RCHS Junior Makayla Back was crowned the Miss Va. High School Rodeo Queen at the state finals at the Va. State Fair Grounds on May 26. Back competes in barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping, team roping, goat tying, and light rifle. Because of her motivation and devotion to her sport, she is now number 12 in the state.
“I was really honored to win and I knew a lot of the younger contestants would be looking up to me, so I was going to become a big role model,” said Back.
Back has been riding horses ever since she was little, has competed in a lot of shows, and is always striving to be the best at what she does.
“I started riding when I was little on my dad’s old rope horse,” said Back. “I have competed in a lot of competitions from local, relaxed shows to state and even national level shows.”
When she is not competing, Back practices on the weekend and during the week if possible to sharpen her riding.
“To prepare for shows, I practice a lot in our arena with other competitors that come up,” said Back. “We do a lot of slow work on the patterns and roping dummies so our horses don’t get burned out.”
Back competed against four other girls in the Va. High School Rodeo, but managed to take the crown.
“I ran against really competitive girls, but we all knew that whoever took the crown would do an amazing job, so it was wonderful knowing I had a huge group of people supporting me,” said Back.
In the future, Back will compete in a show Oct. 26-28 in Maryland and again on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 in Richmond, Va.