2023 Miss Rodeo Oregon Zoe Brooks!

They say time flies when you are having fun and boy does that ring true for the month of July! It feels like it was just yesterday I started my month with the much-anticipated Cowboy Christmas week!

The beginning of my month took me to Molalla, Oregon to kick off my Cowboy Christmas run! I was so fortunate to participate in the Molalla Rascal Rodeo and the Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo. I want to give a special thank you to Britney Norby, a past rodeo queen, for letting me use her trusty steed, Huckleberry, for the performance. From Molalla, I headed south for the remainder of my week for the Eugene Pro Rodeo!

The Eugene Pro Rodeo really rolled out the red carpet for me! As soon as I got there I was welcomed with open arms and warm smiles. I want to thank the Eugene Pro Rodeo Court and their families for their wonderful hospitality. They treated us Visiting Queens like true Royalty!  During my time in Eugene, I got to ride the coolest little mare named Stella! She made my job look easy all week. Stella is proudly owned by Matt Hogan. Thank you, Matt, for letting me use Stella!

On my downtime in Eugene, the EPR court showed me about their hometown. We made a special trip to Voodoo Donuts. I’ve lived in Oregon my whole life and I have only made it to the famous donut shop twice! I am so grateful to have spent my 4th of July at the Eugene Pro Rodeo!

Bright and early after Eugene, I hopped on a plane to Las Vegas to get my headshots done with Las Vegas Images for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant. I can’t wait to share them with you next month!

After my 20 hours in Vegas, I landed back in Eugene and went straight to Elgin for the Elgin Stampede! With 30 minutes to spare, I made it to the Thursday evening PRCA rodeo performance. I can’t thank Rowdy Israel and her Mom, Nicole, enough for having their horse Ricky saddled and ready to go for the performance. Rowdy and her mom were such amazing hosts. They made my time in Elgin so much fun! I have to thank the Wecks family for bringing their Living Quarters down to Elgin for me to stay in during the weekend. Rodeo family is so important and I am so grateful for mine.

The 2nd full weekend of July took me to Colorado Springs for the much-anticipated Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductions  and ceremony! It was such a fun experience to be standing in a room filled with such well accomplished individuals. It was extra special to watch our very own Butch Knowles be inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame! From Colorado Springs, I traveled to the Daddy of ‘em all, the Cheyenne Frontier Days!

I could talk about Cheyenne Frontier Days for hours! The hospitality, kindness and traditions are like none other. I started off my time in Cheyenne with a Queens Luncheon and then we had a parade, a Cowgirls of the West luncheon, the famous tours of the whole Frontier Days grounds, and the iconic track flybys. I will never forget my time in Cheyenne and it was truly one of the greatest weeks I have had this year. Not only was my time at the Frontier days so memorable, I'd like to think I had the best host home! Rick and Michelle treated my roommate, Miss Rodeo Kentucky, and I like we were their own. They also had the cutest little corgi dog named Harper. My favorite part of Cheyenne was being down being the bucking chutes watching the rodeo!

Once I was back home to Oregon, I had 24 hours to load and head north to the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo! This is a rodeo I have been looking forward to all year. Not only did I get to be a part of three iconic PRCA rodeo performances, a parade and a queens luncheon, I also got to go mini golfing and ride Go Carts with MTRO Morgan. I also went tubing with the Canby Rodeo Queen Alexis, and I got to explore the beautiful town of Joesph, Oregon with 2022 MTRO Destiny.

I had so much fun in Joseph, Oregon and I owe it to being surrounded by my rodeo family. My host family, and horse supplier was the wonderful Wecks family! The Wecks family has supplied horses to MRO at Chief Joseph Days for a very long time and I am so grateful to have been able to borrow three of her wonderful horses. I also have to thank Ainsley Goughnour, the 2020-2021 MTRO, for letting me borrow Leo for the final performance. My time in Joseph went by so fast but I am already headed to my next rodeo. I can’t wait to share my travels with you for the month of August!

With Thanks,
Zoe Brooks
Miss Rodeo Oregon 2023

2023 Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon Morgan Brownell!

We kicked off July with the St. Paul Rodeo with the Hall of Fame Inductions on Thursday where my great grandpa Frank Kirsch Sr., a longtime member and director, got inducted! I had such an amazing time being able to be a part of such a special night with my family.

The six performances of the St. Paul Rodeo were ones to be grateful for! Spending my time with past St. Paul Rodeo Royalty that I have had the chance to spend time with when they were on court, letting the 2022 St. Paul Princess Macy ride Custer to carry flags during two performances, and of course I can’t forget being able to be in the same arena as my dad as he is one of the six to present a military flag during the 4th of July performances! It felt so good to be able to listen to Justin Mckee announce my name while in Grand Entry but also talk about my rich family history in the St. Paul Rodeo. My dad is currently a director and Frank Kirsch Sr., my Great Grandpa, was inducted into the Hall of Fame. I first attended the St. Paul Rodeo at just two months old and haven’t missed a rodeo since! So, until next year St. Paul!

Then we were off to St. Helens for the Jr/Teen Pageant! We kicked off Friday morning with Horsemanship where you could find Custer and I setting the pattern and carrying the American flag for our mock Grand Entry! After Horsemanship, we made our way over to Interviews and Written Test. At 7 o’clock you could find all the rodeo queens at the rodeo where Custer and I ran a sponsor flag, did a run-in, then pushed cows for the rest of the night. After some rest, we had another early morning just this time we were headed to the riverfront for Mock TV Interviews where all of the girls did amazing.

Followed by Mock TV Interviews we made our way back to the fairgrounds for speeches. Every one of the girls had such amazing speeches you couldn't choose a favorite. To end our night, we made our way back to the rodeo to do the same as the night before, but we also got to crown our new title holders! Congratulations to Kayla Hunt, your 2024 Jr Miss Rodeo Oregon and Hallie Haselbacher, your 2024 Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon.

Just a couple days after pageant, Custer and I loaded back up and made the long trip to Joseph for the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo. I got to spend time with Zoe playing mini golf and race go karts! After that we got to participate in three action-packed performances doing the Grand Entry serpentine and being one of the few girls to do a run in! Saturday, we participated in the Chief Joseph Days parade where Custer and I took first for individual rodeo queen. Thank you so much to the Wecks family for letting Custer stay at your house all week and for allowing us to use your truck and trailer to get back and forth between your house and the rodeo grounds! All you do for rodeo queens is like no others!

Until next month,

Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon

Morgan Brownell

2023 Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon Reegan Bills!

The month of July was a blur of bright colors and rodeos.

My 4th of July Gauntlet started out in Mollala, Oregon with the Rascal Rodeo where I got to teach people how to do stick horse barrel racing! Later that day I got to do a hot lap at the Mollala Buckeroo Rodeo. My favorite part about that appearance was meeting the Bikers Against Child Abuse. I think it is amazing how they help kids who may not be as fortunate as most.

The next two nights I spent at the Eugene Pro Rodeo! Definitely my favorite of the Gauntlet because of how they honor the state title holders! While most royalty did a lap in and out, MRO Zoe and I got to stay in the area with the Eugene court. I also got to work cows in a rodeo for the first time. Thank you Eugene Pro Rodeo Court for that amazing experience.

After the second Eugene performance Mom, Dad and I made our way to the St Paul rodeo for the 4th of July! All that day I got to do the parade, luncheon, and two rodeo performances in front of a sold-out crowd. Bonus, I got a couple of the Wright boys to sign my chaps! After St Paul I was so tired I slept till noon!

After that was NWYRA in Canyonville! I had some decent barrel racing and pole bending times. The reason it was such a huge honor to carry the flag of the Association is because I have been a part of it for 8 years. I also had a lot of fun playing spoons with the Northwest Youth Rodeo Association Court and their families! It is a honor to have their queen, Hallie Haslebacher as a good friend.

Then for my one weekend off I helped my family put up a lot of fence, which was much less fun than rodeos. Then I was off to the 2024 Jr/ Teen/ Sweetheart Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant! Pageant started off Thursday night at my camp for the welcome party! For the party we ate dinner and played spoons, where I may or may not have had a major belly flop trying to get a spoon. The next day the Jr Miss Rodeo Oregon contestants Kieran, Fallyn, and Kayla and Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon contestant Hallie had Horsemanship, Written Test and Personal Interviews. That night we all had a run in at the Columbia County Fair and Rodeo. For the rodeo I also got to work cows, throw swag and pack flags!

The next day was Mock Media Interviews and Speech. That night was the crowning of 2024 Jr Miss Rodeo Oregon Kayla Hunt and 2024 Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon Hallie Haslebacher! Congratulations ladies on your wonderful new titles! Kayla tried for JMRO the same year I did and let me tell you, the personal growth she made is outstanding!

Then shortly after Pageant I had the NWYRA rodeo in Sisters, Oregon! Thank you so much Sisters Rodeo Association for letting us use your wonderful arena for the first time and hopefully many more years to come! One thing that stood out the most was my pole run on Friday night. My first time through the weave, I knocked down a pole. And on the way back, instead of just mowing it over like my horse usually does, Rocket jumped it. I was so surprised I missed a couple weaves, resulting in a no time. But instead of sulking about it, on the to the gate I was laughing my so hard my back hurt. Later that night I played card games with Hallie and went to bed.

The next day I had pole bending, where I knocked down a pole. (And no Rocket was not a Pegasus that tine). That night I watched a movie with two of my best friends, Breanne and Cheyenne Arnzen. Let me take you back to 2015 when I first met them. I was taking care of my horse at a NWYRA rodeo and managed to fall backwards into his water bucket. My five year old self fit just right in that bucket, so I had to borrow some jeans. I have friends with the Arnzen twins ever since. Let's now zoom back to the present. The day after movie night I had the second grand entry of the weekend. Then after that the twins 12th birthday party! That pretty much sums up my wonderful month!