The Beginning of a Journey

I can hardly believe two months as Miss Rodeo USA has already come and gone. Lucky for me I got an extra day this year because of leap day! I will consider that a win. With 60+ days under my belt, here is where I have been so far!
 
I started out quickly with a photo shoot the day after coronation! Sherry with Sherry Smith Photography and I had an absolute blast regardless of the chilly weather. She is very talented and captured some amazing shots of me at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After that I returned to Kansas and had many different interviews during the week following coronation. One of my personal favorites was an interview with Lindsay King for Rodeo News. We knew each other prior to this interview, which made it even more fun to chat with her.
 
At the end of January, I was honored to be picked as a famous Kansan by Sarah, a 4th grader at Centre Elementary School. She presented in front of her whole class about my accomplishments and even dressed up as a rodeo queen to do so. I was so impressed with her presentation for Kansas Day!
 
On my birthday in mid-February I traveled to Plainville, Kansas to visit the middle school and high school. I spoke with the students about setting goals and working hard to reach them. Some of the middle school students had the most fun trying on my fur coat and wearing my chaps. I truly love sharing my experiences that led me to where I am now in hopes to inspire others to try something big in their lives. My hostess for this event, Liz Stamper, made my birthday special with a personalized “USA” ice cream.
 
Once you become a wildcat, you will always be a wildcat. After an exciting birthday, I went back to my Alma Mater to attend the Miss Rodeo K-State pageant, Kansas State University rodeo, and alumni event. This was definitely a highlight of my year so far. I so enjoyed my time getting to see friends and my KSU family that I have grown to know over the years. This is one rodeo that never disappoints. The crowd, energy, and traditions make the atmosphere so astounding!
 
The following week, the local 4-H clubs in Council Grove had a project day to introduce kids to new events to try. I was honored to be a part of the buymanship presentation. My groups got to pair outfits together using my rodeo queen clothes and accessories. This was to help them work on creating an entire look from head to toe. We also had a good time learning and practicing our modeling skills.
 
After that, back down I-35 to Oklahoma City I went to attend the Royal Review Rodeo Queen Jackpot as an emcee with one of my good friends Jordan Tierney, Miss Rodeo America. The Royal Review has been a crucial part of my rodeo queen preparation and practice throughout the last three years. I loved how the clinic was set up for us to learn for a few days, and then get to put our skills into practice by competing against other ladies our age from across the country. I met so many amazing friends through this event and was so excited to be asked back to help with the clinic this year.
 
Kicking off March I pulled out Short Go Children’s Books and Rusty’s Remuda to share with the Rossville Elementary K-6 graders. These two are very different stories, but both very good to help teach about rodeo and the western way of life. In the future, I hope to be able to write and illustrate stories like these to give kids even more of a selection of western and rodeo themed books to read, and so rodeo queens have more stories to help teach young kids about our sport.
 
Being involved in FCCLA and FACS classes in high school lead me to speaking at the United Associations Conference in Wichita, Kansas about my experience through fashion design in the western industry. I spoke to teachers and extension agents about my experience in hopes that they could inspire young minds to pursue a design degree. Jim Richardson, a National Geographic photographer was the keynote speaker. He showed a number of photos from the places he had been and really captivated the audience. I was truly inspired by his presentation about what it was like to capture a story and not just a photo. I feel like I tend to be the one trying to inspire others, yet that day I myself found a little magic in the words of Jim.
 
Spending some more time in Kansas, I attended Equifest put on by the Kansas Horse Council. I had a multitude of jobs throughout the weekend. My favorite part of course was carrying the American flag during the ranch rodeo each evening. I got to meet amazing folks like Adrian “Buckaroogirl” Brannon, spend some time with my favorite hatters at Hatman Jack’s Booth. I also met an inspiring new friend Jill, who started a business, Baby Blue Roo, after her daughter. I’m truly lucky to get to meet some remarkable people during my travels.
 
This last Saturday was my official meet and greet for my year as Miss Rodeo USA. The beautiful Sand Springs Venue in Abilene, Kansas was the perfect place for my friends, family, and fans to gather together. I got to speak about what my year as would entail, different places I will be going, and of course for everyone to mingle over a good piece of cake. Laughter was shared as the crowd asked me different questions after I spoke. Even my uncle threw in some trivia questions! All in all it was very enjoyable to have all of my favorite people together.
 
Miss Rodeo USA 2020
Brooke Wallace
​
Brooke’s Bloopers: When picking up a silent auction item from Lazy KT Designs near Abilene, (go check out her awesome items) I was taking back roads into town. It had just rained and I came over the top of a hill and hit some unexpected mud. After slipping and sliding I came to a stop and was stuck. I used some critical thinking skills as any farm girl would so she wouldn’t have to call her dad and was able to get unstuck. I then got re-stuck trying to get out then unstuck again and realized I needed a new plan. I found a grass path to the next drive way and was able to get right on my way with only the evidence of mud on my car to tattle on me.
Queens Corner: Pageant applications can be daunting trying to get every single detail right. This can be a lot of pressure being your very first impression on all your judges. First and foremost, meet your deadline. However,  in the process give yourself plenty of time to make the edits your application deserves. My best tip is to fill it out and then wait a week or so and go back and read through it again. This way you will find a lot of those edits on your own and make sure it is truly what you want to get across to your judges. Be concise, to the point and leave out generic words. Once you are happy with your application, send it on to a few others to double check for errors.
Statistically Speaking:

• Miles Traveled: 2,000
• States Visited: 2
• Rodeos Attended: 3
• Number of Performances: 10
• Horses Ridden: 8
• Other Appearances: 10