The time has come for a new Queen to be crowned - and that she will be - as the 2020 Cochrane Lions Rodeo Queen is Miss Breanna Correia. With eight different judges throughout the competition and three other incredible competitors, the choice was a not an easy one. As Emma Blust hands over the title, she walks away with a memorable year and will be allowing Correia to step up for the life-changing experience.
"It's super exciting as I move into something that's very new and a little bit nerve-racking but I'm excited to challenge myself and learn more about my sport and myself and gain closer connections through the community of Cochrane," said Correia. "It's almost a little bit overwhelming at the very beginning but I'm very excited and we have an amazing board that supports me through it all so I know it's going to be a fun experience."
Correia goes on to add that another part she is anticipating is being a role model for children.
Over the course of the competition, Correia learned quite a bit about herself. It pushed her out of her comfort zone – something that can be difficult for a soon to be 18-year-old – and has given her more confidence and taught her to be a little bit more organized and polished on her public speaking skills. As well as learning about herself, Correia walks away with three new friendships in her fellow competitors.
"The three others are amazingly talented girls who I've gotten really close with. They're incredibly sweet girls and I do believe this was a very evenly matched competition. Any girl could have been easily been chosen for this title. I love the girls and I would urge them to run again. I learned a lot from them as we all had our differences and as we went through the competition we picked up things about each other and learned from each other so I'm really glad the girls that ran, ran, and I got to get close to them." said Correia.
Having broke her foot at the beginning of the competition, Correia relied on her seven-year-old horse, Deuce. Although Deuce is a pretty boy and loves to go to parades and "show off," he was able to adjust with help from his owner.
"The very first event that we did as contestants, I was in a boot still and then from then on I was out of the boot but it was a long recovery," said Correia. "I definitely walked with a limp, I know we were at the Cochrane Police Rodeo and the sports medicine team came up to me and they were like, we need to fix you, you're limping and I was like 'oh it's OK, I've only been out of a cast for two days' so it was definitely a curve ball but we worked through it."
Prior to this crown, Correia has held two previous rodeo queen titles. She credits the amazing judges throughout the competition, having been able to understand what they were all about. She also had much to say about the Cochrane Lions Club.
"They are absolutely amazing and the support that we saw from them during the competition was incredible as they had support for all four girls and I'm very excited to work closely with them and continue to see the support they will have for me during my year," says Correia.
Going forward Correia hopes to polish herself up and eventually run for Miss Rodeo Canada.
