Parting royalty

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

During the past year, current Strathmore Stampede Queen Shayla Gerencer has been a representative for Strathmore.
Gerencer had learned a lot from her time as queen, travelling between various rodeos and attending local events such as the Canada Day celebrations at Kinsmen Park. Gerencer also took part in the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the Calgary Stamplede.
“It has been an amazing experience,” she said. “I have definitely learned a lot and have grown as a person. I have gained a lot of self-confidence from meeting and talking to people.”
During her reign as queen, Gerencer found herself talking with many different people and that has helped her to grow as a person. She also believes the communication skills she has gained will follow her into the future and will continue to help her.
As the Strathmore Stampede Queen, Gerencer has had to be a public figure, promoting the Strathmore Stampede to other rodeos, signing autographs and being a role model for many of her young fans.
She is also a mentor to this year’s Strathmore Stampede Queen contestants Shelby Stout, Cayley Peltzer and Lindsey Newman as they go through the different parts of the competition.
Gerencer said she has made friends with the three contestants as they have all attended events together, and she believes they are all going to go far in life.
“Once you are in the queen role, you always want to have that ambassador side of you out there and be able to wear your invisible crown because people will always look up to you,” she said.
While there are people who look up to her, Gerencer said there are a few people, including her mom and the queen’s committee, who have looked out for her and helped her along during the past year.
Gerencer was the only local contestant during last year’s rodeo queen contest and managed to woo the judges with her personality and horsemanship skills. Gerencer was the first Strathmore Stampede Queen to be crowned since 2000.
Once she has passed on her crown, Gerencer plans on focusing on school. She hopes to become a radiologist, as that is a subject she is interested in. However, this doesn’t mean she will leave rodeo behind, as she will continue on with her barrel racing.