Miss Rodeo pageant grooms young female riders for success

WASILLA — Many a young girl claims a love of horses at some point, but few pursue that love in rodeo.

After wrangling up enough money and interest over the last year and a half or so, Rodeo Alaska was able to host its very first Miss Rodeo Alaska Pageant last weekend, with the help of National Director to Miss Rodeo America for Alaska Raylah Holm.

Although there have been at least 13 Miss Rodeo Alaska winners since 1974, the 2014 and 2015 winners had to compete at an Outside pageant in order to officially qualify for nationals, Holm said. Last year’s Miss Rodeo Alaska, Laura Stockemer, for example, was given the title at the Oregon rodeo pageant. She then went on to win the “Wear the West Your Way” award at the 2016 national pageant in December, where 33 women competed for the Miss Rodeo America title.

Though Stockemer didn’t come away with a crown, Miss Rodeo Oregon winner Katie Schrock said the Alaskan was “the one people remembered.”

“It was very exciting to be able to put Alaska a little more on the map,” Stockemer said at the 2016 Miss Rodeo Alaska horsemanship demonstration at Bluff Park Farm on Saturday.

Increasing that awareness about Rodeo Alaska at the national pageant falls to the younger generation this year. Though girls age 8 to 18 are only eligible for state pageants, Stockemer said it’s important to give girls a chance to develop their skills in local pageants before trying out for Miss Rodeo America.

“It was a lot of fun but it was so different than what I’d done before,” she said.

Though she’s a little sad to give up her state title after just one year of holding it, Stockemer said she was impressed and encouraged by the up-and-coming queens at Saturday’s event.

“These girls have definitely grown already in the few weeks they’ve had to prepare for this,” she said.

In addition to showing their horsemanship skills, contestants are judged on their equine knowledge, speaking ability, and, as in all pageants, personal appearance.

But don’t get these young women wrong — modeling is not necessarily their forte.

“We are not pageant girls, we are horse girls,” said 20-year-old Michailia Massong before entering the ring.

Massong said she’d been riding since she was three, while each of her fellow contestants, Shyanne Schebler (19), Kaylee Wills (16), Ariel Hunt (17) and Johnna Drew (16) said they started riding at 7 or 8 years old.

Though they didn’t all know each other before the pageant — nor did they know how to model or what patterns they’d be running on what horse — each girl gushed about their love of horses, drawn together rather than apart in rodeo competition.

“It creates community,” Massong said.

It can also be “intense,” Wills said — especially when the competition includes riding a randomly selected horse unfamiliar with the patterns to be performed — but “a lot of fun,” Hunt said.

Plus, it’s pretty cool to be able to communicate with and control a 1,200-pound animal, Schebler said.

2016 Miss Rodeo Alaska winners

This years winners in the sweetheart, princess, teen and Miss Rodeo Alaska divisions were announced at the Valley Board of Realtors in Wasilla on Sunday night.

• Breanna Bucharest, age 11, Sweetheart Miss Rodeo Alaska

• Skyla Ketchel, age 14, Princess Miss Rodeo Alaska

• Johnna Drew, age 16, Teen Miss Rodeo Alaska

• Shyanne Schebler, age 19, Miss Rodeo Alaska

• Michailia Massong, age 20, Lady in Waiting (2017 Miss Rodeo Alaska)

Upcoming Rodeo Alaska events

Alaska’s rodeo season officially kicks off with Rodeo Alaska’s Memorial Day Weekend Rodeo at the Menard Sports Center in Wasilla, May 27-29, followed by the Colony Days rodeo in Palmer June 10-12. The Champions Tour Finals Rodeo event will be held in Palmer Aug. 27-28.

For more information, including the complete 2016 schedule of events, visit rodeoalaska.com or contact Frank Koloski at 907-748-7336 or rodeoalaska@gmail.com. To visit the national website, go to missrodeo.com.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.