Since its conception in 1955, Miss Rodeo America, Inc. has provided young women with the opportunity of a lifetime: represent the United States of America as the official spokesperson of professional rodeo. As an ambassador for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA,) rodeo educator for the community, and purveyor of the western way of life, Miss Rodeo America is given the unique opportunity to travel some 100,000 miles across our beautiful country as she attends up to 100 rodeo performances and makes various community appearances throughout the year.
An opportunity such as this one to be cherished and celebrated and it is no wonder that many young women have dreamed of becoming Miss Rodeo America since childhood. However, achieving such a title does not come without hard work and extreme dedication. Each year the Miss Rodeo America Pageant is held in conjunction with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada. State queens from across the country flock to Vegas for a weeklong competition. These empowered, driven young women compete in a variety of areas such as horsemanship, public speaking, personal interview, rodeo, and equine knowledge, current event awareness, and modeling. The Miss Rodeo America Pageant allows the girls to showcase their unique personalities and know-how as the judges work hard to determine who will be the next representative of professional rodeo.
This year’s competition was nothing short of exciting as 28 state queens from across the country gave it their all for the competition. Wranglin’ in the coveted title of Miss Rodeo America 2019, is Mississippi’s very own pride-and-joy, Miss Taylor McNair.
As the third Miss Rodeo Mississippi to wear the Miss Rodeo America crown, Taylor is making the Magnolia State proud. At 23 years old Taylor has accomplished a great deal. Not only did she represent her home state as the 2018 Miss Rodeo Mississippi, but she also earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business with a concentration on Policy and Law from Mississippi State University. With success in the rodeo arena and in the classroom, Taylor plans to honor her agricultural upbringing by pursuing a Jurisprudence Doctorate Degree with a Master of Law in Agricultural and Food Law.
Taylor made a splash during the MRA pageant winning awards in personality, appearance, and written test. However, that wasn’t all. Taylor also received the winning Chap Award and the Sherry Smith Memorial Scholarship.
Following in the footsteps of 2018 Miss Rodeo America, Keri Sheffield, and a proud list of former First Ladies of Rodeo, Taylor McNair will travel across America promoting rodeo and the western way of life. In an interview with Kimber Laux of Las Vegas Review Journal, Taylor expresses her platform of encouraging individuality. She states,
“I have always just said, be you. Be yourself. God only made one of you and he gave us each unique skills and each unique talents. Use that; don’t compare yourself to others. Be incredibly and uniquely you, and embrace that in everything you do” (www.reviewjournal.com).
All of us here at Cowboy Lifestyle Network would like to congratulate Taylor McNair on being crowned the 2019 Miss Rodeo America. We wish you a successful and exciting year as you travel “from sea to shining sea” representing America’s oldest sport, rodeo!