Miss Rodeo Texas Blog

Hello from beautiful San Antonio~

I am very honored and excited to share my year with everyone.  I have to admit that I was a bit nervous before my first appearance as Miss Rodeo Texas, since Rosanna and those before me have done such an amazing job.  I couldn’t imagine a better place and people to start with than the Belton Rodeo Family so first off I must give a HUGE “THANK YOU” to Mr. Keith Smith and Ms. Stephanie O’Banion.  I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with their awesome team and staff!  They made sure that I was welcomed, taken care of and I felt right at home immediately!   They have a great group, run a top of the line rodeo and it was so much fun working with them!

I loved working with Mr. Keith Smith.

This was also the first time I have had the opportunity to work with the amazing Rodeo talents of Mr. Charlie Throckmorton, “Rocket” Ryan Litwin, the Cowgirl Chicks and Mr. & Mrs. Ray Lancaster and Chad Lancaster of Lancaster Pro Rodeo.  I have to tell you that they are all AWESOME!!!   I respect Mr. Throckmorton so much because not only is he a true professional but he is the real deal and isn’t afraid to speak about his Christian Faith during the opening prayer.  (I also love that the Belton crowd responded with an overwhelming Cheer which is another reason that I love Rodeo!)  He also does a great job of knowing his contestants and making it personal while keeping the rodeo flowing and the crowd entertained.  Speaking of entertaining….. Ryan Litwin was so much fun to watch and to work with.  For those that don’t know, he is married to Alyssa Plackemeier, Miss Rodeo Texas 2007 who was the first Miss Rodeo Texas that I got to personally meet back in 2007 when I started this journey so it was an honor to work with her.  Please keep her in your prayers as she had a mishap with a gate while running flags and her knee got the bad end of the deal.  She is a true Texas cowgirl and kept going – but I know she would appreciate the extra prayers just in case.  Other than that, I had a great time running flags with Alyssa and the Cowgirl chicks – who also give an outstanding show.  Sadie Lynn and Hattie do some amazing stunts on horseback and WOWed the Belton crowd night after night but I have to say that meeting them in person, getting to know Sadie’s story of being a cancer survivor and then getting to go to the Children’s hospital with them was one of the highlights of my weekend.

Visiting the Children’s hospital with the Cowgirl Chicks

The biggest highlight for me was when the Rodeo brought in the military personnel from Fort Hood.  As expected, Lancaster Pro Rodeo provided the Cowboys some great stock to Belton but they went a step further and allowed a few of the soldiers to get in the “hot seat” so they could “FEEL THE RODEO EXPERIENCE”.  We all know that our Rodeo Professionals make it look easy but it’s not, so it was awesome to watch these soldiers faces as they not only became new fans of our sport but as they truly developed an understanding and a respect for the courage and hard work that goes into the job of the cowboy as well as all that it takes behind the scenes to make a rodeo a success!  They are true hero’s so it was amazing to see them loving what we love.  Great job guys!!!  It was an honor to have been able to work with the staff, contractors and volunteers at Rodeo Belton.

I loved meeting some of the handsome rodeo fans like this cowboy

Since we were also celebrating the 4^th of July and our country’s independence, I want to mention that I am so thankful to all of our U.S. Service Men and Women who are serving and those veterans who have fought for our freedoms.  I would like to personally thank those from Ft Hood that I had the honor and pleasure of meeting.  It is because of soldiers like you and the sacrifices that you and your families make that we all get to do what we love.  This weekend’s rodeo was another reminder that we are so blessed to live in this country and I am truly humbled and full of gratitude for this opportunity.

Thank you to Belton Rodeo for kicking off my year with a “BANG” and thanks to each of you for being a part of this journey!  My next stop will be the Burwell Nebraska Rodeo and then on to the Daddy of ‘Em All….  Cheyenne!!!  It just keeps getting better and better!

See you on the Rodeo Trail,

Stephanie Revels

Miss Rodeo Texas 2013

I’ve heard it said that every journey begins with a single step.  My journey to the Miss Rodeo Texas title began over 7 years ago.  In 2007 I was showing and riding horses in 4H but had never won a buckle or a saddle, and I wanted to win one of my own more than anything.  So when my neighbor approached me and offered to help me compete for a local PRCA rodeo queen contest, I had no idea what was involved, but I jumped at it.  Well, not only did I win my first buckle and saddle at the 2007 Bridgeport Butterfield Stage Days Rodeo queen contest, but I got a glimpse into a whole new world and I was hooked!  Well… 7 years and 14 contests later, here I am; a little older, a little wiser and a whole lot more prepared as I am proud to represent this amazing sport that we all love as your 2013 Miss Rodeo Texas!

I must first say that I am truly humbled and honored to have this opportunity.  As I reflect on the pageant, I want to say how much I respect each of the girls that I had the honor to compete with this year.  They are all very accomplished, successful young women, who I have enjoyed getting to know over the last few years.  I knew how good they would be, which challenged me and made me work even harder this year as I prepared for the contest.  They all did amazing during the contest and I know that the judges had the toughest job in making their decisions.  I am a better person and competitor because of these girls, so my greatest respect and appreciation goes to them all!

As I now focus my attention forward to the year that lies ahead of me, I am so excited and thrilled that I can hardly stand it.  I am relocating to San Antonio this week and then the real fun (and work) begins!  I can’t wait to start supporting our Texas Summer Rodeos as well as our Texas Athletes in a few out of state rodeos like Cheyenne, WY next month.  I’m going to be sharing my travels and adventures with pictures throughout the year.

Texans are truly blessed.  There is so much going on across our great state.  There are so many things I would love to do this year and rodeos that I would love to attend that it’s almost impossible to choose.  I don’t want to miss a moment of what our state offers!  Rodeo’s like the North TX State Fair and Rodeo is one of my local favorites along with the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.  I would also love to support San Angelo, Rodeo Austin, Houston and of course the biggest indoor pro rodeo – the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo!  Is there enough time to see them all???  I sure hope so!  I hope that I will get to see YOU at some of these rodeos as well.

I’m so excited that my first stop will be the Belton 4th of July Celebration and Rodeo!  (Yes! Fireworks and Rodeo all in one night)  It’s going to be a “Blast”, so make plans to join me at the Bell County Expo for a great time.

Please check back often to see where the rodeo road has taken me and where I’m headed next.

I’ll see YOU at the rodeo!
Stephanie Revels
Miss Rodeo Texas 2013

Hello Miss Rodeo Texas Fans, The month of April was a busy one. It was full of exciting trips from school visits, to fashion shows, and to rodeos. I kicked the month off with the 35th Annual Coahoma Kindergarten Rodeo along with Quail Dobbs, Avery Greene, Miss Rodeo Texas Teen, and Alysia McCormick, Miss Rodeo Texas Princess. When told I was going to a Kindergarten Rodeo, I really didn’t know what to expect. However, I did know that if the legendary Quail Dobbs was involved, it was going to be BIG! After doing some research I found out that Quail created his own Physical Education Curriculum unit for this Kindergarten class. The students spent weeks learning about rodeo, and then got to pick the event that they would like to compete in during the Kindergarten Rodeo. Then the students got to create their very own stick horse and make their rodeo outfit. The students were too cute dressed up in their rodeo gear and the entire kindergarten class looked ready to rodeo! The school gym was transformed into a rodeo arena and the energy inside was electrifying. At the start of the rodeo Avery, Alysia, and I borrowed our stick horse mounts from a couple of gracious students to make our queen runs. After that, the rodeo was on and things got western! The students competed in barrel racing, bull riding, pole bending, and saddle bronc. We had so much fun singing rodeo songs and doing a little line dancing. I was amazed at what a great job the students did and could tell they had been really practicing. It was so nice to see the love of rodeo in these young students’ eyes and I was so honored to participate. During the second weekend in April, I was happy to attend the Annual Poteet Strawberry Festival. For years I have wanted to attend this festival. Upon my arrival I was informed that I would be the celebrity judge for the youth strawberry cooking contest. I love just about anything made using strawberries and being in the middle of all the contestant’s entries felt like heaven. From jams, to cookies, to breads, and pies they did an outstanding job. The judging was extremely difficult. I’m glad I didn’t have to put my cooking skills up against these talented youngsters. I really wished I could have picked more than just one winner. After the contest, I made my way to the arena for the rodeo. During the rodeo I made a queen run, visited with fans, and signed autographs. Following the rodeo the Poteet Strawberry Festival King and Queen court and I headed to the concert where we got to meet country music artist Neal McCoy during the meet and greet session. From April 17th to 21st, I attended the Corpus Christi PRCA Buc Days Rodeo. This rodeo is one of the top 5 biggest Pro Rodeos in Texas. With its large pay out, it draws in some of the top cowboys and cowgirls in the game. I had the privilege of doing several radio interviews promoting the rodeo with 8 time PRCA World Champion Bull Rider Don Gay during my first day in Corpus Christi. It felt surreal walking around the radio stations with such a legendary cowboy. I greatly enjoyed visiting with Mr. Gay in-between interviews and hearing his stories about his rodeoing days. Later that evening Chanae Shiner, Miss Rodeo America, arrived in Corpus Christi. Chanae and I had so much fun catching up on each other’s travels and were so excited to be back together for the week. The next few days were packed with autograph signing sessions, school visits, and television interviews promoting Buc Days. Each night at the rodeo we were formally introduced and helped to push cattle out of the arena. On Friday morning, 1,100 elementary students came out to watch the barrel racing slack and learned what rodeo is all about. I had a blast talking to the students and taking pictures with the classes. Saturday morning, Chanae and I, along with a few other rodeo personnel went to visit the Children’s Hospital. It was rewarding to be able to visit with the children and be able to brighten their day. This month I was also able to attend three fun fashion shows. I love clothes and am always excited to see and learn about new fashion trends. I kicked off the month with a fashion show in Leaky, Texas where I got to model stylish mohair jackets for Dolores Designs. Dolores is a gracious sponsor of Miss Rodeo Texas. I am honored to call this talented woman my friend and be able to model for her. On April 16th, Marjorie Murphy, Miss Rodeo Texas State Director, and I headed to Kerrville, Texas along with several members of the South Texas Cattlewomen for the Texas Hill Country Cattlewomen’s Fashion Show. I had a blast visiting with fellow Cattlewomen and walking the runway modeling one of my favorite dresses made by Patricia Wolf. On April 24th, Marjorie Murphy and I headed to the Omni Hotel in San Antonio for the Women’s Club Fashion Show. We had a fabulous time socializing with the women of San Antonio and viewing trendy summer fashions presented by Dillard’s. By living in San Antonio this year, I have learned about several of the fun traditions this city has to offer. One that is definitely now on the top of my favorites list is Fiesta. This year was my first year to experience Fiesta and all I can say is WOW! I began my Fiesta week at Knowlton Elementary where the second grade class had put together a lovely, colorful parade. The students had made bright costumes to wear and decorative mini parade floats. We had a fabulous time parading through the school singing Fiesta songs. The next day, April 25, I had the honor of riding with the Texas Heritage Riders and among their beautiful palomino horses in the Fiesta Battle of the Roses Parade. My all-time favorite parade horse, ‘Jazz’ and I, made our way through the streets of San Antonio. I was stunned by the number of people that came out to watch the parade. The streets literally had a sea of people on both sides cheering as we rode by. The following night was the Fiesta Flambeau Parade. This parade is the largest illuminated night parade in the United States. I was thrilled when the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo asked me to ride with them on their float. It was great to see my friends from the S.A.L.E. Public Relations Committee and get to catch up with them. They truly out did themselves with decorating the float. It looked amazing! Looking around at all of the parade participants, I was blown away by the beauty of the illuminated entries! I was glad to find out that the parade was broadcast live on the web so that my family and friends could also enjoy the spectacular parade. Everyone entered in the parade did such a great job with their decorations. After participating in Fiesta I can now see why everyone loves this time of year in San Antonio. Fiesta more than lived up to the hype and far surpassed my expectations! I would like to thank Coahoma Elementary, Quail Dobbs, Avery Greene, Alysia McCormick, Poteet Strawberry Festival Committee, Corpus Christi PRCA Buc Days Rodeo Committee, Don Gay, Chanae Shiner, Dolores Designs, South Texas Cattlewomen, Texas Hill County Cattlewomen, Marjorie Murphy, Knowlton Elementary, Texas Heritage Riders, and the San Antonio Public Relations Committee for playing a part in making my month of April a great success!