanship Competition, two judges (Bobby Berger & Bobby Marriott) judged the horses which were provided by PRCA Stock Contractors, to select the Top Horse for an award sponsored by Absorbine.




Fourteen horses were provided by these Stock Contractors:

Bennie Butler

John Smith

Sparky Dreesen

Mike Cervi

Bob Barnes

Bronc Rumford




Each horse was ridden a total of 4 times. The judges' pick for the Top Horse, who will receive a check for $200 and a plaque, was horse #9.




#9 - "Chance" is owned by Chance Ramsay and Bronc & Kate Rumford. Chance broke the horse himself and was a cowboy and loved horses and rodeo, and competed in High School Rodeo. Chance, just 19 years old, was tragically killed in a ranching accident this past summer. While gathering a bull, the bull took Chance and his horse into a lake, where he drowned. Next summer, Bronc Rumford is putting on a high school "memorial" rodeo for Chance, and the funds from this award will go towards a Chance Ramsay scholarship that will be awarded.




Two other "finalist" horses were the #12 horse owned by Bob Barnes, and who won the Top Horse Award two years ago; and the #4 horse owned by Mike Cervi, a gelding called "Lily".

Rodeo Royalty Information Seminar

The Rodeo Royalty Information Seminar was well attended, with more than 50 participants this year, both ladies-in-waiting and rodeo queen hopefuls were in attendance.


In a three-hour period, participants were joined by a wide variety of speakers on different topics:

• Miss Rodeo America, Maegan Ridley spoke about the titleholder experience
• Jodie Witt, with the Denver Stock Show & Rodeo, spoke about attitude and behavior
• Judy Rogers & Sherry Stickelman spoke to the "Four Pillars of Strength" -(Food * Movement * Supplementation * Rest & Stress Management)
• Tara Rowe, former Miss Rodeo America, spoke on "What Every Queen Should Know But Might Not"
• Deb Dilley, Pageant Chaperone, spoke about personal safety issues
• Ike Sankey, Stock Contractor, spoke about the sport of rodeo
• Marjorie Murphy, National Director for Texas and MRAI Past President, spoke about drawing ticket promotion and selling your organization
• Kiki Shumway, MRAI Past President, spoke about public relations and getting sponsors

Speech Session & Media Interview #1

A large audience gathered for the first group of contestant speeches in the Orleans Showroom. Attendance is UP!


Maegan served as the official emcee for the event, and in between contestants, shared stories from her year.


Contestants giving their speeches today included:

Miss Rodeo Minnesota
Miss Rodeo Kansas
Miss Rodeo California
Miss Rodeo Virginia
Miss Rodeo Montana
Miss Rodeo South Dakota
Miss Rodeo Arizona
Miss Rodeo Washington

Following each contestant speech, the pre-taped media interview was shown. The girls did their media interviews on Sunday morning, immediately after check-in and before orientation.


The Media Interview questions were:


1. You just finished checking into the Miss Rodeo America Pageant. What events do you look forward to the most this week?

2. If you are selected as Miss Rodeo America 2010, what is one of the first things you will do?

3. Prior to coming to Las Vegas for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant, you spent 2009 promoting your state. What legacy do you hope to leave in your home state?

4. What advice would you give to a young lady who approaches you who is interested in becoming a Rodeo Queen?


As always, the speeches were clever, the outfits were stunning, and it was a great start to the speech portion of the competition. Two more mornings of speeches remain.

President's Breakfast

It was a packed house for the President's breakfast - which began at 8:30am Tuesday morning. Contestants and judges ate before the rest of the ticket holders came in, and as soon as everyone was seated with their meal, the program began.


After introductions of past MRA Presidents, MRA Executive Board, Sponsors, Guests and Judges, Marjorie Murphy was the auctioneer for two sets of National Finals Rodeo Tickets. The auction raised $900 for Miss Rodeo America, Inc.


The contestants lined up and began their current events questions - Miss Rodeo Missouri was the first to go, and Miss Rodeo Utah was the last. Questions covered a range of current events including topics such as:

• Do you feel the Cash for Clunkers program was successful?


• Should the "Balloon Boy's" parents be charged with child endangerment?


• What are the dangers or concerns with using Facebook or MySpace?


• Is the Going Green movement making a difference?


• Should the Government be in the health care industry?


• How will school district budget cuts affect our children's futures?


• Why do you feel enrollment for post secondary education is on the increase?


• Do you feel it's good or bad that the President took so long to decide how many troops to send to Afghanistan?


• What factors contribute to obesity in our youth and what can be done about it?

The contestants did FABULOUS with their answers this year - what a talented and sharp group of young women.

Scrapbook Awards were handed out - and there is a special blog post just about the scrapbook awards.

Miss Rodeo Alabama, Victoria Jeffcoat, was awarded the sales achievement award, for selling the most raffle tickets.

A 50/50 raffle was held and the proceeds will all be donated to Miss Rodeo North Dakota, Jessinta Hammer, who has just recently been diagnosed with Cushing's Disease and was unable to compete in the Pageant. We all send our thoughts and prayers to Jessinta today and wish her the very best and a speedy recovery!!

Thanks to everyone on the President's Breakfast committee for such a great job -chaired by Linda Ebest, TX and Nyla Bristow, CO. Also special thanks to the following state pageants who sponsored the breakfast: Arkansas, California, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.

Get Acquainted Party

It certainly was a heartfelt message sent out to our troops tonight by all who were in attendance at the Miss Rodeo America Get Acquainted Party. With each contestant decked out in red, white and blue, they were a sight to behold. The entire crowd joined in the singing of our National Anthem, and then the party began.

A larger venue this year provided everyone with ample space and room to gather around their favorite contestant. As always, The Orleans provided a wonderful array of food to enjoy.

Both the contestants and their families look forward to this event, and one of the highlights is always the presentation of the Landstrom's Black Hills Gold rings by Red and Cindy Wilk of Huron, SD. This year the Wilk's went an extra mile and called several contestants forward to present special gifts to either a mom or dad after their state had been drawn from a hat.

Red also paid special tribute to those who have served our country by calling all to the front to be recognized.

During the GAP, there are several opportunities for people to get involved with the raising of funds for the MRA Scholarship Foundation, from purchasing rubber ducks, 50/50 raffle tickets, and participation in the dollar dances. This year Tracy Damrell and Bronc Rumford were challenged by Red Wilk along with John Cavey to introduce five past Miss Rodeo America titleholders that were in attendance. If they were able to provide the former queen's home state and year they reigned, $100 for each correct answer was added to the scholarship fund by Red Wilk and John Cavey. New to the pageant this year, Master of Ceremonies, Creed Roberts was the high dollar earner in the dollar dance.

At about 10:00 p.m. the contestants were whisked off by chaperones to head to yet another dance practice, then off to bed for an early morning.

Scrapbook Awards

While judging the contestants is a very difficult task, an equally tough job is judging their beautiful scrapbooks. It is truly amazing the work and effort that goes into each book, from the beautiful covers to each and every page.

All of the scrapbooks are judged by the scrapbook committee and the Top-4 will receive the Zona Vig Scrapbook Awards: cash awards are sponsored by Glenn Klaus, Hondo, TX, and Rosettes are sponsored by Miss Rodeo America, Inc.

First place receives $500 & Rosette

Second place receives $250 & Rosette

Third place receives $150 & Rosette

Fourth Place receives $100 & Rosette

The winners are:

4th Place - Miss Rodeo Mississippi, Kelli Jackson

3rd Place - Miss Rodeo Tennessee, Amber Dell

2nd Place - Miss Rodeo South Dakota, Courtney Smith

1st Place - Miss Rodeo Minnesota, Jenna Johnson

Horsemanship Competition

Wow, what a great horsemanship competition at the South Point Arena this morning! Despite starting a few minutes late, it was a really good competition.

The opening featured Maegan Ridley who entered the arena riding her horse in a beautiful Spanish dress to commemorate her travels. This year including a trip Spain. She welcomed all of the contestants who followed behind her, on foot, wearing funky dark sunglasses and waving balloons. It set the scene for the theme - "Party in the USA!"

The competition began shortly after Master of Ceremonies, Creed Robert, said a prayer and the national anthem was sung by Laura Kessler and the colors presented by Maegan Ridley.

The winner of the Horsemanship Competition will receive a $1500 Miss Rodeo America Memorial Scholarship honoring Marie Mass Gatlin, Miss Rodeo America 1960: $1000 sponsored by the AQHA and $500 sponsored by former Miss Rodeo America's and the Marie Mass Gatlin family. She will also receive a beautiful Tex Tan saddle sponsored by the American Quarter Horse Association. In the eyes of many contestants, this is one of the most coveted awards at the competition.

A total of 14 horses were in the draw, meaning that with the two go-rounds, each horse was ridden four times. Horses were provided by stock contractors Bennie Butler, John Smith, Sparky Dreesen, Mike Cervi, Bob Barnes, and Bronc Rumford. NFR Pickup Man Bobby Marriott, along with Bobby Berger were the "horse" judges for the event - they were in charge of selecting the top horse provided for the competition. The Top Horse Award is sponsored by Absorbine, the contractor providing the Top Horse is awarded a plaque along with a check for $200.

Stay tuned - the Top Horse Award will be given out during the PRCA Luncheon on Thursday!

The outfits were gorgeous for horsemanship and all of the girls did an outstanding job with their mounts. In the first go, Miss Rodeo Kansas started things off, and the last to go was New Mexico. In the 2nd "Freestyle" round, Miss Rodeo Colorado was first and Miss Rodeo Nebraska was the last to go.

All of the committee members for Horsemanship deserve a pat on the back - they were not only up at 4 a.m. getting the horses down to the South Point and getting them groomed, warmed up and ready, but they also were involved in selecting the horses the day before.

Chairmen: Bronc and Kate Rumford, Kansas
Linda Ebest, TX
Johna Niedfelt, NE
Tara Rowe, CO
Laurie Thoman-Hernandez - WY
Nicole Cypers, UT
Amy Means, MN
Melanie Mooney, NV
Suzie Kendall, UT
Manny Azevedo, TN
Bill Olson, MI
Doug Beehler, ID

Day One

The pageant is underway and the contestants checked in bright and early. After receiving their sashes they were off to their media interviews. This year an impromptu question was taken from their applications and iplemented as part of their introduction on stage.

After lunch they all moved into their rooms and were off to their first coronation rehearsal. This evening they were treated to a steak dinner by the foundation board before taking their rodeo/horsemanship knowledge test. Photos of the days events can be viewed at http://www.shooterenterprises.com/mp_includes/body.asp

Tomorrow morning horsemanship begins at 9 a.m. at the South Point Equestrian and Event Center.

Hello Las Vegas

Today final preparations are underway for the start of the 55th Annual Miss Rodeo America Pageant. Volunteers, contestants and their family and friends began converging in Las Vegas Thanksgiving Day and will continue arriving throughout the week. Miss Rodeo America Inc., is fortunate to have a wonderful volunteer base that returns to the pageant annually and helps organize and carry out all the events.

In addition to great volunteers the pageant also attracts some of the Western industries finest as pageant judges. This years judges are…

Bill Brewer
Bill Brewer of Amarillo, Texas, began a long-time career with the America Quarter Horse Association in 1971 as an Advertising Sales Representative for The America Quarter Horse Journal. In 1992 and became the AQHA’s Executive Vice President. As the Executive Vice President he worked closely with the Executive Committee and department heads in planning and coordinating the business of the world’s largest equine breed registry. In March of 2009 he retired from the AQHA after 37 years.

Diana Friend
Diana Friend of Ozawakie, Kan., served as Miss Kansas High School Rodeo in 1975 and Miss Rodeo Kansas 1979. In 1980 she became the first Kansan to win Miss Rodeo America. She’s currently the Communications and Marketing Manager for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. She has been a board member of the Kansas Quarter Horse Association since 1995. Diana’s given riding lessons, horsemanship clinics and is a volunteer for 4-H.

Terry Swanson, D.V.M.
Terry Swanson, D.V.M., is a practicing veterinarian at the Littleton Large Animal Clinic. He is currently the president of the Littleton Large Animal Clinic/Littleton Equine Medical Center, where he has been practicing since 1968. Through the years he’s served on numerous boards and committees for multiple professional societies he belongs to. He’s also a published author and when time allows, he still enjoys team roping.

Wanda Waters
Wanda Waters from Utopia, Texas, is an advocate for Western Heritage. She’s played an active role along with her husband in ranching and land management. On the Waters Ranch they have bread more than 600 American Quarter Horses many having high accolades in the show ring. One of their most renowned stud horses, Colonel Freckles, was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2004.

Pageant Contestant Video

Visit this link to see all of the 2010 Miss Rodeo America Pageant Contestants on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_GTdALLpOM

Text to select the MRA Pageant People's Choice Winner

Miss Rodeo America Pageant
People’s Choice Award
Text Your Vote!

Support your state rodeo queen by texting your vote to choose the Miss Rodeo America Pageant 2010 People’s Choice Award winner. Voting will be accepted thru, midnight, Dec. 3, 2009. The winner will be announced at the MRA Scholarship Foundation Cowboy Christmas Auction, Dec. 4. Each vote is $.99 standard text rates apply.

Text to 40841 – type “MISS RODEO” then space and the “STATE ABBREVIATION” of your choice (example: “MISS RODEO ME”). Send a text now with your favorite state to chose the winner of the People’s Choice Award.

There is no limit on how many times you can vote for your favorite!

Terms & Conditions: Each vote is $.99 standard text rates apply. This is not a subscription service. The charges will be billed to your wireless phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. You confirm you have read and agreed to our Terms and Conditions, and are the owner of the phone or have permission of the owner to incur these charges. If you are under 18, you confirm you have parental permission to incur these charges. You may stop service at any time by sending ‘STOP’ to 40841. Supported carriers: AT &T, T-Mobility, Sprint, Nextel T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Alltel, Virgin, Boost and Cellular One. For information text ‘HELP’ to 40841.

Pageant Video Presales

Contact Tom House to sign up to pre-purchase your set of DVDs of the upcoming 2009-2010 Miss Rodeo America Pageant.

Counting down...

Click on the link to see how soon the pageant begins...

http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?month=11&day=29&year=2009&hour=&min=&sec=&p0=0

Contestant Photos

The Miss Rodeo America Pageant is excited to have ladies representing 29 states at the 55th Annual Miss Rodeo America Pageant. To see photos of the contestants click on this link http://www.missrodeoamerica.com/Pageant/contestants/contestants1.html

Pageant Tickets

The 2010 Miss Rodeo America Pageant will be Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2009 at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Pageant tickets are available by visiting http://www.missrodeoamerica.com/ and clicking on the Miss Rodeo America Store. Or at this link http://www.missrodeoamerica.com/Store/tickets.html