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Competition strong for rodeo queen title

Rimbey rodeo queen judges will have their work cut out for them this year and it will certainly be no easy task to select a winner

Rimbey rodeo queen judges will have their work cut out for them this year and it will certainly be no easy task to select a winner among the four lovely young contestants vying for the title.

Emily Henshel, a 17-year-old horse lover who lives at Pigeon Lake, said being rodeo queen would be a new and exciting experience for her.

She said her uncle, the late Dallas Dorchester, a well known name in the rodeo circuit, was a great inspiration to her and encouraged her love of horses and her desire to be involved in rodeo.

“I think it (being rodeo queen) would be a great opportunity to have fun and meet new people,” she said.

Henshel also is looking forward to the opportunity of working with her buckskin Quarterhorse, Caughten, during rodeo events.

Henschel belongs to the 4-H Rebel Riders in Ponoka and owns her own herd of purebred black Angus cattle. Her sponsor is Nikirk Brothers.

Nineteen-year-old Shelby Buschnell from Wetaskiwin is a horse buyer who helps break animals before they are sold.

She has been riding her horse, a thoroughbred gelding named Mackie, since she was 12.

Bushnell has been involved in 4-H and has a particular love for horses.

“I love them all, though Mackie is definitely my favorite,” she said. Her sponsor is Allen B. Olsen.

Bushnell plans to travel to British Columbia where she will study equine massage therapy. She then plans to return to Alberta and open her own business.

“It is very helpful for the horses and I enjoy doing it,” she said.

Sixteen-year-old Sydney Lawson from Lacombe attends Notre Dame Boarding School in Wilcox, Sask.

She is home for the summer and is looking forward to spending more time with her Tobiano Paint mare, Jewell.

In the future, Lawson plans to follow in her dad’s footsteps and become a veterinarian. “I especially love working with small animals.”

Being a rodeo queen has always been Lawson’s dream and she is enjoying the opportunity to pursue that dream. Her sponsor is Best Western Rimstone Ridge Hotel in Rimbey.

Caitlyn Malyk, a 16-year-old Lacombe Composite High School student, lives on a horse farm, On the Rail Stables, near Clive.

“I’ve always been with horses,’ she said. “And I love them, they are the best animal in the world. I would not want to not have a horse,” she said.

Malyk beongs to the West Central Rebel Riders 4-H Club and plays ringette and basketball.

Being a rodeo queen would be a new experience, she said.

“It’s something I’ve never been involved in before, and it would be a chance to get to know some new people. It would be great.” Her sponsor is Action Auto Body.

Rimbey Rodeo is July 13 to 15.