Where are they now Oklahoma girl wears Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks crown

It takes a combination of beauty, brains, personality, talent and horsemanship skills to win the title of rodeo queen, and Lindsey Thompson of Kansas, Okla., proved she had all of the above when she was crowned 2018 Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks last June in Springdale.

As 2015 Siloam Springs Rodeo queen and a member of the Siloam Springs Riding Club, Thompson is a familiar face to rodeo fans in Siloam Springs. She is also a member of the Siloam Springs-based Element Christ Riders, as well as a former member of the SkyHigh Angels drill team. She is the daughter of Jessica and Troy Thompson of Kansas and the granddaughter of Genia and Dr. Larry VanDyck of West Siloam Springs, Okla.

Currently, Thompson is attending Northwest Arkansas Community College with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher. She is also a dental assistant at VanDyck Dentistry in Siloam Springs.

Thompson started doing pageants and rodeo princess contests when she was a small child, but it had been a few years since she had been in a pageant when she made her bid for the Siloam Springs Rodeo queen in 2015. Winning gave her confidence to keep going and begin pursuing other rodeo queen titles.

“It gave me a boost, I feel like,” she said.

Thompson ran for Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks in 2017 and won first runner-up. She also won first runner-up for Miss American Cowboy Rodeo Association in September 2017. Her grandmother encouraged her to try again this year for Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks.

“I have always admired the leadership of the women who have worn this crown before me,” Thompson said, in explanation of her reason for entering the contest a second time.

Like most rodeo queen contests, the four-day Rodeo of the Ozarks queen competition includes personality and horsemanship interviews, modeling and fashion, a horsemanship demonstration and a speech. Participants are also scored on their ability to greet and mingle with fans during public appearances.

However, unlike other rodeo queen contests, the Rodeo of the Ozarks requires contestants to compete on their own, without the help of family members or even cell phones. Contestants sign in at Holiday Inn in Springdale at the beginning of the rodeo week, where they are greeted by legendary 85-year-old pageant director Pat Hutter, daughter of rodeo founder Thurman “Shorty” Parsons and a former Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks. Contenders for the crown have to dress themselves and fix their own hair and makeup all week. In addition to the competitions, they ride in parades, speak at civic clubs, greet fans and sign autographs at the rodeo and ride each night.

Thompson feels like her previous experience helped her feel more comfortable this year.

“I was scared the first year, but this year I was so relaxed and just myself, it was nice,” she said.

Thompson said her mother helps her get her horse ready for the competition while her grandmother helps her prepare her wardrobe and speeches. She also had help from horse trainers Jerry Queen and Chase Stricklin of Westville, Okla., who helped her prepare for the technicalities of the horsemanship portion of the competition.

Thompson has grown up on horses and one of her passions is breaking and training her own horses. Her competition horse, Pretty Girl, is the first horse she bought herself, she said.

One of the lighter moments of the competition occurred during the personality interview, Genia VanDyck said. The judges asked Thompson if she knew how to floss, and as a professional dental assistant she was well prepared with a thorough answer on proper dental care. Once she finished her answer, the panel of judges explained they meant the dance, so Thompson demonstrated that, too.

“She didn’t say, ‘Do you know how to do the dance floss?’” Thompson said with a laugh. “She said, ‘Do you know how to floss?’ I was like, ‘Girl, let me tell you, I’ve been practicing this all year long working at the dental office.’”

Genia said the judges later told her they were completely charmed by the answer, and had to wait a full five minutes before their laughter died down enough to call in the next contestant.

Once Thompson has completed her year as Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks, she hopes to continue competing in rodeo queen contests and dreams of one day making it to the Miss Rodeo USA competition.

Thompson