Coordinating the Rodeo Queen Pageant

Selecting Judges

Utilizing Your Outgoing Queen

Few people realize the time commitment it takes to coordinating a successful rodeo queen pageant. Many hours are spent before, during and after the pageant and the majority of this time is volunteered. Conducting a rodeo queen pageant that runs smoothly and leaves all with a positive experience takes dedication and attention to details.

Decide Your Purpose

What is the purpose of your pageant? Is it to choose a young woman from your community to be the queen for your local event or is it to be a stepping stone to a state pageant? What expectations does your committee have for the queen once she is crowned? Once you've determined why you are choosing a queen then it's time to decide who will be that queen.

Qualifications of Your Candidates

Generally, rodeo queens meet these two criteria;

Single, Never Married without Children or other Minor Dependents
Not Older than 24 Years of Age

If your contest is a qualifying pageant for a state, regional or national title then your pageant qualifications will need to follow those of the pageant your contestant will be competing in. Make sure that your age cutoff is correct if your winner will go on to compete until the end of her reign. For example many state qualifying pageants for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant select their queen several months in advance of the beginning of her reign. She may be crowned in August of 1999 but not begin her reign until January 1, 2000 and will compete in Vegas in November of 2000. You may find that some state pageants that are qualifiers for Miss Rodeo America state that their age is 17 - 24. The reason that they may allow 17 year olds is so that they are 18 when they compete for the Miss Rodeo America title. If your pageant is a national pageant 17 may be too young for a titleholder.

Other criteria that my be used for candidate qualification include residency requirements, sponsorship by a recognized club, association or other group or holding a current rodeo queen title. .

Rules

All of your rules and expectations of your pageant should be in writing and all contestants should have a copy of the rules before they make their entry. Never change the rules in the middle of the game. It's unfair and will be talked about for many years. If you must change something, make all contestants who have entered aware of the change and give them the opportunity to receive their entry fee back and the opportunity not to compete if they do not agree with the change.

Applications

Make your applications simple and easy to read. Provide enough room on the form for contestants to adequately answer the questions in a neat and professional manner. If possible word-process your application so that it is neat and tidy. Send your applications out along with a copy of the rulebook to interested parties. Provide copies of the applications in your judges packets. Set your application deadline 2 - 4 weeks in advance of your pageant and stick to it. A postmark date is a good way to ensure that all applications arrive on time. If your deadline must be changed notify every person who received an application and try to post the new date on any flyers you sent to western stores.

Judges

Choose your judges wisely. They should be knowledgeable about current trends in rodeo queen horsemanship, general rodeo and especially rodeo queen dress. Make every attempt to secure judges who are not friends or relatives of your contestants or their families. Always brief your judges about the expectations you have of your contestants, future queen and of them. Also brief them about current trends if they have been away from queening for awhile or are not familiar with rodeo queens. Introduce your judges to each other and make them feel welcome. Don't forget a follow up thank-you.

Provide a rulebook, a copy of the horsemanship pattern and a copy of each applicant's application in a simple notebook for each judge. You may wish to include a photograph of each contestant with this notebook. Clipboards for horsemanship and extra writing utensils are extras that are nice to have as a judge.

Scoring

When setting up your rules you will need to choose a judging system. Appearance, horsemanship and personality are the three main categories with photogenics, speech, impromptu questions and written tests being subcategories. To choose an all-around queen the three main categories should be equal in weight. For example, each judge will score a total of 250 points each for appearance, horsemanship and personality during the pageant. These points can be spread out and awarded at a variety of events. The subcategories are generally equal in weight but with fewer points available.

Easy to read and follow score sheets are a must for judges. Keep your categories simple and the number of points possible simple as well. Scales of 1 - 10 are easy to use by the judges and easy to tally. If possible have an outside source tally your score sheets. Instruct your judges to judge each contestant on her own merits, not against others, and to make positive and constructive remarks. Judges should not have access to their score sheets once judging has ended for each event (a large brown envelope that can be sealed is a good place for these to go).

When looking at the number of points possible for each section, take into account the number of contestants you have. If you have 12 contestants, but only five or ten points to award for a category then your judges will not have 'room' to score. What this means is it will be difficult for them to differentiate the excellent contestant, over the average contestant over the below average contestant. A range of 25 - 50 is more appropriate for any size pageant.

Awards

Local pageants do not need to have extravagant awards. A belt buckle, queen sash and tiara are adequate for the queen. Other small gifts can also be given to the winner. If you are recognizing a first and second runner-up then they should also receive some sort of recognition. Category awards are not necessary for each category but it is standard practice to recognize the high scoring individual in the horsemanship category.

The awards given should be useful for the contestants. Horse care products, tack and other related items are always good choices. Many companies will provide products for your event but you must submit your request several months in advance. Prompt thank-you's will help ensure that your event is supported in future years.

Saddles and trailers are nice but should not be the end all of prizes. If you choose to provide a saddle it is best to go with a higher quality, general purpose saddle that will be used by the contestant. Many saddles sit and collect dust because they do not fit any horse the winner has or does not fit the rider well.

At the Pageant

Prior to the pageant send an entry confirmation letter to each contestant. This letter should contain all of the information they need to make competing in your pageant as stress free as possible. Always be open to answering any questions contestants may have (it's a good idea to indicate in your letter the best times to get in touch with you).

Hold a general orientation session on the first day or if your contestants are local hold it a week or two in advance of the pageant. At this time introduce yourself and any other committee people who are present. If your judges are present introduce them too and have your contestants introduce themselves and any guests they may have with them. Speak with the contestants about last minute details and any other information they may need to know. This is a good time for them to take a written test if it is a part of the pageant.

Setting a positive tone at this first meeting will go a long way in making the competition a pleasant event for all involved. Taking the Hitler approach does nothing but turn off contestants and others involved. Also, always be kind to the parents. It is usually their money that is being spent for their daughter to compete in your event.

Set a schedule and keep to it. Be prompt and organized but be flexible at the same time. Allow down time for unforeseen events to take place (flat tires, electricity going out, etc.).

After the Pageant

Following the pageant make sure you take the time to welcome your new queen. If possible set a meeting up with her and her parents to speak with them about any questions they may have about her reign and about your expectations. Make sure that awards are handed out in an efficient manner and that all sponsors, judges and other helpers receive a thank you.

Keep in contact with your queen throughout her reign. Be there to answer any questions she may have and to provide support for her. When scheduling her appearances you must give her ample notice of the dates and times. You can not expect to call a titleholder and have her drop everything to make an appearance the next day or even the next week.

Do your best to work with your titleholder and her supporters. Personality conflicts do happen but you must always remain the adult and take things in stride. If you receive complaints about her activities then you must go to the source, you titleholder, and get her side of the story before accusing her. The same goes with the rodeo committees that are working with your titleholder. If she complains about the treatment she received at a rodeo then make sure you reach your contact person to get their side of the story.

Coordinating a rodeo queen pageant is a responsibility that few are willing to take on. It takes time, energy and even money out of pocket to produce a quality pageant with a good reputation. Pageants that are ran with integrity and ethics will continue to draw quality contestants and increase their sponsorship support over time. Contact us if you need any help on coordinating your next event.

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