By Lucy Waldron
While the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft is over, for some, this week bleeds into all parts of their lives
Warwick Show and Rodeo Society Secretary, Terri Gilbert summed up the week as a great success.
“We had some beautiful drafting that led in to a great turnout for the rodeo weekend,” Terri said.
They estimated 12,000 people attended the event, with one attendee planning her involvement many months in advance.
Peyton Alexander-Smith is the 12-year-old who has been crowned the 2023 Overall Fundraiser by raising over $7000 for the Warwick Show and Rodeo Society along with Junior Cowgirl 2023.
To raise this amount, Peyton, along with her family created raffles, fundraisers and branded t-shirts which their small town of Pittsworth really got behind.
The money was raised in just over 2 months which shows the dedication and planning that happened the months beforehand.
Peyton said she decided when she was at the 2022 Rodeo presentation dinner, where she won Junior Cowgirl, that she would be the one to win the Overall Fundraiser for 2023.
“I wanted to give back to the community that I work with,” she said.
Horses run in her blood. Despite a long line of rodeos in the family, Peyton has gravitated towards equestrian in the past.
That is slowly changing as she becomes more involved in the Warwick Rodeos. Her current goals are to learn barrel racing and roping so she can incorporate that into her riding.
There is no slowing down for Peyton as she already has her sights set on the trifecta for next year.
“I am thinking about going for Junior Cowgirl, Overall Fundraiser and the Horsemanship title,” she said.
Peyton and her family have already begun planning to conquer the Warwick Rodeo Queen Quest of 2024, so keep an eye out for Peyton on the stage.
