MISS RODEO LENOX

Hello everyone!

The second weekend in September was the Miss Rodeo Iowa pageant at the Tri-State Rodeo in Fort Madison, Iowa.  The journey through Iowa started Thursday night when I came home from college to pack and get ready for the weekend.  The trip from Des Moines to Bedford went fast, but the long road was ahead of me the next day.  Friday afternoon my mother and I made the eight county long trip that required a couple of breaks.  Along the way, I received many calls from the pageant coordinators and helpers to get everything figured out.  After a few missed turns and wandering around Fort Madison for awhile, the rodeo grounds were finally located.

After arriving I was hurried to get on my horse (that I had borrowed from Charity Howk, Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa 2011) to get ready, and settle into what I was told would be a, no-question-about-it, crazy grand entry.  After meeting up with the candidates and queens, we waited for our names to be called for the queen's wave.  The grand entry was a very interesting experience that brought me to a hault, literally!  The horse I was riding decided he was going to "test" the water and see what I would do if he came to a complete stop before we got in the arena.  My first wave as visiting royalty felt great and it was nice to see such a huge crowd of fans.  Shortly after the grand entry the rain decided to move in, but it did not stop the rodeo, the fans, or the queens.  Later on that night, Luke Bryan was the entertainment.  I have to say that I was super excited to actually go to my first real concert.

Bright and early Saturday morning, rollers in my hair and the makeup was being applied.  This was in preparation for the rodeo parade.  I soon learned that constant smiling is tiring, and when Miss Rodeo Iowa said that it never seemed to end, she was correct.  Blocks upon blocks of smiling children made the constant smiling bearable.  After the parade finally ended, the next activity was to go to the pageant and coronation of Miss Rodeo Iowa and Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa 2012.  Visiting this part of the pageant really made me realize that the pageant is a very special thing that gives so many opportunites for those who do it.  Women are queens for a lifetime, sticking around to help and give back to the organization.

The rodeo started again with the grand entry and the queen's wave.  After this, I went to go walk around the crowd and enjoy the rodeo.  My mother and I sat in teh bleachers enjoying the food (corndogs and cotton candy).  While sitting there, a little girl tapped on my shoulder and asked to get a picture with me.  She very shyly said her name, but the excitment was all over her face.  At that point, I realized that I was paying a visit, not because it was a requirement but because I was representing Lenox and the rodeo queen community.  We are giving back to the communities and being a part of something bigger, something that has deep roots in rodeo and was built by strong women.

Until Next Time!

Alexandria Eischeid
Miss Rodeo Lenox 2011