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Fit for a queenSep 11, 2010 (The Hawk Eye - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- FORT MADISON -- Dressed in ironed jeans, rhinestone studded leather jackets and cowboy hats, the contestants for Miss Rodeo Iowa and Teen Rodeo Iowa faced a task far more daunting than riding a bronco. Public speaking. The Comfort Inn and Suites was host to the speech portion of both the 2011 Miss Rodeo Iowa and 2011 Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa speech contests Friday afternoon, although the winners won't be crowned until the fashion show and coronation this afternoon. Of course, when the new queen steps up to fulfill her role early next year, the old queen must step down. Miss Rodeo Iowa 2010, Jordanne Blair, enlightened the crowd with tales of her rodeo queen tenure that will end in December. It is a role she will miss. "I have so many wonderful memories, I could be here all day," she said. "Over the last year, I've been able to travel the country. But my favorite trips have been here in the state of Iowa." The Miss Rodeo Iowa competition is a race between four candidates -- Rachel Bergren, 22, of Vilisca, Rachel Burton, 21, of Irwin, Heidi Gansen, 22, of Zwingle and Abigail Petersen, 24, of Sperry. The Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa crown will go to one of two contestants -- Charity Howk, 19, of Bloomfield or Caitlin Kuehn, 18, of Durant. Each contestant was required to give a three-and-a-half-minute memorized speech about the rodeo or the state of Iowa. After the speeches, each girl had to field rodeo-specific questions such as "describe the PRCA patch program" and "what former Iowa cowboy was inducted into the cowboy hall of fame." Burton's unique speech was presented from a bull's point of view, and was full of more "bull" puns than you could shake a steer at. "Those rodeo queens have nothing on me, because I'm a bull-full of big deal," she said. "My job is to provide entertainment and excitement after working a long eight second day, bringing the crowd to their feet by bucking the cowboy off my back." Bergren used her time to talk about how many different types of food Iowa produces, noting that the cattle industry brings $46 billion to Iowa. "Not only are we top notch at producing, but in Iowa, we know how to have fun with food. At the state fair, you can find just about any food imaginable you can put on a stick," she said. Gansen tore through her speech as though she was a radio DJ, highlighting the achievements of Iowa cowboys. "Iowa is an amazing place to rodeo," she said. "You'll always find bullfighters, clowns and barrel-men." Sperry resident Abigail Petersen, who is the only southeast Iowa native competing in this year's contest, told a very personal story of how she eventually became a trick rider for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) She now performs with the Wild Riders Trick Riding team, which is comprised of her sister Meishja Petersen and fellow rider Tucker Manning. "Within the last year, my only trick-riding horse had been diagnosed with a disease that would cause terminal blindness. I doctored him three times a day, during a bitter winter where the medicine would freeze before I brought it to the barn," she said. "Then, anything that can will happen, they say. I was working with my new trick- riding horse, and I fell underneath of him and missed all of the hooves except for one. It landed square on my abdomen, and after an ER visit and X-rays I found out I had torn muscles, internal bleeding and some contusions." The Miss Teen Rodeo contestants were just as lively, and Howk compared being a rodeo queen to being a superhero in her speech. "Superman. Spiderman. Batman. And rodeo queens. From a trusty sidekick to very tight jeans, there are more similarities than you might think," she said. Kuehn ended the competition with a very frank speech about how some people consider rodeos a form of animal cruelty. She conducted an informal 100-person survey, and 89 people said they did not consider it a form of animal cruelty. "There is no right or wrong answer to this question," she said. "It's a matter of opinion." To see more of The Hawk Eye or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thehawkeye.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |