Dodd Crowned Rodeo Royalty
Queen of the state and all things Western
Last updated Saturday, August 18, 2007 9:06 PM CDT in Our Town
By Laurinda Joenks
THE MORNING NEWS
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Two Springdale cowgirls have been chosen to represent the state and all things Western.
Dilynn Dodd was crowned Miss Rodeo Arkansas on Aug. 4 at the Crossett Riding Club Rodeo. Kirbi Allen of Springdale was crowned Miss Teen Rodeo Arkansas. Taylor Morris of Siloam Springs was the runner-up in the teen contest.
As Miss Rodeo Arkansas 2008, Dodd will represent the state in the Miss Rodeo America contest that year. Reigning Miss Rodeo Arkansas Brittany Sing will represent the state in the contest this year. The national queen contest is held each December during the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
Dodd's reign officially starts Jan. 1, while Allen begins work immediately. Both serve as ambassadors for the sport of rodeo, explained Debbie Foot, national director for Arkansas to the Miss Rodeo America Pageant. They will answer questions about rodeo for fans and sign autographs.
"The rodeo contestants are so often off their horse, throw it in the truck and gone," Foot said. "They aren't there to meet the fans. (The girls are) very knowledgeable about the sport of rodeo."
Dodd reported she follows the PRCA through a subscription to the bi-weekly Pro Rodeo Sports News magazine. She also plans to buy her permit to run barrels in PRCA rodeos -- but will compete only locally this year.
"I don't think I can represent the state and make it to the big time in the same year," Dodd said.
Dodd recently completed her reign as Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks.
Allen said she created binders for study holding information about horses and rodeo. She competed in barrel racing and pole bending in junior rodeo competitions and now rides in reining shows. Allen's mother, the former Theresa Paschall of Goshen, was Miss Rodeo Arkansas in 1977, making them the only mother-daughter team to hold both the queen and teen crowns, Allen said.
Miss Rodeo Arkansas also represents the Western way of life in the state, Foot said. For example, Sing attended one event at the Clinton Presidential Library.
"Anytime anybody has an event that needs a 'celebrity,' we'll send her," Foot said. As Miss Teen Arkansas Rodeo, Allen will join Dodd at some events.
Dodd said she will attend all 11 PRCA rodeos in the state as well as bigger rodeos across the country. In fact, her first appearance is the Southeastern Circuit Finals, held the first weekend of January in Florida. She also looks forward to the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in March in Pocatello, Idaho. Rodeo participants also compete in a downhill skiing competition in Pocatello, Dodd said. "You'll see cowboys skiing in chaps," she said.
Allen plans her first appearance at the Harrison rodeo in late September. "But I won't stop at just rodeos in Arkansas," she said. "There are some in Oklahoma, and one in Texarkana, that I want to go to. It's a state title. I want to represent the state."
Dodd said she will use the months until January to prepare for her reign, getting chaps printed with "Miss Rodeo Arkansas," making travel arrangements, calling on friends who were former state queens for help. She graduated in May from the University of Arkansas, with a degree in agricultural education, but her new responsibilities will put her career on hold.
Allen graduated in May from Springdale High School. She moved into her dorm Tuesday at the University of Arkansas, where she plans to study business and public relations and hopes to minor in Spanish. She also works part-time at Pediatric Dental Associates in Springdale.
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