Sports
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Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
PHOTOS BY MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Left to right, St. Paul Rodeo Princess Morgan Spear, Queen Melanie Atchison and Princess Britney Norby sit on their horses Dally, Shady and Huckleberry as they wait for more television
interviews to begin on Friday, June 30. Norby credits her duties as a princess on the court with giving her more confidence in public speaking.
More than just pretty girls
Rodeo queens spread plenty of goodwill at festivals, parades and rodeos
BILL POEHLER
STATESMAN JOURNAL
At 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning in
early June, three young women woke for
an epic day.
Melanie Atchison, Morgan Spear and
Britney Norby spent an hour applying
makeup and getting their matching out-
fits looking perfect because thousands
of eyes would be trained on them.
The three traveled to Portland with
their horses to ride in the Portland Rose
Festival’s Grand Floral Parade – smiles
ever present and not a curl of hair out of
place – then drove three hours to Sisters
to ride in that night’s Grand Entrance of
the Sisters Rodeo.
They were announced over and over
as the Royal Court of the St. Paul Rodeo.
“I had a little kid come up to me and
say, ‘She’s the queen of ponies,’” said
Atchison, better known as St. Paul’s
queen of its Royal Court. “I’m like, ‘Oh
my gosh, I guess I am.’”
There’s more to rodeo royalty than be-
ing a pretty girl who smiles so much it
hurts, but that can be an occupational
hazard.
Since March the Royal Court of the St.
Paul Rodeo have been making appear-
ances nearly every weekend, going to
agricultural festivals, parades and rode-
os.
The week prior to their rodeo they
made appearances nearly every day – ra-
dio interviews, speaking at Kiwanis
Clubs and appearing in person almost
daily.
They’ll continue to make appearances
after the rodeo ends July 4.
And they don’t get paid for their time.
“It is just about a full-time job,” said
Cindy Schonholtz, general manager of
the St. Paul Rodeo. “They have to really
love the sport of rodeo and really love the
rodeo they’re representing.”
The roles that Atchison, Spear and
Norby fill for the St. Paul Rodeo are the
same that women have been filling for
more than 75 years.
Royal courts may vary by rodeo, but
they are all the face of the event they
represent.
For some, being a member of a rodeo
court is more than a commitment. It’s a
legacy.
“I think that being queen all those
years ago means more to me now than it
did then,” said Shirley Ernst, St. Paul’s
queen in 1944. “I am so proud of that.
“Even if we didn’t do near as much as
they’re doing now, we did what we could,
and we had a good time doing it.”
Some rodeos have no court, some
have one, three or even five members.
Some are called ambassadors instead of
royalty and all have varying require-
ments determined by tradition.
At St. Paul, women must be between
the ages of 17 and 23 at the time of the
rodeo, unmarried and pay all expenses
for their horses, among other require-
ments.
St. Paul holds a one-day tryout each
fall when the court is chosen.
Those selected make a huge commit-
ment.
“The contestants that are involved in
the rodeo are not always on hand, they’re
travelling,” said 1991 St. Paul queen Ka-
ren Tuck. “But it is unique because we
want the image of these girls to repre-
sent the St. Paul Rodeo.”
At St. Paul, equestrian abilities are
highly valued for the royal court.
These women have to be able to ride
horses through all types of conditions: a
trot down an asphalt road in hot sun-
shine, at full gallop through a dirt arena
under spotlights as well as being able to
keep their horses perfectly still and qui-
et for the national anthem.
And they have to maintain an image
while doing it.
“The first parade, we had to smile
through the whole thing,” said Atchison,
a Cascade High School graduate. “My
lips were literally trembling. I would
have to stop and act like I was talking to
my horse to get them to stop and smile
again.”
Possibly the most important skill for
the rodeo court, and the one that they
practice constantly, is public speaking.
Norby tells a story about when she
was a child and her aunt gave her the belt
buckle she earned from being a princess
at the Washington County Rodeo.
Norby made a bet that she would win
her own rodeo belt buckle one day and
pass it on.
She admits that a year ago she would
never have been able to tell that story.
“I probably would not even be able to
talk to you,” said Norby, a princess. “I
probably wouldn’t be able to come up to
you and shake your hand.”
If the royal court members chose,
they can continue a path where they
compete in the Miss Rodeo Oregon pag-
eant and then continue on to the Miss Ro-
deo America pageant, which gives schol-
arships to the winner.
That takes a huge commitment that
not everyone can make.
“It’s just one of those things where
I’m going back and forth,” Atchison said.
“Do I want to do that or do I want to con-
tinue on with college and a career? I go
back and forth all the time.”
Everything is glitter and sequins for
the women who can also be spotted paint-
ing walls or hanging up signs.
Each rodeo court member finds their
own reason for taking on the commit-
ment, but the universal reason is that
they want to be someone people look up
to.
“It’s pretty much filling that dream of
being a role model,” said Spear.
“Running into an arena as they do
grand entry as they announce St. Paul, as
a representative of St. Paul, it’s eye open-
ing.”
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or
Twitter.com/bpoehler
St. Paul Rodeo Queen Melanie Atchison waves to the crowd during the Grand Entry parade for
the rodeo’s first night on Friday, June 30.
St. Paul Rodeo Princess Morgan Spear warms up her horse Dally in the arena.
St. Paul Rodeo Queen Melanie Atchison jumps on a bag of shavings as she cleans her horse
Shady’s stable.