Miss Rodeo Oregon 2020-21 Samantha Henricks!

"We fired this year's queen, now we have a new one." - JJ Harrison

Well... I would not wholeheartedly agree with this statement, but we did in fact crown the 2022 Miss Rodeo Oregon in Canby on August 21st! After four days of pageant, Avalon Irwin of Bend, Oregon captured the title. I want to give congratulations to all the contestants for putting their best foot forward and representing the western way of life to the best of their ability.

We kicked off Pageant with orientation where we met our judges, contestants family and the pageant committee officially. Thank you to our judges: Jodie, Marv and Vicki. Your time and personal help was very appreciated and I hope Oregon treated you well! Also, to the Miss Rodeo Oregon Board and Pageant Committee, thank you for working tirelessly to out together a stellar pageant for our contestants! Throughout the four days, the contestants and I completed written tests, interviews, impromptu questions, horsemanship, speech and modeling. A highlight of the pageant this year for me was the fashion show. We were able to team up with Boot Barn to showcase some of their outfits, as well as show off our dancing skills (or in my case, a lack of dancing skills). I was able to spend some time with Jessi Jackson (MRO 2018) as we were co-emcees for the event. Here, we were able to share stories about our years and enjoyed listening to contestants speeches, impromptu questions and of course enjoy the entertainment from JJ Harrison, as he once again agreed to be our auctioneer.

Another highlight was being able to participate in the clown act with JJ Harrison during the rodeo performance. Do not ask me why, but I have always wanted to wear one of the sumo suits that JJ is known for. Please enjoy the video below of the act! Also, please give both of those horses some credit for officially being two of the most broke horses at the Canby Rodeo; they are now sumo suit certified! Once again, thank you to everyone on the Canby Fair and Rodeo Board who are always great hosts of the pageant. Thank you to the MRO Board, the contestants and their parents, the Canby Rodeo Court, and of course to my mom for braving the week of pageant with me!

As September is here in full swing, the deadline for the Miss Rodeo America Application has come and gone. I can confidently say that my application has been signed, sealed and delivered and I am now an official contestant of the 2022 Miss Rodeo America Pageant. I am more than excited to continue preparing for the pageant, and before I know it I will be down on the Las Vegas stage representing my home state! Thank you to everyone who has made my years special and possible; I appreciate you all.

The month of September also brings us the iconic Pendleton Rodeo. Here we will have other state queens come and experience all that Pendleton has to offer. Thank you in advance to everyone who has and will play a part in organizing this Pendleton trip for myself and the other state queens. Stay tuned to see what we will be up to! I will also be able to attend the NPRA Finals in Salem this month. I was Miss NPRA in 2017, so going back to Finals as Miss Rodeo Oregon will be a great time!

And lastly, to set the record straight, I have never been fired from a job, regardless of what JJ says!

Sincerely,

Samantha Henricks

Miss Rodeo Oregon 2020-21

Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon 2020-21 Ainsley Goughnour!

June and July flew by in a blink of an eye and I’m not sure why I thought that August would be any different. Although it wasn’t packed with quite as many rodeos, it was still packed! Many of my school activities started back up: High school volleyball camp and practices (daily doubles; oh my), FFA Leadership retreats, showing Leo at the Oregon State Fair for 4-H, none of which compare to the week I had at the Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant, Clackamas Co. Fair and Canby Rodeo.

But first let me tell you about a special invitation I received from a very special little friend of mine. Miss Rodeo Oregon Sweetheart, Sophie, invited me to come and be a part of her pony camp for a few hours. I got to go and help teach all the little cowgirls and cowboys how to throw a rope. I also signed autographs and took lots of pictures. It was a blast.

Up next was rodeo and pageant week. Leo and I were able to participate in three of the five nights at the Canby Rodeo where we took part in the grand entry serpentine and queen hot laps. It was so much fun to be in the rodeo in Canby; my home away from home. We have so many great family memories there and this just added to them. The weather was perfect and the rodeo was awesome. Who could ask for anything more?

Meanwhile, while the fair and rodeo were taking place, so was the Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant. There were three amazing ladies vying for the title of 2022 MRO. I felt honored to be included in so many of the pageant activities, starting off with the pageant orientation as well as the PJ Party with fun party games and prizes to delicious food. I tend to get a little competitive when they start the party games. The next day it was time to get a little more serious when we headed over to Boot Barn to choose our outfits for the fashion show. I knew exactly what I wanted to model as soon as I walked in the door and saw it hanging up. It was then time to hustle back for autograph signing and rodeo.

The following morning it was time for horsemanship, one of a rodeo queen's favorite events. The girls all did great. They each rode their own horse as well as two draw horses. Leo and I got to participate in horsemanship. Let’s just  say Leo didn’t like not being the center of attention so he made sure that all eyes were on him a time or two. I guess he was a little excited for the competition and just couldn’t contain himself. Sometimes you just never know what your horse is going to throw at you. They like to keep you on your toes and keep us guessing.  After horsemanship it was lunch time and then autographs at Swan Island Dahlias. Then a quick wardrobe change and off to mock TV interviews. I loved being on stage with Sam and having her interview me. We got to tell some fun stories of the last couple years.

Saturday of pageant was probably my favorite day of all. What we had been preparing for and staying up late to practice for--the main event so to speak--Fashion Show! We each modeled and danced in our outfits from Boot Barn as well as our formal dress. I was even interviewed by Sam and Jessi where I got to talk about my Senior Project. The girls all looked beautiful in their formal dresses and did a great job with their speeches and impromptu questions. After the fashion show it was on to the grand finale, the crowning of Miss Rodeo Oregon 2022!  Congratulations to Avalon Irwin!

I can say that Tanya, Lynn and the whole MRO board sure know how to put on a great pageant. What an incredible experience. I’m beyond grateful that I was included in so many of the events and activities. The memories will truly last a lifetime.

For those of you who haven’t heard about my senior project, I’m currently collecting belt buckles for Rascal Rodeo which is near and dear to my heart. They “produce rodeos for people with special needs of all ages. Giving them the opportunity to be cowboys and cowgirls but also discover unknown abilities. Showing them they are loved, cared for and accepted.” This is all free of charge and all participants get to choose a belt buckle after their rodeo. If you’re interested in donating, buckles can be sent directly to me (PO Box 523, St. Paul, OR 97137) or dropped off at Double H Western Wear in Salem or Sip City in Newberg.

As you can see, August kept me busy and was filled with many new amazing memories. As rodeo season winds down, I see myself reflecting more and more on the past two years that I’ve had the honor of representing Oregon rodeo and all of the amazing moments that I’ve shared with Sam and Morgan as well as many of my sash sisters, friends and family. I’m looking forward to the next few months of making more memories and making the best of all the time I’ve been blessed with as MTRO 2020/2021.

Graciously,
Ainsley
Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon

Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon 2020-21 Morgan Brownell!

August was a long month with only a few but fun things!!

It started August 7th with the Keizer Iris Festival parade. I was also joined with the St. Paul Rodeo Queen Kearsten and the Canby Rodeo court Queen Nicole and Princesses Alexa and Marlee. Kid had a great time being the parade horse instead of the show horse for the day. He even helped me with Best Rodeo Queen!

Just 11 days later we were on our way to Canby for the Canby Rodeo and 2022 Miss Rodeo Oregon Pageant! We rolled in Wednesday night right before the performance started. Custer and I were able to do the opening serpentine and also do a run in. After that we had the Miss Rodeo Oregon pajama party. I had a blast playing fun games and getting to know the Miss Rodeo Oregon contestants better! Thursday afternoon we all went to Boot Barn and picked out our outfits for the Fashion Show Saturday and ended the night with another great performance.

Friday we had a busy day! We started the day off with Horsemanship which I was able to ride in doing rail work and the serpentine carrying a flag. After that we were off to lunch then to Dahlia Farms to sign autographs! Our last stop before the rodeo was back to the grounds for mock tv interviews. Then off to the 4th performance for the Canby rodeo!

Saturday we had Fashion Show where we got to show off our Boot Barn outfits! We also got to do a dance we had been working on all week and it was a blast! After we got to show off our Boot Barn outfits we got to put on our dresses, model and watch the contestants give their speeches. We then went to the live auction where the contestants brought auction items to be auctioned off!

Saturday night after grand entry we had coronation! Congratulations to the 2022 Miss Rodeo Oregon Avalon Irwin! I know you’ll do a great job representing Oregon!!

Gratefully, 2021 JMRO Morgan

Introducing Miss Rodeo Oregon 2022 Avalon Irwin!

I am so excited to introduce myself to you as Miss Rodeo Oregon 2022!

The pageant was incredible and full of so many great moments. The biggest highlight of the contest, for me, was horsemanship. All of us cowgirls pride ourselves on our horses. They are our teammates and our biggest teachers as we grow into better horsewomen, so to have the opportunity to get to ride so many amazing horses was a dream come true. All of the horses were absolutely a joy to ride.

Since the pageant I have had the opportunity to go to Gaston and attend the car show, I have been enjoying the fall weather out on the trails with my horse, and I've been preparing for this upcoming year.

My next stop will be Vegas to watch Sam compete at the Miss Rodeo America Pageant and I am so excited to get to cheer her on and wish her all the best as she finishes out the year!

Thank you, Jeff, for the skills and expertise you bring to our pageants!  Lynn Haynes got a quick video of the setting for Avalon's first photo shoot at Swan Island Dahlias!

Following the example of many organizations--including Miss Rodeo America--who honor people making significant contributions to their mission, Miss Rodeo Oregon, Inc. Foundation is proud to announce the formation of a new MRO Hall of Fame.  We are now accepting nominations for the founding "Class of 2021"!

The nomination form is very simple and can be obtained by visiting the website.  Nominees might include members, rodeos, committees, vendors, or anyone who has made a notable contribution.  Nominations can be emailed to our corporate address missrodeooregonincfoundation@gmail.com or they can be mailed to the address listed with the nomination form.  Nominations MUST be postmarked by November 1, 2021.

A commemorative Hall of Fame buckle will be awarded in a special ceremony at the coronation of 2022 Miss Rodeo Oregon Avalon Irwin!