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closeMonday, Nov. 23, 2009
Miss Rodeo Washington headed to national pageant
By Dalina Castellanos, Herald staff writer
KENNEWICK -- Nicole Ray isn't your run-of-the-mill pageant queen.
How many queens know how to do a barrel run? Or know how to treat an abscess on a horse's foot?
As Miss Rodeo Washington 2009, Ray does.
The 23-year-old rodeo queen from Kennewick dons a cowboy hat, not a tiara, models a leather dress, not a swimsuit, and probably knows more about equines than most other women wearing a satin sash.
In a couple of weeks, she'll be packing up a trailer and hauling it from Kennewick to Las Vegas to compete for the title of Miss Rodeo America 2010.
But the trailer won't be hauling her horse, Scotchy. It will be filled with clothes for the national pageant.
"The pageant is six days long and we wear about three outfits a day," she said. "You can imagine how many boots that is."
Ray has about 28 pairs of boots to pack, including backup pairs in different styles. Each outfit is color-coordinated, with painstaking amounts of detail taken to match every pair of Wrangler jeans or dress's hue.
The national competition isn't all about playing dress up, though. As a contestant for Miss Rodeo America, Ray has to have extensive knowledge about rodeo and horses, deliver a two-minute speech on Washington, conduct interviews and know about current events.
Because Scotchy stays behind, Ray has the tricky task of riding an unfamiliar horse during the horsemanship event and perform ride patterns, but she said she's ready.
Ray has borrowed plenty of horses all year during her cross-country travels representing rodeo in places including Cheyenne, Wyo., and San Antonio, Texas.
"It's been good practice and I get the chance to promote the sport of rodeo all over the country," she said. "It's been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Though Ray represents her title with enthusiasm and pride, becoming a rodeo queen was not high on her list of goals.
Growing up in Quincy, she showed horses in high school, then moved to the Tri-Cities five years ago. At the 2006 Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo, she decided to participate in the pageant and was chosen queen.
"I never thought much about it," she said. "But I went for it and I'm so thankful I did." It inspired her to run for Miss Rodeo Washington.
The experience has been more than just a wonderful opportunity for her, it's demonstrated the community's support for the sport.
When she was selected as Miss Rodeo Washington last August, Ray was a "Lady in Waiting" until she could take over the title in January.
The $1,000 scholarship the pageant awarded wasn't enough to cover the extensive amount of traveling she would have to do on its behalf, so a coronation fundraiser was organized in Pasco.
The Vegas-themed party brought community sponsors and donors to ultimately raise about $50,000 to help pay her expenses for traveling, hotels, gas, autographed prints and pageant clothes.
A Miss Rodeo Washington has never gone on to hold the national title, but if Ray breaks that streak, she will become the official spokeswoman for Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and travel more than 100,000 miles to rodeos across the country and teach the public about the sport and western culture.
She continues to work part time as a dental hygienist for Dr. Eric Powell in Richland, a career she'll continue full time if she doesn't win the crown.
"I'll probably do that and barrel race," she said. "I'll stay connected to the rodeo world one way or another."
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