New Miss Rodeo Utah still amazed at winning title, learning new role
By JaNae Francis
Standard-Examiner staff
jfrancis@standard.net
OGDEN - Fourteen hours after being named Miss Rodeo Utah, Jenna Whitaker, of Kaysville, still hadn't fully realized what role she had taken on.
Getting ready for a media appearance, the 18-year-old recent Davis High School graduate was frustrated that she couldn't find a buckle she had won in cow cutting.
Then her mother reminded her that she had the Miss Rodeo Utah buckle and she had no need for the other one.
"I still can't believe it," she said. "I'm like, 'Wake up. Wake up.' "
Whitaker was so surprised when she was announced as Miss Rodeo Utah on Tuesday night, she jumped up and down, knocking her hat sideways and letting out a number of screams.
Her previous disbelief that she could be the next Miss Rodeo Utah was so strong that she had hoped to not even have the opportunity to try out for Miss Rodeo Utah this summer.
She had wanted to be at the National High School Rodeo in Springfield, Ill., which started July 22, when the Miss Rodeo Utah contest was under way.
But, as it turned out, she didn't qualify this year for the national rodeo.
Finishing the state cow-cutting contest in fifth place, she barely missed her chance to go.
"I cried and cried and cried," she said of finishing outside of the top four.
Whitaker believes she missed the national rodeo opportunity for a reason.
"It's really amazing," she said. "There really is a plan in everything. Once you get there, you realize where it comes from."
Whitaker said other losses she has experienced in her life are starting to come into focus for her as she realizes the opportunity she has.
"I'm really good at second place," she said. "I have a lot of practice at being a good loser."
The new queen said she also spent some time crying earlier this month at the Silver States High School Rodeo in Fallon, Nev. At that rodeo for those who placed fifth through ninth in their state contests, she barely missed winning the top spot in the cow-cutting competition.
It was a split-second decision to touch her reins with her free hand that cost her.
But now Whitaker believes had she won that contest, she wouldn't have had the attitude that won her the personality award and the queen competition.
Compared to the other contestants, Whitaker had won relatively few queen titles. She has five high school rodeo queen contests to her credit. The only competition she'd entered for older women was Miss Hooper Tomato Days last fall, where she was first runner-up.
But she said that didn't stop her from doing her best in the Miss Rodeo Utah pageant.
"I just went in there and I really tried to show the judges that I really wanted this, not for the crown and banner, but to make a difference," she said.
Whitaker said she couldn't begin to compare with the many accomplishments of the other contestants so, instead, she tried to be herself, learn from the other contestants and enjoy the contest.
This philosophy became more evident as the weeklong contest progressed. She came up with more ways to display her enthusiasm and fun personality.
At the contest fashion show, Whitaker caught the laughter of the audience when she mimed cross-country skiing while modeling a ski jacket.
A relative newcomer to the sport of rodeo, Whitaker started competing four years ago.
She said the sport brought her an excitement that she couldn't find in other athletic ventures.
"You can't really fall in love with a baseball or a basketball, because they have no personality," she said. "But horses, they are going to give you all their heart."
Whitaker hopes to draw others to her sport, as well as encourage young people to follow their dreams and develop their abilities.
