On November 17, 2018 DeKalb’s Colleen Crumpton won her fifteenth - and most prestigious - rodeo queen title, when she was crowned Miss UPRA (United Professional Rodeo Association). Twenty-year-old Colleen is the daughter of Stephen and Kim Crumpton and a 2016 graduate of DeKalb High School. She is a full-time student at Paris Junior College, with aspirations to become a radiology tech, and now she is queen of the third largest rodeo association in the world.
During the three day competition, Colleen and the other contestants were judged on horsemanship, as well as two media interviews. Colleen and her horse Rio won horsemanship, their 5th UPRA horsemanship title and 12th altogether. Colleen was also required to give interviews, where she was quizzed on current events as well as the ins and outs of rodeo and rodeo events. As the newly crowned Miss UPRA, she is the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship and will represent the UPRA throughout the year in the Four States Area, along with Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. “I am so excited about the upcoming year,” said Colleen. “Besides the rodeos every weekend, I will be doing newspaper and media interviews, visiting schools, and attending sponsor events. It’s going to be a busy year for me.”
And as if she won’t be busy enough in the upcoming year, Colleen also devotes a large chunk of her free time to encouraging young people to participate in rodeos. She gives riding lessons to anyone interested on Wednesday nights at the New Boston Riding Club arena. “The knowledge was passed down to me,” she said. “So I feel like it’s my job to pass it down to the younger generation.” Colleen will also be hosting an upcoming clinic for aspiring rodeo queens. The clinic will be April 13th at the New Boston Riding Club Arena, and will touch on all aspects of rodeo queen pageants. “My advice to any girl who wants to be in queens contests is to jump right into it,” Colleen said. “Once you’ve done your first pageant you are part of the rodeo family, so take that leap of faith and jump in. Win, lose or draw, you are going to gain friends and you are going to gain family - which are just going to help you down the road to do more pageants.”
