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Stampede princess enjoys Edmonton

There is a challenging task we do as Stampede royalty.
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Stampede Queen Davana Mahon (left)

There is a challenging task we do as royalty.

You may think it is the time-consuming job of ironing our endless amounts of shirts, smiling — even if our day may have hit a rough patch or riding the occasional horse that is a lot to handle, but I am talking about the job that lies ahead of me now, trying to sum an entire 10 days into only a few short paragraphs.

As of just a few  short weeks ago we, the Williams Lake Stampede Royalty, embarked on our much-anticipated adventure, to be a witness of the CFR (Canadian Finals Rodeo) taking place 911 kilometres away in the city of Edmonton.

The entire weekend was filled with cheering, eating, laughing, crying, smiling, talking to and signing autographs for the excited rodeo fans.

We were spoiled in the fact of feeling welcome wherever we went, meeting so many interesting people and getting to know each other that much more.

I mean when you are sharing a king bed with the queen I would hope to know her pretty well!

As you can read, our trip was non-stop fun, and a very inspirational trip.

We got the chance to again visit with royalty we had met before in our previous trips and introduce ourselves to others we had not yet met.

A very happy day, many to be more precise, was when we got to listen and talk to the Miss Rodeo Canada contestants as they worked their hardest to earn the title as this year’s queen.

We spent time speaking with each of the girls, their family, friends and the retiring royalty Miss Rodeo Canada Kezia Morrison and Miss Rodeo Canada Princess Kirsten Braumandl.

Watching the MRC contestants as they progressed in the competition was a blast filled with horsemanship, written finals, fashion shows, public speaking and presentations.

They were all terrific girls; it was anyone’s game.

Meanwhile, in between competitions, shopping and sleeping, we indulged ourselves in the rodeo way of life, watching the cowboys and cowgirls showing their horsemanship skills throughout the four days of competitive ranch work.

We were much honoured to be representing a town which supports so many of the teams that took place in the arena.

I want to give a big congratulations to our local teams;  it was awesome to see so many familiar faces and horses.

But they weren’t the only familiar faces we saw; they may not be locals but they are the professional Canadian Finals Rodeo athletes, the cowboys, cowgirls and livestock.

We were so excited for the next four days filled with rodeo and entertainment, piles of tear sheets (autographs with our pictures) and outstanding company.

When the rodeo was in action, we were out of our seats cheering and whistling for the riders and ropers, especially when it was a local British Columbian.

We were all very pleased to see Willie Crosina and his bus tour. Nothing beats talking with the locals. We still had days of rodeo to lose ourselves in and on Friday, November 11 we took part in the Remembrance Day ceremony where we placed a wreath in appreciation to the soldiers who fought for our freedom.

Nearing the end of our trip, we got to witness the passing of the Miss Rodeo Canada’s crown to the new representative to the sport of rodeo, Arleta Bohe, as she made her victory lap around the arena.

The trip was, in other words, unforgettable; the drive was beautifully filled with rich colours, extravagant sights,  gorgeous wildlife and terrific company.

The trip I speak of would not have been possible without the help of the City of Williams Lake and all the support we have received from endless sponsors, friends and family.

Thank you for all of your hard work, time and devotion to the program.

Your Williams Lake 2011 Stampede Princess, Bobidaia Bracewell.