Destiny’s destiny: rodeo queen crown

Published 4:53 pm Monday, January 12, 2015

Not many 11-year-olds can claim the title of queen, but Destiny Barney can do so legitimately. After a grueling competition this summer in Philomath, Barney came away with the Junior Miss Oregon Rodeo crown, Wallowa County’s first winner since 1997. A Jan. 17 coronation ceremony at Cloverleaf Hall is planned to celebrate the event.

Destiny Barney (“Dez” to friends) is the child of Vixen Radford and Ryan Barney. Radford’s husband, Jeffrey Wecks, is Destiny Barney’s stepfather.

The remarkably poised Barney said she’s harbored a longtime interest in becoming a rodeo queen. “I’ve always loved horses and rodeos because it has my favorite animals. Once I saw the rodeo queens I said, ‘I want to be one of those.’”

This is not the first title the ambitious Barney went after. She previously won crowns in the Santiam rodeo followed by one in Tillamook. Barney also competes in horsemanship events with 4-H and does open shows as well.

Vixen Radford said her daughter is a natural when it comes to pageants. “She is a showboater; she likes to model, and when she models, her personality really comes out. The pageants allow her to speak, she gets to model, and she gets to ride – she really enjoys it,” Radford said.

Radford said that on the west side of the state, pageants actually take place during the rodeo. Three judges score the contestants on appearance, personality and horsemanship while the girls are in the arena.

Barney’s Miss Oregon Rodeo competition took place at the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo from July 10-13 of 2014. The competition included the contestants getting judged on horsemanship skills, numerous interviews, including a mock TV interview, as well as parade etiquette and arena riding.

Barney said she found the speech part of the competition fairly easy, but the personality questions somewhat difficult. “I couldn’t understand the girl who was reading them. I didn’t know what to say, but I did the best I could.”

Barney found the horsemanship aspect of the competition most enjoyable. “You’re in a rodeo where tons and tons of people are watching you and that makes it real easy for me,” she said.

Despite being the only contestant in her 8-12 age group, Barney still competed against contestants from 13-19 and had to score at least 80 percent on her overall scores before receiving her crown. Radford gave her daughter the option of bowing out of the contest because of the possible humiliation involved if Barney didn’t meet the 80 percent scoring requirements competing only against herself. In fact, Barney outscored her older “competitors.”

Long hours of practice and attendance of several Miss Rodeo Oregon clinics helped Barney with her high scores. “I would sit at the dinner table and my brother would start asking me questions, and we’d do it in the car. It’s good to practice as much as you can, and that’s what I did,” Barney said. She also gave her horse, Music, credit for being such a help to her in the horsemanship tests.

Radford told a story of her daughter walking around the family’s living room using a banana as a microphone and practicing her public speaking skills.

Barney’s year-long reign as Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon includes attendance at a number of rodeos, parades and coronations. Barney originally planned to start trying out for Teen Miss Rodeo Oregon after her fourteenth birthday. “When I told my mom, she looked at me and said, ‘Maybe you should wait until you’re 16, so you can drive,’” Barney recounted as both mother and daughter laughed. “I don’t agree,” Barney added.

Destiny names Oregon’s first Miss Rodeo America, Mackenzie Carr, as a major inspiration as well as 2015 Miss Rodeo Oregon, Julie Drescher, whom Barney knows personally.

While Barney participates in a number of extracurricular activities including baseball and basketball and even cheerleading, her heart is with the rodeo life, and Radford supports her daughter’s ambitions. “It’s who Destiny is, and as a parent, you can’t snuff that out.”

The Cloverleaf Hall doors open at 4:30 p.m. for Barney’s Jan. 17 coronation. Sometime between 4:30 and the 6 p.m. dinner, the 2014 Junior Miss Rodeo Oregon, Alex Syversen, will place her crown on Destiny Barney’s head.