By Dominique Tassell
During Rodeo Week, I had the pleasure of tagging along with the Warwick Rodeo Queen Quest finalists as they fulfilled their “royal responsibilities”. While I expected there was more to the job than looking pretty and very impressively carrying a flag while riding a horse one-handed, I was taken aback by just how much goes on behind the scenes.
Full-time jobs, competing in events, exam blocks, and the everyday demands of school are just a few of the things these locals have on their plate during Rodeo Week.
Their schedule was jam-packed every day of the week, and I’ll admit I was exhausted after a single day of following them around in 30-something degree heat.
The group bounced around town, from school to school and sponsor to sponsor. I was impressed by the poise shown by the older girls at these events. As any teacher will tell you, wrangling a room full of kids is no easy task, but some of the older girls showed a knack for this that simply can’t be taught.
On average, the girls had about five stops per day in the lead up to the actual rodeo launch on Friday night. After that, their schedule went into overdrive and included parades, award presentations, and the nightly Grand Entry.
Again, carrying those flags and riding one-handed will never cease to impress me.
After their royalty responsibilities are fulfilled for the day, many then go on to prepare for the events they would be competing in. Their schedule seemingly never stopped.
What was exceedingly apparent from the get-go about this group is their commitment to doing their absolute best.
In my time with them, they supported and looked out for each other. They were a seemingly instant community within a community, working together to represent the region to the best of their ability.
And from what I saw, these locals are absolute shining examples of the best in our region.
While there are undoubtedly perks to the job, and pride in being the face of the event, the job is not without its troubles.
On Friday night, during the Grand Entry, the woman in front of Princess Savannah Halley lost her phone in the arena. Savannah immediately jumped off her horse to save it from the absolute swamp that was the arena that night. Her horse got slightly spooked by the flag behind it, and off it went.
I was honestly a bit disgusted by the crowd that night. Certain people at the bar thought it was a good idea to jeer as if Savannah had done something wrong.
I was floored that she jumped off her horse with absolutely no hesitation. The pressure for these locals to be perfect at these events is strong, but she chose to be kind.
And does that not say it all? Under immense pressure, they maintain their kindness and their good nature and take it all in their stride.
