It became quickly apparent when the North Queensland Register spoke with Cloncurry’s Bessie Smits that she has very clear ideas of what she’d like to accomplish should she prove victorious in the 2016-17 Australian Rodeo Queen Quest.
The Work for the Dole coordinator at MAX Employment and avid rodeo enthusiast hopes to promote participation in the sport for women and demonstrate that you don’t have to be a gun rider to participate in rodeo.
“I’ve been involved in rodeo since I was a little girl, our local pony club volunteers at the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo doing the chutes for the roping stock and unsaddling broncs and taking the bull rope off bulls as well as sponsorship flag bearing,” Bessie said.
“I’d say that is when I first developed my love for the sport,” she said.
“I love the atmosphere that rodeo creates, it’s a real family oriented spectator-friendly sport, and the rodeo community is great; it’s like one big family who share a particular love for horses and cattle.”
She said it has only been in the last year that she’s started competing in local jackpot barrel racing and roping events.
“I’ll be competing in my first full-on event at Mount Isa this weekend where I’ve nominated for the barrel race.”
The event will also mark Bessie’s major debut and as an entrant in the Rodeo Queen Quest.
The Australian Rodeo Queen Quest (formerly known as the National Rodeo Queen Quest of Australia) was founded in 1992 and adopted by the National Rodeo Council of Australia (NRCA) after recognising there was a need to promote and encourage young women into the heritage sport of rodeo.
Bessie said entering the competition was a spontaneous decision spurred on by her good friend and 2015 Australian Rodeo Queen runner up and Miss Horsemanship Australia winner Tency Tyler from Mt Isa.
“She’s been really helpful in preparing me for what is required in the lead-up to and during the judging.”
“I’ll be going to the Queen Camp which is held at the Wangarah Lodge outside of Tenterfield in the lead-up to the judging which commences in September to learn more about horsemanship; interview skills; deportment/grooming/makeup/posing and basically learning how to be a rodeo queen.”
Bessie said she’ll also be going to as many rodeos as possible to demonstrate that she has the right stuff to be named queen.
“If I win the Quest, I’ll be promoting more participation in the sport across all skill levels.
“I ride my big dopey thoroughbred Charlie and have fun, I don’t care so much about how I score and where I place.
“If I can hop on and have a crack so can any other novice rodeo rider.”
She said she’d also love the opportunity to spread awareness of rodeo at schools to promote sustainability of the sport, and she also wants to get a rodeo school going in Cloncurry.
She also hopes to promote safety in rodeo, which she said has improved dramatically over the last 20 to 30 years but still has a ways to go.
“I respect riders wearing a hat as its part of the heritage of the sport, but realistically when you can prevent injury or fatality you should.
“Just recently a team roper suffered a traumatic brain injury because his horse fell, so it happens to the best of them! And it only takes your horse to fall or spook and a freak accident occurs.
“I really respect U.S rider Fallon Taylor; she’s the only women rider in the Las Vegas National Finals Rodeo competition who wears a helmet.”
Bessie said she’d also like to see more rural girls entering in the Quest in the future.
“A lot of girls in rural areas seem to thinks it’s harder to compete in the quest, but being from a smaller community everyone bands together to help.”
Part of the Quest involves entrants reaching a minimum goal of $5000 in fundraising activities which Bessie is hoping to get a good start on when she hosts a fundraiser auction at the Post Office Hotel in Cloncurry on Friday, January 15 from 7pm. A $5000 raffle will also be being drawn on July 31 at a cost of $10 per ticket
If you’d like to sponsor an auction item or purchase a raffle ticket please call Bessie Smits on 0400 290 519, send an email to bessiesmits@gmail.com or message the Bessie Smits Australian Rodeo Queen Entrant page.
