Local Woman Represents Arkansas On National Rodeo Scene

Kelsey Parmenter started her new year with an early wake up call.

On that cold, Jan. 1 morning, she turned some horses out then saddled them in the barn in her job at Rush Springs Ranch in Pineville, Mo.

The end of her day was warmer. Wearing an Arkansas Razorback character stocking cap, drinking coffee at Starbucks, she spent the afternoon with her computer, organizing her upcoming year as Miss Rodeo Arkansas.

"Today is my first day. I became Miss Rodeo Arkansas a midnight," Parmenter said. "My duties start today. We took some pictures earlier today, and I was freezing."

Named the new rodeo queen last summer, a coronation event for Parmenter is planned for 6 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Rodeo Community Center in Springdale. Parmenter of Pea Ridge was announced as Miss Rodeo Arkansas shortly after her rein as Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks ended. She will compete for Miss Rodeo America in December in Las Vegas, as part of the National Finals Rodeo of the Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association.

"The biggest reason I want to be Miss Rodeo America is the love I have for the sport of rodeo -- especially the youth," Parmenter said. "Especially if they don't really come from an agriculture background, I can share my knowledge with them."

Parmenter doesn't come from a rodeo family, but she loved horses. "I checked all the horse books out of the library," she said. "I got my first horse when I was 13, but he was more of a companion. I didn't ride him."

A new marriage for her mom found Parmenter on a dairy farm when she was 16. "I would hang out with the workers just waiting for a chance to ride the horses, or just be around them. I probably annoyed them. I asked so many questions."

With busy work and class schedules Parmenter thought about leaving the contests behind. "But I really, really want to do this," she said. And the skills she uses for promoting rodeo and Arkansas parallel those of her career pursuits. She works toward a business marketing degree in agriculture at the University of Arkansas, but has taken a year off to devote time to her queen responsibilities.

Kelsey Parmenter doesn't make New Year's resolutions, she said, but she does set goals. Her 2015 goal is to ride 100 different horses during the year. She dreams of scoring in the top five of Miss Rodeo America's horsemanship contests. Similar to the rodeo cowboys, each queen contestant draws for the horses she will ride in the judging.

"She could bring a $30,000 reigning horse from a ranch in Oklahoma with her and look great, but she might not be the best rider," Parmenter said. "A rodeo queen is a cowgirl. She has to be ready to ride. I want to be able to polish myself throughout the year."

So Parmenter rides as much as she can -- and as required in her job as a farmhand, a groom, an equine manager. "I probably jump on eight to 12 horses a day," she said. "I spend six to eight hours in the saddle."

The weeklong competition includes two horsemanship judgings, a prepared speech, an interview, a media interview, public appearances, modeling a western outfit and impromptu questions, Parmenter related.

The Miss Rodeo Arkansas coronation, sponsored by the state organization and the Rodeo of the Ozarks, also serves as a fundraisier. Queens pay their own expenses as they travel throughout the year. Parmenter considered her $10,000 to $15,000 budget New Year's Day.

"That includes plane tickets, gas, hotel rooms, and they hold a Miss Rodeo America clinic and I want to go," she said. "Add to that the cost of clothes. You could easily spend $3,000 to $4,000 on clothes alone -- a pair of boots costs you $250, and a hat, $250 to $300."

But Parmenter promises she's frugal. She accepts hand-me-downs and plans to wear outfits more than once. "It's expensive, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"She's very determined," said Brian Adams, another member of the rodeo board and strong supporter of Parmenter. "She's taken it all very seriously. If she was my daughter, I would be very proud of her."

"Our job as rodeo queens is to promote the sport of rodeo and the western way of living," Parmenter said. "And I'm advertising and representing the state of Arkansas."

As Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks, Parmenter visited many local schools, libraries, civic clubs, senior centers and more, said Pat Hutter, a member of the Rodeo of the Ozarks board of directors, former rodeo queen and director of the Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks contest.

Parmenter wants to do more of the same as Miss Rodeo Arkansas.

"I am now booking my calendar for 2015, so if anyone has school functions, nonprofit fundraisers or other events they would like me to attend or speak at, I would be more than happy to attend."

LAURINDA JOENKS IS A FEATURES REPORTER AT THE MORNING NEWS AND HAS LIVED IN SPRINGDALE SINCE 1990.