Miss Rodeo Australia entrants descend on Warwick for judging

Introducing the entrants: Kate Taylor will represent Cloncurry, Sophie Amos will represent Warwick, Isabelle Hare is the Deniliquin (NSW) representative, Emma Deicke will represent Bowen River (Qld) and Tamara Evans is the Millmerran Queen.

The judging will start on January 27 with a Canapes and Cowgirls Night at the Australian Rodeo Heritage Centre. Each of the five queens will introduce themselves on the night and speak about their chosen charity.

The horsemanship judging is on the Saturday, January 28, at the Warwick Showgrounds at 9.30am-10am. Later in the day, the presentation and crowning of Miss Rodeo Australia will take place at the Australian Rodeo Heritage Centre from 6pm. The winner will receive $20,000 in travel and prizes.

The successful entrant will receive the crown handed down from the 2016 Miss Rodeo Australia, Katy Scott (from Cloncurry). Ms Scott said it would be sad to see the end of her Miss Rodeo Australia journey but hoped the successful entrant would have as much fun as she did.

Once all formalities are complete and the Australian Professional Rodeo circuit starts, the 2017 Miss Rodeo Australia will travel to all the professional rodeos in Australia. 

The winner will be required to conduct grand entries at rodeos, represent Australia at the rodeo finals in America and Canada, talk to schools, visit hospitals and talk to people about the rodeos in their area.

Meet the MRA entrants

2017 entrant, Kate Taylor, hopes to be the second consecutive Cloncurry queen to win the Miss Rodeo Australia title.

“Being Curry Merry Muster Rodeo Queen had been so much fun I wanted to pursue it further. I have enjoyed competing in barrel racing and talking to locals about rodeo,” Ms Taylor said.

“To win MRA would mean everything to me, I have worked so hard for it, it would be great to see my hard work pay off as I have been balancing study with my everyday routine.

“I have been brushing up on rodeo rules and regulations, past winners, rodeo knowledge, horsemanship and Australian history. All while I have hosted fundraisers for my chosen charity Royal Flying Doctor Service.

“I entered this competition mainly to raise money for the RFDS. I have lots of personal reasons for choosing them as my charity. If it wasn’t for the service, several friends of mine would not be here today.”

Warwick entrant, Sophie Amos, 21, is representing the most famous rodeo in Australia and her chosen charity beyondblue.

“I chose this charity because I find anxiety and depression is a very big thing, with one in five Australians being diagnosed with a mental illness and 2500 people dying from suicide each year,” Ms Amos said.

“It also touches close to home with a few of my family members committing suicide from a mental illness, so I think we need to be addressing this issue and not turning a blind eye to it.

“I have been working towards Miss Rodeo Australia for a while as I want to be a good ambassador for rodeo, being the sport that I love. Rodeo is something I am very passionate about as I have competed in roping and barrel racing for many years.”

Tamara Evans, 22, will represent Millmerran and her chosen charity the Leukemia Foundation.

“I chose this charity after a dear friend’s little boy was diagnosed. The foundation did a wonderful job of helping them out and offering support. I wanted to give back to a charity that had supported people in my life,” Ms Evans said.

“I have been attracted to rodeos since I was little and the first thing I was drawn to was Miss Rodeo Australia conducting her grand entry. It was something I always wanted to do and after crowned Millmerran Rodeo Queen my dream started to become a reality.

“I have been representing my local rodeo in barrel racing, steer decorating, steer riding and roping, while visiting APRA rodeos and talking about rodeo to locals.”

Emma Deicke, 22, will represent Bowen River and her chosen charity Burrumbuttock Hay Runners.

“Miss Rodeo Australia will give me the opportunity to do things I wouldn’t usually do, like attend a rodeo in the Northern Territory or to represent Australia in America and Canada. All while promoting the great work of APRA and my chosen charity,” Ms Deicke said.

“Hay runners is something very close to my heart. I live on a 25,000 acre cattle property and we went through a very bad drought in 2015 to the point where my mother and I were taking seven big round bales out in the morning and another eight in the afternoon.

“The hay runners really make a difference for farmers who are struggling. I wanted to help raise the profile of this charity because one day it could be my family who is in need of this service.”

Isabelle Hare, 20, will represent Deniliquin and her chosen charity Aussie Helpers.

“I chose this charity because I was working at a dairy for one of my friends and they had to shut down due to everything happening with Murray Goulburn, and Aussie Helpers just went out of their way to assist with feed for their cows, fuel, vouchers to keep them going until they knew what that could do next,” Ms Hare said.

“This competition will help raise the profile for my charity and APRA rodeos. I have always loved rodeo so I thought, why not enter in something that I can travel with and gain life experience through.

“I love the atmosphere of rodeo and seeing the courage that the riders take to compete in this amazing sport.”