The Oregon Queen — All the News of August, 2023

September 7, 2023 Off By Lois Forester

2023 Miss Rodeo Oregon Zoe Brooks!

While August may have been a bit slower than July, I still stayed busy in and out of the rodeo arenas!

We started off the month by welcoming a new member to the family, Skipp! Skipp is a French bulldog/Boston terrier mix. He might be a little guy, but he has a big personality! After getting the puppy settled, I geared up for a very special occasion. I got to watch one of my very best friends, Kendra, get officially pinned into her dream job. It was so special to be able to be home and watch Kendra accomplish one of her biggest goals! I am always so proud to tell people “My best friend is a firefighter!”

The 2nd weekend of August took me all the way up to Omak, Washington for the famous Omak Stampede! The Omak Stampede has been on my bucket list for quite some time, and I am so happy that I finally made the trip north. I got to experience the world-famous Suicide Race, 2 PRCA rodeo performances, a parade, a queens luncheon and even be a small part of a Powwow where I got to assist with the crowning of the 2024 Encampment Court! I want to thank Miss Rodeo Washington for inviting me to the Omak Stampede and her family for treating me like their own. I will never forget my time in Omak!

After my long drive home from Omak, I had less than 24 hrs to load up the trailer and head back up to Canby for the Canby Rodeo and, of course, the 2024 Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant. Despite the insanely hot weather, I had the time of my life! With 5 days of great rodeo action, 3 days of a fabulous MRO pageant, it was a week I will never forget. I want to thank the Canby Rodeo Board, The Miss Rodeo Oregon Board and all involved who made the Canby Rodeo week and MRO pageant so special! Congratulations to Abby Torgerson for winning the title of Miss Rodeo Oregon 2024! A fun story about Abby and I is that I actually got the honor to crown her once before! I was the 2022 Miss NPRA and she was the 2023 Miss NPRA. I know that Abby will make us all proud next year and I can’t wait to watch her shine.

To wrap up the last full month of summer, I submitted my official application to compete for Miss Rodeo America in December! I cannot believe that in less than 100 days I will be heading down to Vegas with my family. Until next month!

With Thanks,

Zoe Brooks, Miss Rodeo Oregon 2023

2023 Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon Morgan Brownell!

My month of August didn’t consist of too much but don't let that fool you, where I did go, I was busy!

I kicked off the month by going to the KeizerFEST parade in Keizer alongside the St. Paul Rodeo court. Kid got to make another outing this year and did so good! It was so much fun to see the streets of Keizer filled with so many amazing people!

The following week you could find me Wednesday through Saturday for five action packed nights of rodeo at the Canby Rodeo! What fun it was to be able to help all week long with pushing cows, running sponsor flags and throwing prizes to the crowd along with my queen run in. Along with the Canby Rodeo we had the 2024 Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant where I got to help with/be at Orientation, Horsemanship, Mock TV Interviews and Fashion Show where we got to show off our Tin and Paisley outfits!

Congratulations to Abby Torgerson on being crowned our 2024 Miss Rodeo Oregon, I am so excited to see where life takes you!

Watch out for next month to see me go on an out of state trip along with staying a little more local!

With love and until next month,

Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon

Morgan Brownell

2023 Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon Reegan Bills!

As July ended and August began, my year started to slow down a little. But that doesn't mean I didn't go to some awesome rodeos!

I started my month at the Benton Countr Fair and Rodeo. The highlight of that weekend was watching the cow hide racing. I would definitely like to try that next year!

However, the big thing I had in August was the Clackamas County Fair and Canby Rodeo. I spent five days enjoying hot laps and rodeo fun. It was a privilege to be allowed to do rodeo run ins at their PRCA rodeo, when typically you need to be 18 to be allowed to be there. During the five days of action-packed rodeo, I had the privilege to meet a lot of world champions and NFR qualifiers. Some big people on that list were Hailey Kinsel, Jackie Crawford and Stetson Wright.

The other big happening that week was the Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant. Pageant started off with the Orientation, where we met the judges. Thank you Gayle Plackemeier, Kent Sturman and Shane Laib for judging the MRO Pageant! Friday morning started off with the Horsemanship section of Pageant. I got to participate in the serpentine, grand entry and rail work parts. MRO Contestant Abby Torgerson, Miss Rodeo Oregon Zoe Brooks and Miss Rodeo Alaska Katelynn House all did a fabulous job! After Horsemanship, I went to the Royalty ice-cream social hosted by the Canby Rodeo Court after which we went to Swan Island Dahlias for pictures with our favorite photographer, Jeff Wong. I had a lot of fun posing to match the flowers' names and colors. I had the most fun with the flower named Giddy up.

After pictures was the Canby Rodeo and then off to the pajama party that included the current title holders, pageant contestants and our 2024 JMRO and MTRO ladies in waiting. At the pajama party everyone was split into two groups (Mom and I were on different teams) and played games like Pictionary. My favorite part though was watching what mom's team did for their 30 second commercial. It was funny and everyone had the perfect part for them! However, my favorite part of the whole Pageant had to be the Fashion Show. It was extra special because I did 8 years of ballet, so another chance to dance on stage was amazing. After two rehearsals, I was ready to go.

After the Fashion Show I quickly got down to the back rooms to change into my speech dress. It was impressive how amazing Katelynn, Abby and Zoe did on speeches. They only had 10 minutes to write a speech on a certain topic, memorize it, and give their speech to the audience. After each person gave their speech, Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon Morgan and I gave them their impromptu questions. It was interesting how different their answers were to the same question. After impromptu was the auction, then off to the rodeo.

It was an honor to watch Abby get crowned the 2024 Miss Rodeo Oregon. Congratulations Abby, I am so excited to see what you accomplish!

Sincerely,

Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon Reegan Bills