Pageant History — Miss Rodeo Arkansas Scholarship Organization

History of Miss Rodeo Arkansas

The first Miss Rodeo America Pageant was held in Casper, Wyoming in 1955. The concept was developed that year and organized under the name of International Rodeo Management (IRM). The first Miss Rodeo America headquarters was located in Springdale, Arkansas.

In 1956, George Ann (Smithers) Neighbors was crowned the first Miss Rodeo Arkansas. George Ann passed away in 2020.

Marian Benson became the 1957 Miss Rodeo Arkansas, Judy Gray won the crown in 1958 and Frankie Gault in 1959.

The ‘60s ushered in a new round of talented, exceptional women to the organization. In 1960, Susan Beede of Newport became Miss Rodeo Arkansas. Judy (Montgomery) Mize of Conway won the crown in 1961, when the pageant was held during the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock, and Judy was First Runner Up at Miss Rodeo America.

Katherine Sue (McDonald) Wilmans became the 1962 Miss Rodeo Arkansas. Linda (Blevins) Blackwell of Fort Smith was crowned in 1963, but had to step away from her role that same year. Martha Johnston stepped up and carried the 1963 Miss Rodeo Arkansas title for the remainder of the year. Sandra (Moore) Thorp followed as the 1964 titleholder.

Demaris Lindloff earned the 1965 crown. Following Demaris, Mary Ann (Searcy) May won the title of Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1966. Jane Parker of Little Rock captured the 1967 title.

Terry Sue (Mann) Satkowski became the 1968 Miss Rodeo Arkansas. Closing out the ‘60s was Billie Lee Sisco in 1969.

The ‘70s got off to a great start. Our 1970 Miss Rodeo Arkansas, Cheri (Whitlock) Edwards, was 1st runner up at Miss Rodeo America. Cheri crowned Gwen Dawson in 1971. Frances Devereaux captured the 1972 crown and crowned Chry (Novack) Carpenter in 1973.

Robin (Mann) Smith was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1974. Just 6 years earlier, Robin’s sister, Terrie Sue, wore the crown as Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1968–the first sister duo to wear the crown.

The Mann sisters were followed by Debbie (Garrett) Tregler in 1975. Kicking off the 20th anniversary of the Miss Rodeo Arkansas Pageant, Ginger (Howard) Graham was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1976. Theresa (Paschall) Allen earned the title in 1977, followed by Joy Styles in 1978 and Cynthia Ritchie in 1979.

In 1979, Springdale-resident Joe “Sandy” Boone became President and CEO of the International Rodeo Management group which operated the Miss Rodeo America pageant. Mr. Boone’s leadership strengthened the ties between the Miss Rodeo America organization, broader western industry standards and major national horse associations.

The 1980s were a time of change and early success for Miss Rodeo Arkansas. Karen Johnson wore the crown in 1980. After being crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1981, Libby (Hurley) Fogg became First Runner Up at Miss Rodeo America.

Cheryl Courtney captured the crown in 1982, Susan Wade in 1983, Angie (Rainwater) Argo in 1984, Tammy (Tucker) Peak in 1985, Kelly Phillips in 1986, and Karen Ozymy in 1987.

Gina (Sargent) Hampton became Miss Rodeo Arkansas in 1988, followed by Brooke Phillips in 1989.

Following the retirement of Lee Zachary, a Springdale resident and long-time Secretary/Treasurer of the Miss Rodeo America organization, in 1989 the Miss Rodeo America headquarters officially moved from its decades-long Arkansas home to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The 90’s began and Julie (Talkington) Halfmann was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1990, followed by Christine Thomas in 1991, Jill Rusk in 1992 and Kellie (Wynn) Cunningham in 1993.

1994 brought Kim (Lockard) Hollard, followed by Natalie (Gurisco) Fox in 1995, Monica (Eoff) Lieblong in 1996, Sandy Kay Davis in 1997, Carlie (Wilkins) Tapley in 1998, and Traci (Foot) Jones in 1999.

Welcome to the 2000’s! Stephanie (Davis) Houston was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2000, then Jami (Shilling) Hanson in 2001.

Miss Rodeo Arkansas’s second sister duo brought back-to-back crowns for the Nobles family of El Dorado, Arkansas when Elizabeth (Nobles) Long won in 2002 followed by her sister, Catherine (Nobles) Medlock in 2003.

Jackie (Woosley) Harris captured the 2004 crown, followed by Samantha (Bolding) Walker in 2005, Katie (Brock) Carter in 2006, Brittany (Sing) Bogan in 2007, Dilly Dodd in 2008, and Micki Musick in 2009.

A third sister-duo was made when Synda (Lockard) Hogan became Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2010. Synda’s sister, Kim (Lockard) Holland had been crowned 16 years earlier as Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1994.

In 2011, Shana (Carter) Morris earned the crown, followed by Jessica (Chitwood) Brown in 2012.

New family connections were made with Miss Rodeo Arkansas’s first mother-daughter duo when Kirbi (Allen) Carter became Miss Rodeo Arkansas in 2013. Kirbi is the daughter of Theresa (Paschall) Allen, Miss Rodeo Arkansas 1977. Kirbi went on to become Miss Rodeo USA in 2015.

Stephanie (Kaeppel) Kennemer was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2014, Kelsey (Parmenter) Smith in 2015 and Tori Miller in 2016. Tori won the Rising Star award at the Miss Rodeo America pageant and was featured in Vogue magazine for her custom western pageant wardrobe.

In 2017, the pageant was held at the Cowboy Crossroads Church in El Paso, Arkansas where Libby (Looney) Dedman was crowned.

Bayleigh (Warren) Bowman captured the crown in 2018, followed by Susan Rhodes in 2019.

In 2020, neither the Miss Rodeo Arkansas nor the Miss Rodeo America pageant were held due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2019, Susan Rhodes, continued to serve the organization when possible through 2020 and early 2021. Though we were not able to crown a 2020 queen, the whole Miss Rodeo Arkansas family cheered on Tori Miller, Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2016, as she competed on Season 19 of The Voice with Gwen Stefani as her coach in the fall of 2020.

In 2020 and 2021, because many public events continued to be on hold, the organization decided to use the time to reorganize its membership and Executive Board, including adding an Alumni Director volunteer position. The first Alumni Director was Synda (Lockard) Hogan, Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2010.

When Miss Rodeo America confirmed it would hold its pageant in December 2021, the Executive Board had to decide how to identify and select a candidate to serve and compete as Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2021 since the Arkansas pageant could not be held in person, Ciarra Luebke, of Booneville, Arkansas, stepped forward and competed in a pageant hosted by the Lincoln Riding Club. After obtaining qualifying scores in horsemanship, speech, interviews and modeling, Ciarra was crowned in August 2021 and competed just three and half months later at the Miss Rodeo America pageant in December 2021.

On November 7, 2021, the Miss Rodeo Arkansas pageant was back on track and Molly Musick was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2022 during the 65th Anniversary Pageant.

Abigail Benz was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2023. Abigail placed in the Top Ten at the Miss Rodeo America 2024 pageant ($2,000 educational scholarship), won the Chaps Award ($1,000 scholarship), placed First in the Traditional Scrapbook competition ($500 cash prize), won the cash prize drawing for the Masters of Beef Advocacy program, and received the $1,500 educational scholarship awarded to all Miss Rodeo America pageant participants.

In 2024, no individual served as Miss Rodeo Arkansas. The organization was grateful to Abigail Benz, Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2023, who appeared on behalf of the organization at several rodeos and events in 2024.

Morgan Perkins won the Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2025 crown. During her reign, Morgan traveled over 45,000 miles representing the Miss Rodeo Arkansas organization and serving as a PRCA state queen ambassador.

Small-business owner, Falyn Cordeiro, was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2026. With deep roots in her hometown of Gentry, Falyn’s platform, Bloom Where You Are Planted, struck just the right notes in the Arkansas rodeo community.