The new Queen of Cave Creek Rodeo Days will be crowned Saturday evening. Carol Grencevicz has been involved in rodeo pageants for over 30 years and is in charge of this year’s competition. Doors open at 5pm in Harold’s fireplace room. The contestants will give an introductory speech. Next they will model attire of their own choosing. Finally, they will be asked extemporaneous question by the judges. Contestants will be scored in four categories; horsemanship, including knowledge of anatomy and tack; personal interview; appearance; and personality. Once the new queen is chosen, the outgoing queen will give her farewell address.
We caught up with the outgoing queen, Samantha Erdmann, at the Kiwanis Marketplace last weekend. She was there to promote this year’s Cave Creek Rodeo Days and the sponsorship of the rodeo by the Kiwanis Market place. The Kiwanis had a goal to raise $25,000 by donating its sales on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The goal was exceeded and $27,500 was given to the rodeo to allow children 10 and under to attend the rodeo performances for free, and for scholarships for the queen and teen winners.
We asked what it’s like to be the Cave Creek Rodeo Queen. She said she loves meeting and being around people who are passionate about rodeo. Erdmann, who was also 2014’s Ms. Wild West Days, says it’s great to meet children and see them smile, and to be a role model for younger girls. For her it was an honor and a privilege to represent Cave Creek all over the state. Being queen means a busy calendar. In addition to her duties as rodeo royalty, the 21 year old 2014 Cactus Shadows graduate is pursuing her BA in Civil Engineering at ASU.
When asked what advice she would give the contestants in this year’s queen competition, Ms. Erdmann said, “Iron everything, make sure your boots are clean, keep your hat clean, practice public speaking, and smile.” “Smile is the most important.” She added. As far as what she’ll do after her reign ends Erdmann says she is going to work hard to achieve her engineering goals and create better spaces for people to live.
