Travelling around the province over the past summer as the community’s ambassador has been a rewarding experience for Miss Rodeo Sundre 2019.
“It’s been really good,” said Mackenzie Skeels, who was crowned during the 40th annual Sundre Pro Rodeo in June. Since then, she's spent plenty of time on the road, save for a brief Hawaii holiday she recently got home from.
“Sundre’s an awesome title to have and a wonderful place to represent.”
Included among the many events she has been to over the past few months are rodeos and parades in Calgary, Ponoka, Medicine Hat, Strathmore, as well as Edmonton’s First Responders Rodeo.
Everywhere she goes, she said people are typically familiar with Sundre and the local rodeo. Not only is the Sundre Rodeo and Race Association, as an organization, well respected, but so is the entire community, she said, adding the town’s reputation generally seems to precede itself.
“People take the time to come up and talk to me,” said Skeels, adding she often hears people enthusiastically sharing their stories about their connections to Sundre.
“It’s been really rewarding,” she said about donning the Miss Rodeo Sundre title.
“The Sundre community’s really supportive of me going around and being a spokesperson, not only for the rodeo and association, but also the town and community as well.”
Among her most memorable highlights of the summer was participating in the Calgary Stampede Parade, an event so huge it’s almost separate from the Stampede itself, she said.
While she enjoys chatting with other members of Alberta’s rodeo family, Skeels added she also cherishes every opportunity to converse with people who aren’t as familiar with the western way of life and hopefully give them some insight.
Some of her upcoming plans include attending the Olds Oktoberfest as well as the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Red Deer, which start at the end of October. Throughout the winter’s rodeo lull, she also anticipates scheduling some visits to hospitals and schools.
Additionally, Skeels looks forward to supporting and cheering on former Miss Rodeo Sundre 2017 Alisa Brace, who is pursuing a bid for the most prestigious royalty title in the country, Miss Rodeo Canada.
“I wish her the best of luck,” said Skeels.
“She’ll do an amazing job representing the town of Sundre. She’s a hometown girl, so she really knows the community,” she said, adding Brace embodies “great core values…I know she’ll do really well throughout the competition.”
