CARSTAIRS - A pair of students from local schools have been chosen as Pete Knight Days Rodeo royalty in Crossfield.
Ellen Van Noordenburg of Didsbury was crowned Rodeo Queen, while Ashley Gillespie of Carstairs was named Rodeo Princess.
Van Noordenburg, who lives just east of Didsbury and attends Didsbury High School, was thrilled when she heard her name called for Rodeo Queen.
"It was a great experience," said Van Noordenburg. "It was super busy. The weather didn't help. It was very wet. The grounds were a mess but it was fun."
Noordenburg competed in the Pete Knight Days royalty competition last year but wasn't selected.
"I think that's what made me want to come back even more this year," she said. "It was such a good learning experience."
Gillespie, who attends Hugh Sutherland School in Carstairs, was excited as well to hear she was named princess. She enjoyed the whole experience.
"At first I was a little surprised," she said. "I knew I did well but I didn't want to get my hopes up. (When I found out) I was super excited. I was over the moon."
The pageant contestants had riding practice every Friday night for about two months leading up to the rodeo.
"There were secret judges there who judged you on your personality, how you were with your horse, your appearance, and all that type of stuff," said Gillespie.
During the lead-up to the rodeo weekend, the pageant contestants were kept very busy.
"We worked on our flags, our waves, and we did some cow work as well," said Van Noordenburg. "It was really a great bonding experience with the girls."
"We had to do an interview, we had to do a horsemanship test, which is basically where they test your riding," said Gillespie. "Then we had to do a speech and a rodeo test on Pete Knight Rodeo and parts of the horse. It all went fairly well."
At the rodeo itself, the girls had to put all their hard work on display. Friday night the contestants did their grand entry into the arena while the current queen and princess did laps around the stadium.
"We all went in to the arena and watched how they did it," said Van Noordenburg. "At intermission we were brought back into the arena and did our biography read-through so the crowd could get to know us."
After a farewell lap by the outgoing queen and princess, Van Noordenburg and Gillespie were named queen and princess, respectively.
"It was a lot of emotions," said Van Noordenburg. "It was quite exciting. But for the other girls it was tough. The coordinator said they wished they could take everyone."
Noordenburg said she was surprised as well as excited when she heard her name called.
"I was, honestly, a little surprised," she said. "I thought this is just going to be a great year and I'm going to make the most of it. I'm really looking forward to it."
For Gillespie, the event was, in fact, her first rodeo competition.
"I've done Calgary pageants with Patty Faulkner agency," said Gillespie. "I've won Little Miss Calgary 2012 and Junior Miss Calgary 2015."
Gillespie grew up on a farm so she was no stranger to horses.
As princess, Gillespie received a sash and crown and a number of prizes. Her work is not done yet though; the queen and princess will have to attend a number of events through the summer.
"On the weekend I went to the breakfast, I went to the rodeo, I went to the grand entry," she said. "I chased out all the roping calves and steers. I also did the parade. For the rest of the year I'll go to a bunch of rodeos and a bunch of parades. In the summer I'll get to go to Washington State to the Omak Rodeo."
Noordenburg also enjoyed the parade, chase-outs and grand entry on Saturday. She and Gillespie look to be very busy the rest of the summer.
"We had the Sundre Rodeo this weekend," said Noordenburg. "I think we plan on attending most of the pro rodeo circuit and some of the amateur ones this year. For the most part, most have parades and pancake breakfasts, which we take part in.
"At some of them we get to take part in grand entries as well. They're lots of fun. We get all dressed up for them."
She hopes in the future to compete for titles in bigger rodeo events.
