Miss Rodeo Oregon 2022 Avalon Irwin!

Hello all! So much has happened in the last couple months and I am excited to update you about it. In early March I had my coronation fundraiser. It was a fun and successful event! Thank you to all of you who came out and joined us that night. Because of everything you all contributed I have been able to get a few articles of clothing for my year as well as the Miss Rodeo America Pageant. And I will be able to make it down the road safe and sound without running out of gas! I am so grateful to have such a supportive team behind me.

Along with my coronation in the month of March, I also got to attend the High Desert Stampede. This rodeo is one I have been looking so forward to because not only is it my hometown Rodeo but I was joined this year by Miss Rodeo Washington, Lexi Hibbs, and Miss Rodeo Utah, Bradie Jill Jones. These women are two amazing title holders and good friends of mine so I was thrilled to share this experience with them.

This year, at the High Desert Stampede, Mr. T and I were honored to get to carry the American Flag in three of the performances. One of the nights the attendance filled all 4000 seats plus an additional 1000 tickets of standing room only. This is the most that rodeo has seen, and this home town girl was so honored to get to witness that moment from the arena dirt. I also want to take a moment to say how proud I am to have had such a wonderful horse to carry me in moments like that one. If you have never heard the roar of 4000 people while you stood alone in the arena on horseback let me tell you, it can be intimidating. Mr. T handled himself very professionally, with hardly an acknowledgement of the noise. A cowgirl's horse is an incredible creature. I hope that you take a moment today to appreciate your furry partner. They do more for us than I think we can ever thank them for.

After the High Desert Stampede I got to attend the Miss Rodeo Oregon clinic in Madras, Oregon. This year our head clinician was none other than Miss Rodeo America, Hailey Frederiksen. It was such a wonderful opportunity to sharpen my skills as a title holder as well as encourage others that are just starting out their journey. During clinic we had the opportunity to practice horsemanship, modeling, speech, and gain valuable knowledge of the beef industry as well as equine health. If you did not have a chance to attend this year, keep an eye out for next year's clinic. I promise it is well worth it to attend!

After clinic I had a little bit of down time where I got to start working with some of the skilled women that will be helping me achieve my goals as I prepare to compete for Miss Rodeo America. They say that knowledge is power, and I cannot express that enough. When you have knowledge on your side you will feel more confident walking into any situation. For those of you getting ready to compete in summer pageants, I encourage you to learn as much as you can about rodeo, the organization you want to represent, and proper equine health and practices. For anyone else who just wants to make themselves the best they can be I recommend you gain knowledge about yourself. Understand your strengths and weaknesses and work to become the best version of you. It's ok to have weaknesses and be aware of them; you are human after all. Whether you are in the working world or still in school, getting to know more about ourselves helps us to communicate better with the people around us and it helps us know how we will handle different situations we are put in. You have been wonderfully made so rejoice in that, and continue to love yourself for who you are.

I can't wait to see you all down the road! Stay tuned for more to come.

Blessings,
Avalon

Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon 2022 Destiny Wecks!

April showers bring May flowers! I mean, that's the hope, right! 

This upcoming month is looking to be filled with new experiences, great memories, and of course new friends! Watch as May unfolds! I'm going to be closing the chapter of high school in May and so much more!

Let's recap Miss Teen Rodeo March. I was on the road traveling to the Eugene Pro Rodeo Queen Clarissa Sanders and Princess Baylee Paulson coronation, Benton County Fair and Rodeo with Queen Allie Nuhring in conjunction with the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo Queen Corbie Johnsons coronation, and of course Miss Rodeo Oregon and Washington for Avalon Irwin and Lexy Hibbs! Coronations! Helping model auction items, spending a bit of money here and there, and of course being surrounded by fellow rodeo queen sisters was the best time.

I also took the time to promote being a rodeo queen and sport our MRO motto "educate, elevate, inspire" by helping with three different clinics, the Miss Rodeo Oregon Clinic, my own local clinic and the Miss Rodeo Oregon Sweetheart Clinic! The second weekend in March I held my own personal rodeo queen clinic for young girls to get an introduction and overview of what it takes to be a rodeo queen and what being a rodeo queen can help you achieve in life! While being home that same weekend, I was blessed to be able to attend the 2022 Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Court Glitz and Glam event as MTRO! I loved supporting local girls Mia, Bailey and Maggie!

In the mix of everything wild with coronations and events, I also wanted to stay true to myself and my passions for not only rodeo but agriculture, and I attended the Oregon State FFA Convention held in Redmond. After receiving my state level proficiency for Agriculture Communications, I popped over to Sisters for MRO Avalon’s coronation.  I was sad to not be able to stay the whole time but I was glad to see her on her special day for even just a quick picture. Then I hurried home for a barrel race the next morning where I was able to bring home three year end awards.

To round out the month of March, I once again returned to Central Oregon at the High Desert Stampede Rodeo where I volunteered at the Rascal Rodeo, signed autographs during and after the rodeos and of course watched the first ever sold out performances for the High Desert Stampede! 

April quickly came in! Nothing like a false spring! While attending the Miss Rodeo Oregon Clinic, in Madras, it was bitter cold and windy but all the girls had a great time learning from all of the great speakers but definitely from your current Miss Rodeo America--Hailey! Horse knowledge, speaking tips and tricks, hair demos and clothing sales, this year's clinic was a blast and I can't wait for more girls to come and experience it!  Then April brought me passing off the crown of Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Queen at their 76th coronation. 

To end April's activities, I competed at the Cayuse Jr Rodeo Association Rodeo in Milton Freewater, where I also carried the American Flag for the grand entry! My last two events just happened the last weekend in the month of April, attending the Pendleton Cattle Barons Weekend and the Arlington Rodeo. At the Cattle Barons events all three of us Miss Rodeo Oregon title holders were able to help sell raffle tickets for custom spurs, tickets for the rodeos/events and of course watched all the working cow dogs and horses work and then sell at their sale! Impressive at the quality of horses that sold and prices that were super good. Got to try my hand at judging the BBQ  contest--great meats and such a tough choice. Sadly, the storm came in and blew meats all over and flooded things but made some good memories. 

After the Cattle Barons events, my mom and I headed another hour away for the Arlington Rodeo, where I rode in the grand entry and had a great steed, Socks. Thank you to Ethan Weiser, Mark and Katie for making the use of a horse so easy and to Queen Leilani Weiser, for allowing me to join her in the arena to move stock in the roping events. I had never been to the Arlington rodeo and the April showers definitely got to the arena footing but as true rodeo people we all persevered and carried on with the rodeo after a three hour delay! 

In May, rodeos are starting to begin and my appearances are getting higher in numbers! This upcoming month I'm looking forward to my graduation, attending the Spray and Riggins rodeos and of course traveling more across the great state of Oregon and neighboring states! 

Sunny days are ahead! Stay humble and kind--

Destiny Wecks, MTRO 2022

Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon 2022 Carrie Woods!

What a busy month it’s been!

I started off April by playing in my first softball game of the 2022 season. I played first base and got some really nice hits too! Then I loaded up the trailer to get ready to head to Madras for the Miss Rodeo Oregon Clinic! We got there around 3 o’clock, got the horses settled in, and then headed over to the main building to say hello to a few of the amazing Miss Rodeo Oregon board members, and got a sneak peek at what was in the queen’s closet! Later that night we kicked it off by playing Rodeo Jeopardy, learning about first impressions, and got to know Miss Rodeo America Hailey Frederiksen a bit better! The next morning, we learned new tips and tricks about skincare and makeup, then later on Hailey showed us how she does her hair and wings! Later on that day we had our appearance session and I was able to model some of my outfits to give the girls an idea of different wardrobe areas. Then we headed onto horsemanship where we split up into 4 different groups. My group started with Beth on pattern work, then went on to knowledge with Ainsley. The last session of the night was modeling and it was great to see all of the other girls express themselves while modeling!

On the final day, we finished all of our sessions, speeches, introductions, and interviews, and talked with the Oregon CattleWomen President Diana Wirth! Then we broke out into our 4 groups again for horsemanship and finished up those sessions with our last two rotations. I got to learn the proper way to work cows with Kayla, and worked on rail work with Hailey! Later on, we wrapped up the night by practicing our flag runs, run-ins, and serpentine along with all of the other girls. To say the weekend was great is an understatement. I learned so much from each clinician, the sessions were great and it was an amazing overall experience!

The next week I had my first ever state FFA dairy judging contest! I had so much fun and my team even came in 4^th place!

Then only a few days later I had my very last Volleyball Tournament. We headed out to Salem bright and early Saturday morning. We came in 2^nd in the gold bracket. It was bittersweet since it was my last one and I had been playing with these girls for the past 5 months, but on the bright side, I’ll now have lots more time to make more appearances as JMRO!

And my last, but not least, event in April was getting to attend the Pendleton Cattle Barons event! I had a blast in Pendleton! I got to help sell tickets to the ranch rodeo Friday and also sell raffle tickets for a beautiful pair of handmade spurs! I got to check out the horse sale preview, then headed back to sell more tickets before heading out to get a quick bite for lunch. Then after we got back, we were given our custom sponsor jackets! I can’t wait to wear mine and show off all of my amazing sponsors! Then we headed back for a quick photoshoot in the Pendleton Rodeo Arena by the one and only Robert McLean! He does such an amazing job! After we were done, we headed back to the convention center to finish selling tickets and even got to watch the leather tooling contest! Later on, we made our way to the arena to get ready for the ranch rodeo. What a great time! We watched team branding and got to throw swag to the crowd! Then we ended the day at dinner with all the MRO titleholders, their moms, and the Jr/ Teen advisor, Glenda!

The next day we greeted people in the main convention area once again and were selling tickets for the bronc rodeo that night! Later on, I got to help put lots of goodies and swag from Pendleton Whiskey on the tables for the buyers and spectators to take home! I then headed back to the front desk to help sell tickets again. Although I wish I could’ve stayed for the rest of the evening to watch the sales and bronc rodeo, I left Pendleton early to head home for my first Jr. High dance!  It was smooth sailing all the way home and the dance was a blast! Then the next day I spent some time with my family since it was my Grandma Ruth’s 91^st birthday! Then topped off the crazy weekend with a ride in my custom Bob Roy saddle. Thank you so much to all of the Pendleton Cattle Barons board members for inviting me to come to their amazing event! I had a blast and can’t wait to go back next year!

Until next month!

Carrie Woods

2022 Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon

Hall of Fame 2021 Inductees

At the coronation of Miss Rodeo Oregon Avalon Irwin, we awarded the very first Hall of Fame buckles to two individuals and one couple who have contributed significantly to the Miss Rodeo Oregon organization.  The 2021 inductees are Joe & Alice Cote, Molly Hall, and Bob Roy.  Check out the website for their biographies!

The 2022 MRO Queen Clinic!

It was epic!  A combined 70 registrants (rodeo queens, advisors, parents) participated in the 2022 clinic where, for the first time, they were taught by a reigning Miss Rodeo America!  Kudos to the Clinic Committee--Glenda Franich, Kayla Vincent, Sue Ellen Vincent, Julie Singer, Carol Shull, Lynn Haynes, Tanya Cloutier, and Lois Forester--who spent countless hours in meetings to prepare for the weekend and then labored over all the details necessary for an event of this size.  We were especially honored by the presence of MRA 2022 Hailey Frederiksen, MRW 2018 Beth Bahem, Diana Wirth (President Oregon CattleWomen), and Karissa Landis (Speech Coach and Horse Judge).  We especially thank MTRO 2020-21 Ainsley Goughnour for her excellent photography!

We have already set the date for next year's clinic--April 7-9, 2023!