A Drayton Valley local, Tawnie Thompson, will be hitting the stage next week to compete for the title of Miss Rodeo Canada 2026.
Thompson began her pageant journey in 2018, when she competed for a Junior Miss Rodeo title and finished with the Miss Congeniality prize, falling in love with the process. She won the Miss Alberta High School Rodeo title in 2021 and 2022, then went on to become Miss Rodeo Drayton Valley in 2024. That victory made her eligible to compete in the Miss Rodeo Canada competition.
The Miss Rodeo Canada competition coincides with the Canadian Finals Rodeo every year.
While this isn’t Thompson’s first rodeo, she said the national contest is on another level and requires strong dedication.
Two of the most intensive categories are public speaking, including both prepared and impromptu speeches, and horsemanship.
“We will jump on a series of horses that we have never met before, we’ve never ridden before, we have no idea what they are and what they do,” Thompson explained. “We have to go out and perform different patterns on them, as well as answer different impromptu questions.”
Contestants also need to participate in a fashion show to demonstrate modelling skills, interview with judges to answer personality and knowledge-based questions and complete a written test to demonstrate knowledge in agriculture, pro rodeo and equine science. Judges evaluate the participants’ appearance, personality and poise, including how they interact with fans, judges, and everyone else in and around the rodeo world.
If she’s successful, the 19-year-old Métis youth hopes to use the platform to attract new competitors to rodeo and grow the sport that’s been a family tradition for four generations.
“I grew up in the boots, on the back of the saddle,” Thompson commented. She began competing at just four-years-old through a local association, then moved into barrel racing. After 2021, she started working as a rodeo announcer, which is her next big dream.
She said, “I often joke with my friends: there isn’t much to me outside of rodeo, it feels like sometimes, because it really is who I am and what I love to do.”
But it wasn’t always that way: Thompson shared that growing up, she was a very shy kid — a wallflower.
“In a lot of ways, my journey with rodeo queening is really what gave me my voice,” she said. “Being in this role, you really have to be comfortable in any situation, talking to people from all walks of life and throwing yourself in there with confidence and with grace. I really became a whole new person within my role.”
When she started looking to bigger titles after winning Miss Alberta High School Rodeo in 2022, she decided to wait until she could represent her hometown; at the time, there wasn’t a Miss Rodeo program for Drayton Valley. She explained, it was important to her that she represent a community she was really in love with. Later, a program did come to Drayton Valley, and now she’s able to showcase her hometown on the national stage.
“We are a very tight knit community and everybody works together in a lot of different ways. Our town motto is ‘Pulling Together’ and that’s exactly what we do. This is my hometown, this is where I’ve grown up. This has been the place that shaped me and made me who I am,” she shared.
Though she secured her Drayton Valley title in 2024, Thompson opted to wait a year to enter the top competition so she could focus on finishing school.
She graduated from Northern Lakes College in June this year with a diploma in social work. For the last two years, she’s been working at the Seasons Retirement Community in Drayton Valley, from housekeeping, to dining, to front desk concierge.
She also gets involved in the community as a Youth Advisory Committee member, and through her social work experience and fundraisers.
The Miss Rodeo Canada 2026 competition begins Monday, Sept. 29. Monday and Tuesday consist of the written exam and personal interviews, respectively, which are closed to the public.
Horsemanship challenges get underway Wednesday at 8 a.m. at the Edmonton Expo Centre, with a presentation ride at 6:30 p.m. at Rogers Place for the first performance of the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
Thursday, the public speaking category will be held at the Chateau Lacombe Hotel at 9:30 a.m.
The fashion show will be at The Westin Edmonton at 10 a.m.. The final crowning will take place at the Canadian Finals Rodeo later at Rogers Place.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s events are open to the public. Drayton Valley residents who want to support, but won’t be in Edmonton, can watch online via livestream on the Miss Rodeo Canada website and social media pages.
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