The Oregon Queen — September 2018

September 11, 2018 Off By Lois Forester

It hasn't slowed down yet for Jessi!

August was another amazing month full of incredible memories. The month kicked off with a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado for the PRCA Hall of Fame and Douglas County Fair and Rodeo. I loved hearing the stories of the eight inductees and dressing up for the Cowboy Ball. Once I arrived home, I prepared for our Miss Rodeo Oregon 2019 Pageant held at my hometown fair and rodeo, the Clackamas County Fair and Canby Rodeo. The contestants were tested on their horsemanship skills, interviewing and speeches, and their personality and appearance. It was so nice to watch the contestants compete, instead of sweating through each portion! Congratulations to our 2019 Miss Rodeo Oregon, Taylor Ann Skramstad. The rest of my August was spent finalizing my Miss Rodeo America application, as well as a few one day events including the Knights of Pythias Wapato Showdown Parade. September is an exciting time in the rodeo world as it the last month that contestants can earn winnings for the 2018 season and qualify for the National Finals Rodeo.

Whew! This newsletter is probably going to be the hardest to write of all because trying to wrangle all of our adventures in Canby into just a few paragraphs is no easy task! We had so much fun!

We started out the weekend with the MRO contestants and judges at the pageant's host hotel in Wilsonville. There we met all four contestants as well as Miss Rodeo Alaska, Ariel Hunt. Next it was Tough Enough to Wear Pink night at the rodeo where I signed a ton of autographs! We finished the night at the hotel for the PJ party!

The next morning was pretty relaxed so dad and I headed to Salem to meet with my favorite hat shaper at Double H. Following that, we all met back up and had lunch at Arby’s before heading over to Boot Barn in Troutdale to pick out our fashion show outfits. This was no easy task because of all of the cute stuff they had. However, with a little help from the assistant manager, Sue Ellen Vincent, and Angie Vachter, I looked pretty spiffy walking across that stage for our Boot Barn sponsored fashion show that Saturday!

Friday was our busiest day of all! From helping out with horsemanshi,p we went to lunch, then to an autograph signing at Swan Island Dahlias. After that, it was a quick power nap in Angie’s trailer and we were off to the Mock TV interviews! Finally, I was back on my horse and ready for the third night of the Canby Rodeo! After a few fashion show rehearsals, we MRO girls were feeling more or less ready for Jessi’s dance during the fashion show which we rocked! We sold pageant programs, modeled our Boot Barn outfits and then were able to sit and listen to the speeches which are my favorite! Following that was the final Canby Rodeo performance and we went out in style by crowning our next Miss Rodeo Oregon, Taylor Ann Skramstad!

The week was full of so many fun things and great people! I had an absolute blast. I would like to thank my sponsors of that trip, Timberline Tioga Taxidermy and SOA charters! Also thank you to the MRO board for putting on yet another wonderful pageant!

With love, 2018 Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon Bethany Rowe

On the road with Addy Crouch, Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon!

August was an amazing month! I started off the month on a plane headed for four days at the Big Sky Pro Rodeo and Montana State Fair, pushing cows, running flags, signing autographs, doing radio interviews and promoting my platform this year, suicide prevention awareness and the #letstalk app. I cannot thank Keely’s family enough for being the absolute best host family and the Big Sky Pro Rodeo for being so hospitable. It’s a week I will never forget.

Once home, Sunny D and I headed to Aurora to ride in the Aurora Colony Days Parade. Next, I headed to my hometown rodeo, the Canby Rodeo, who just happens to be the host rodeo for the Miss Rodeo Oregon pageant. It was a jam packed week with five rodeo performances, a trip to the Boot Barn, a PJ party, a fashion show (including a dance routine) and concluding with the crowning of our 2019 Miss Rodeo Oregon. It was a dream come true to have the honor of running in grand entry in front of all of my family and friends. It was definitely an extra special week. All of the Miss Rodeo Oregon contestants did a great job. Congratulations to Taylor Ann Skramstad for winning the 2019 title.

Sunny D and I will be taking a short break from rodeos to compete at State Fair next week in 4-H and FFA. Then in September I will be starting my senior year of high school and heading to the Pendleton Roundup and the NPRA Finals to see who will be crowned the 2019 Miss NPRA.

Until next month - 2018 Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon Addy Crouch

Making Memories with Lauren Gibson, Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon!

August was a great month attending rodeo events and promoting our wonderful sport! I enjoy sharing my love of horses with youth and giving them ideas of how they can get involved in this amazing and supportive community. This summer has been nothing short of unforgettable in every way! This title has allowed me the opportunity to help make a difference.

Northwest Youth Rodeo Association in Cottage Grove was great fun! There were so many youth riders and it was wonderful to see youth rodeo thriving. The weather was hot and the arena was dusty; this makes me so happy! It will be fun to be a part of this organization in the future and I am looking forward to it! Carrying the American Flag was a highlight of my year so far. At the Cascade Team Penning Association Event, I was so honored to be able start the event on my horse Babe. It was held at one of my sponsor's ranches, which made it special to me.

The support I have from family and friends has been wonderful! My family has also helped make my title possible as well as the Miss Rodeo Oregon Inc. board and I am so thankful! Camp Harlow's has been a big part of my giving back to the community. It was an honor to be a guest speaker at their advanced youth equestrian camp. Next summer I plan on spending my time there working with the youth and sharing my love of horses!

The Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant was so fun for me to attend. It was nice to be able to cheer for my friends and contestants as they chased their dream of becoming Miss Rodeo Oregon. The fashion show and modeling the Boot Barn outfit was one of my favorite parts of the week. It is great to be able to connect with so many people in a short amount of time. The Canby Rodeo was impressive; I look forward to attending it in the future.

As summer is winding down, I am looking forward to the events in September. We will be attending the Pendleton Round-Up with two of my sponsors and their families. I feel so fortunate to have such amazing support! The NPRA finals are always a great time too and a nice way to enjoy fall and rodeo!

Sincerely, Lauren Gibson 2018 Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon

It was quite a pageant!

The 2019 Miss Rodeo Oregon pageant was held once again in Canby, OR in conjunction with the Clackamas County Fair and Canby Rodeo.... and we could not be happier. They are the most welcoming and hard working group of people that not only care about putting on a great event for their patrons and cowboys but they also want to make sure our event is at its finest as well. We were honored that Clay Rhodes, President of the Board, Canby Rodeo, spoke to everyone assembled at the orientation.

This year we had four wonderful and qualified ladies vying for the title of Miss Rodeo Oregon 2019. They were: Taylor Ann Skramstad - Milton Freewater (Umapine), Samantha Henricks - Grants Pass, Kelsey Leinbach - Molalla and Morgan Spear - Newberg. We also had Ariel Hunt from Anchorage, AK join us as well. All are amazing young ladies and I truly enjoyed getting to know each of them during this pageant and I feel confident that they all have very bright futures ahead of them.

Along with the great contestants, we had three fabulous and fun judges--Joan Howland of New Mexico, Katherine Merck of Washington and rounding out the group was JT Croft of Kansas. They had a tough job of judging our contestants this year but I know they had a lot of fun with the girls and getting to see the sights (and tastes) of Oregon. Barb Carr, Judges Chaperone, provided them with adventures around the area--to Pittock Mansion and Double H Western Store in Salem, and to Dippin' Dots, Dutch Bros, and the Clackamas County Fairgrounds for Apple Pie Fries.

Pageant ran very smoothly and I would personally like to thank Lynn Haynes for being my right hand woman, our entire Executive Board who does so much behind the scenes, and our contestant chaperones--Sue Ellen Vincent and Lois Forester--and Judges Chaperone, Barb Carr. I did not have to worry about a thing with you three in charge. A special thanks goes to Tanya Marie Utberg and the Junior/Teen Pageant for sponsoring the Wednesday night pyjama party.

We added a new sponsor this year, Boot Barn, and our Fashion Show had new energy as a result. The contestants and titleholders thoroughly enjoyed their field trip to Boot Barn in Troutdale. Thanks to Jeff DuBrock, Boot Barn Manager, for all he did!

I would like to also thank all of the award sponsors for their support. Because of their generosity we were able to step up our award packages this year which has been a big goal of mine. I would be remiss if I did not thank Jessi Cornforth and her parents for being the best people ever and to Lauren, Addy and Bethany--along with their parents--for spending your week with us as well. We have amazing titleholders this year and our organization could not be prouder of you all. Finally, Congratulations to Taylor Ann Skramstad for being crowned as 2019 Miss Rodeo Oregon. You will be embarking on an amazing and rewarding journey next year that will forever change your life.

Thanks all, Tanya Cloutier, 1st VP/Pageant Director