Local girl gets the crown
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
Everyone wants each birthday to be special, and for one Rockyford resident, her 23rd birthday will be something she will never forget. Dani Gariepy was crowned as one of the Calgary Stampede 2012 princesses on Oct. 2.
“When my name was called, I was overwhelmed with emotions, so happy, so excited; I had to fight hard to keep the tears in,” said Gariepy.
“I have never felt so thrilled in my life, my adrenalin was pumping. I thought to myself, finally, my hard work has paid off. All I wanted to do was to win and make my family, friends and community proud, and become a leader and role model for other girls.”
Not only will Gariepy be a part of the Stampede’s centennial royal party, she is also one of the first to wear the new crown after the 1996 design was retired.
“Being one of the first girls to wear the new crown was so exciting, and I felt honoured to be presented with the new crown,” said Gariepy.
“The crowns were locally made by Becker Buckles in Airdrie. They are so beautiful and represent the elegance of the stampede very well. Being a first to wear the new crowns tags along nicely with the other unique aspect of being royalty for the 100th anniversary of the stampede.”
Gariepy currently is in her third year of nursing at Mount Royal University, MRU. She also plays ringette for MRU and works for residence services.
“My life was busy before I even ran for Stampede royalty. I might have to make some slight changes to my life right now in order to fulfill the duties of a Stampede princess, but I am willing to do so because this is a once in a life time opportunity and I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Gariepy.
The queen and two princesses will be attending training sessions twice a week for eight weeks in order to become orientated to the Stampede family, and to find out everything they have in store for 2012. They will also be attending events in and around Calgary immediately.
One of the main reasons Gariepy wanted to take on the role of a Stampede royalty member was to become a role model for other young girls in the community. Being a director of the Rockyford Horse Club and a coordinator for the Rockyford Royalty Contest helped Gariepy to decide to pursue this new role.
“After mentoring the Royalty program in Rockyford for a few years now, I thought that it was my turn to put myself in the shoes of the girls that put their name forward for Rockyford Royalty,” said Gariepy.
“Now that I have been successful, I am hoping with the skills and confidence I will gain throughout the year, I can give this back to the young girls of the Rockyford program.”