This Ain’t Her First Rodeo

PRINCESS CANDIDATE ENJOYS HORSEBACK RIDING

LINCOLN — The 2017 Lincoln Riding Club princess pageant isn’t Bailey Sizemore’s first rodeo royalty contest, she was awarded Westville, Okla., IPRA Sweetheart 2015-2016 and Westville, Okla., IPRA Princess 2016-2017.

“This ain’t my first rodeo” is a colloquial saying, which is a more likely to be heard in an informal setting, than in the halls of academia. The expression is roughly equivalent to stating that a person is more than prepared for a given situation or that they are up for the challenge.

At a tender age, Bailey experienced having to part with a horse, when her mount died of cancer. She has had her current horse for a year.

“I live on a ranch with my grandparents, and my papa used to rope in his earlier years,” Bailey said. “I love it when we get to check cattle on horseback. When I get a little bigger I want to barrel race and perform trick riding.”

Not that a cowgirl can’t excel academically or branch out into other athletic competitions.

Bailey is the 6-year-old daughter of Ben and Beverly Shockey, of Watts, Okla. She is in the first grade at Westville, Okla., Elementary School. Bailey is an outstanding reader, and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Bailey enjoys gymnastics and cheerleading.

One might say Bailey was born into rodeo.

Bailey has been a member of the NWA Cavalcade since she was born. The NWA Cavalcade is a riding club that was established in 1951 and holds three annual rides a year at Devil’s Den State Park. There are organized rides that leave out each day at 10 a.m. or riders can go on their own.

Bailey has been riding the trails of Devil’s Den since she was two. At the age of four she got her own horse, and rode her own horse with the group, which rides the Devil’s Den trails three times each year for nine days at a time. Bailey received an award for being the youngest rider.

Bailey checks almost daily on horseback with her papa. She loves horses and would ride all of them if she could.

Like the saying goes, “this ain’t her first rodeo.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO Bailey Sizemore, 6-year-old daughter of Ben and Beverly Shockey, of Watts, Okla., is a candidate for 2017 Lincoln Riding Club Princess.