Becoming a queen

Victoria Raybon couldn’t stand still as she answered the judges’ questions.

Her knees were shaking, she stuttered a few times. She was nervous, but there was plenty of reason to be. Raybon is trying to become the pageant queen.

However, this particular pageant is far from the converted sports arena with a walkway where contestants in swimsuits and several dresses compete for their ladylike ways.

This pageant is different.

There are horses, dirt, and a few stray pigeons rustling in the gutters of the roof.

This is the SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo Pageant.

“There’s a horse and no bikinis,” contestant Kira Knaupp said.

It all started at the Outback Arena behind the Ector County Coliseum. While the parking lot was quickly filling up with avid hockey fans for Friday night’s Odessa Jackalopes game, a small handful were parking their cars behind the coliseum to attend the first round of this year’s pageant.

Knaupp led off leading her horse around the dirt floor galloping in a figure-8. At times she pulls the reins, clicks her tongue against her teeth and kisses at the young steed keeping it in order.

She’s been around horses all of her life, so that’s the easy part.

As for the hard part…

“The interview can be tricky,” she said. “Worst 10-minutes of your life.”

Contestants have to answer questions like riding different horses in the competition or how often the different accessories on the horses are replaced to keep the animal comfortable.

“It’s great deals of fun,” Raybon said. “The more you do it the better you get at it.”

Competitions are held all over the state and country and the different arenas can sometimes be a pro or con for the lady riders.

“It all depends on how your horse reacts to the arena,” Raybon said.

Sometimes the arena is welcoming, she said, other times the horses won’t like where they are.

The whole competition, Knaupp said is a huge learning experience. Especially the interviews. They can prepare you for a job interview after school, she said.

But there is a whole other benefit.

“It brings out a different you,” she said.