A love of horses and a cheesy smile were the only two things that I truly had going for me when I began rodeo queening over a decade ago.
I wore miss matched boots, a plastic-Walmart cowgirl hat and donned my hair in twin braids instead of the traditional rodeo queen curls, but I was hooked.
Over the years I can confidently I have grown leaps and bounds within the rodeo queen world. I have gained confidence in my abilities and knowledge of industry standards.
This growth has helped me to achieve many goals in my life both related to rodeo queening and everyday life, but it did not come overnight and I did not find it by myself.
I can pinpoint a true tipping point in my rodeo queen career that truly defines who I am within the industry today and it all leads back to my first ever rodeo queen pageant clinic.
In 2014 I attended the Rodeo Queen Boot Camp clinic in Ogden, Utah where I met many state and local queens and truly gained a better understanding of what it means to be a rodeo queen and how to get there.
Since then I have jumped at every chance to attend a clinic or gain valuable experience because I truly appreciate the benefits that I have seen come from them.
Grow you Knowledge Base
Attending a clinic almost certainly means that you are going to have access to a wealth of information.
Rodeo queen clinicians are often past and current rodeo queens, judges or western professionals whose experiences and personal perspective of the industry can provide you with valuable insights.
Never miss the chance to learn from their expertise and truly make it a point to consider what they have to tell you as many of them have been in your exact seat before.
Learn Industry Standards
As a rodeo queen it is vital to remain not only immersed in but constantly current on industry standards.
Clothing trends, horsemanship rule changes and even hair styles all go into pageant judging and building and representing the rodeo queen image.
Attening a clinic can make sure that you are in the know of any necessary aspects of change or points of interest.
Many of these clinics are held by or invite the exact professionals that aid in setting these trends and making important pageant decisions. Getting to hear from them can provide you with valuable insight into their thought process ad perspective.
Build a Network
Rodeo queening will involve a great deal of meeting people and when I say it takes a village to make a rodeo queen, I really mean it takes other rodeo queens and rodeo enthusiasts to make a rodeo queen.
Attending a clinic will give you a front row seat to industry professionals and past rodeo queens whose experience can be personally valuable to you.
Often times attending these clinics provides you with chances to socialize or speak on-on-one with these experts and learning from them and adding them to your personal rodeo queen network could pay off as you travers your queening career.
Time to Grow
Becoming a rodeo queen is not an exact or immediate process, nor does it stop. The rodeo and western world continues to evolve and so too does the world of rodeo queening.
Attending a rodeo queen clinic can give you the edge that you need to step up, stay updated on trends or even just become familiar with those in the industry and this can make the biggest difference in your next pageant.
Locating a rodeo queen clinic is as easy as contacting your local pageant director and checking the Cowgirl to Queen "Learning Opportunities" page and Facebook page.
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