Angela Brandt
Havre Daily News
abrandt@havredailynews.com
Inverness native Cassidy Han, newly selected 2006 Miss Rodeo Montana, said she is feeling really good today, better than Monday because she got a good night's sleep.
Cassidy spent most of Monday doing radio and television interviews after she was crowned on Sunday after a five-contestant, week-long competition in Great Falls.
“It's weird to walk by a mirror and see myself with the crown and say, ‘That's Miss Rodeo Queen Montana. That's me,'” Cassidy said today.
Cassidy's mother, Barbara, who was in Great Falls for the pageant, said they didn't know Monday would be such a big day.
“It was really fun but really tiring,” Barbara said today.
Barbara and Cassidy's father, Allen, live in Inverness.
The competition was Cassidy's third pageant. She was named 2002 Miss Northern Montana Rodeo and competed in Miss Rodeo Montana last year.
“I talked to the father of last year's queen. He said step aside and be ready to give moral and financial support,” Allen said.
About a quarter of the total costs for Cassidy's official activites as rodeo queen in the coming year will be covered by the pageant, Barbara said. She added that the family will be doing fundraisers.
Cassidy said she wanted to compete because she has always looked up to Miss Rodeo Montana. Her favorite part of the title is having kids look up to her.
The new queen used to compete at rodeos in barrel racing. The Blue Sky High School graduate is attending Carroll College in Helena and is only six units away from graduation in May with a degree in history. She plans on getting a doctorate of history of the American West and wants to be a history professor or historical author.
Cassidy also received the speech award, horsemanship award, and projection and presentation award. She will spend the next year traveling throughout Montana and to neighboring states and provinces, speaking to schools, clubs and organizations about rodeo, and attending rodeos and festivals.
She said she is really excited to be able to represent the state. Her first official duty was to assist with the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals Rodeo and awards presentations. In December, Cassidy will compete for the title of Miss Rodeo America in Las Vegas.
