News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Tawny Morris, Sisters Rodeo Queen 2002.
Tawny Morris of Prineville is the 2002 Sisters Rodeo Queen.
Judges selected Morris, age 20, from among three candidates based on an interview, a speech and a demonstration of horsemanship.
"I was born and raised as a cowgirl," Morris told the audience at the Sisters Rodeo clubhouse on Sunday, March 24. "I was raised with down-to-earth values."
Those values include hard work and responsibility, traits that were honed raising livestock in the 4-H program.
Morris, a hair stylist in Bend, noted that the Sisters Rodeo is a family tradition for many people in Oregon.
"I'm proud to say that I'm a part of this tradition," she said.
Morris' father John was a bull rider in his younger days, and he competed at the Sisters Rodeo. Tawny tried to follow in her dad's footsteps, she recalled, becoming determined to ride a steer in a junior rodeo.
Instead of telling her that "girls don't ride steers," Tawny's father encouraged her. Although she didn't make it to the whistle, she recalled, her father was proud of her for "giving her all."
Morris said her love of rodeo combined with her public speaking skills will make her a good representative for the 62nd Sisters Rodeo.
Morris put her quarter horse "Breeze" through his paces in the sunny rodeo arena before an appreciative audience.
Runners-up were Brandi Kitcher of Bend and Haley Zwicker of Terrebonne.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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