This week has been a nostalgic one for Cami Cushing.
The 24-year-old Sandy woman officially relinquished her title of Miss Rodeo Utah, the culmination of a lifelong dream, at the close of the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo July 24. She is the first Salt Lake County resident to win the title.
Although the past year has been a whirlwind of activities for Cushing, handing the reins to someone else was still bittersweet.
"What I'm going to miss the most is the people I've met, ... seeing them at each rodeo and each parade," she said. "I've been doing this so long that I'm ready to close this chapter of my life and open another one. I'm ending on a peak."
As Miss Rodeo Utah, it was Cushing's responsibility to make appearances and participate in community events, parades and rodeos throughout Utah and other parts of the United States. She also served as the ambassador for Western-oriented events in the Beehive State. Her path has taken her from St. George to Logan, from Vernal to Tremonton. She also attended major rodeos in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, San Antonio and the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in Nebraska.
"It's neat when you do out-of-state travels," Cushing said. "People read the banner 'Miss Rodeo Utah,' and (they) are excited."
To capture the title, Cushing was judged in five events — personality, appearance, public speaking photogenics and horsemanship. She won all but the horsemanship category.
In November, Cushing travelled to Las Vegas to compete in the Miss Rodeo America competition. Out of 28 contestants, she took the second runner-up position. It was an intense weeklong event with fashion-show practices, luncheons, an appearance at Mandalay Bay and the stress of knowing she could be called for her interview at any time.
"I really had to work on controlling my nerves and my emotions," she said. "I made great friends in other states. One of my best friends is Miss Rodeo Texas."
Cushing said her affiliation with horses and rodeo started at the age of 3 when her parents first put her on the back of a horse. She learned to ride at the same time she learned to walk. After attending a Miss Rodeo Utah fashion show, her interest in the contest was piqued when she saw how much fun the contestants were having. Her mother is a past Miss Utah Appaloosa and competed for a rodeo queen title herself.
At the age of 8, Cushing was watching as her mother gave lessons to other young girls preparing to vie for a rodeo title. She looked at her mother and asked, "Mom, why are you training all these girls to beat me?"
Her parents were unaware of Cushing's interest in competing at that point. After the conversation, her mother stopped giving lessons and started helping her daughter. Only two weeks later, Cushing was crowned as a Salt Lake County 4H princess. Later she was also crowned as Miss West Jordan Stampede. It wasn't until her fifth run that she won the Miss Rodeo Utah title.
"I'm glad I kept going, because now I'm ending with a dream come true," she said. "I have no regrets. I'm ready to move on to what's next in my life."
Cushing plans to attend school at Weber State University in the fall where she has a year left until she finishes her bachelor's degree in Public Relations.
The advice Cushing would pass to any potential competitors for the Miss Rodeo Utah title is to be true to themselves.
"You get coaches, mentors and people who come in and judge it, supposedly to give constructive criticism, which is sometimes destructive," she said. "I think a lot of girls try to be the cookie cutter rodeo queen, and that's not true. My advice is to anyone wanting to compete is to just be you. You can always work on yourself, but don't change who you are."
Cushing said her reign wouldn't have been possible without the support of family, friends and sponsors, who helped finance her travels and offered support.
"I want to make sure people who have supported me know they're the backbones to my success," she said. "I had the time of my life, but without them, I couldn't have done this."
For more information about the Miss Rodeo Utah competition, visit missrodeoutah.org.
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com