The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG-Fifteen-year-old Makenna Barron is a busy gal.

A sophomore at Waitsburg High School, she plays volleyball and basketball, is involved in speaking and livestock FFA projects and chapter leadership, serves as the Associated Student Body Secretary, and has been active in 4-H for nearly eight years. She loves theater and will play the part of Liesl in the upcoming production of "The Sound of Music" at the Liberty Theater this fall.

If she's not doing something mentioned above, you can find her on a horse, in the rodeo arena, or on a parade route. She plans on competing in goat tying and trap shooting events at the Washington State High School Rodeo Association this upcoming spring. Still, her true love is representing the sport as a rodeo queen.

She earned her first rodeo queen crown at just seven years old, winning a Sweetheart title at the 2013 Miss Rodeo Washington pageant. In 2016, she represented Washington rodeo as the Little Rodeo Queen, and in 2018, she was Waitsburg Celebration Days Queen Makenna.

"After my first title, it really just stuck with me. I fell in love with it," Barron said about being a rodeo queen. "It really makes your whole weekend, even though you have to get up at 3 in the morning, to see the smiles on little kids' faces, the giggles, and the pointing."

She had planned to compete in the Miss Teen Rodeo Washington pageant last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic postponed her plans. Finally, after nearly two years of perfecting speaking, modeling, and horsemanship skills, Barron travels to Ellensburg, Wash., next week to vie for the prestigious state title.

The pageant starts on October 7 and spans twelve events over three days. Horsemanship, media, personal and panel interviews, various riding tasks and patterns, speeches, a fashion show, and a written knowledge test are some of the events in the competition.

"I have been working with Katherine Merck from Rodeo Advantage at least once a week," Barron said. "She texts me a range of topics, from quotes to political views, gives me about ten minutes to put a speech together, and then she calls, and I give the speech."

Merck is a Spokane native and was crowned Miss Rodeo America in 2016. She founded Rodeo Advantage, a rodeo consulting company offering services and coaching for rodeo queens, committees, and contestants.

While she is looking forward to the entire pageant, Barron shared that she is very excited about the horsemanship portion of the competition after making leaps and bounds in the practice ring.

"I have made huge strides with my horse, Duke," she shared. "He started as a parade horse because we never really knew what he would do in a rodeo atmosphere. He absolutely knows ten times as much as I do- it's been a wild year and a half working with him and learning."

She has been taking riding and horsemanship lessons from Corrine Wood Stevens and Chelsey Smith, who are experienced in reining and equitation work. Competitors at the upcoming pageant will be required to complete a reining pattern, determined on the day of the competition.

"I am not one to 'ride pretty,' I kinda just got what I got done," Barron said with a laugh. "Rodeoing and reining are two very different worlds! They have been a huge help, and I owe them a huge thank you. I am going into horsemanship much more confidently now."

Barron has planned out every part of the upcoming pageant, right down to what she will wear and when she will wear it. With more than a dozen outfits required, Barron said that she and her mom, Tracy, have had to get creative about piecing together one-of-a-kind western elegance outfits, custom denim jeans, fashion-forward and riding outfits.

"A lot of local people have sponsored an ad in the program- that was a big part of the scholarship program," Barron said. "Our community really backed me up on that! I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of my sponsors."

Barron's local sponsors included Walla Walla Electric, Smith Brothers Lawncare, Blush Salon, Waitsburg Grocery, Inland Cellular, Main Street Marketplace, Seney Land & Livestock, The McGregor Company, Waitsburg Lions Club, Weinhard Hotel, and Kevin and Cindy Granger.

On top of ads, Barron had to collect silent and live auction donations, with items provided by Noble Panels, Patti Litchfield, Blush Salon, Waitsburg Grocery, Walla Walla Fair, and Frontier Days, Don Johnson Trailer Sales, and Bluewood.

If you are interested in attending the pageant, tickets may be purchased online at http://www.missrodeowashingtoninc.com.

"I really want to get out there and spread the message that rodeo queens can come from anywhere," Barron said. "A lot of people, in my experience, think that rodeo queens are a waste of time, or in the way. I want to get the message out that we are just as ranchy as the rest of the rodeo world."