Othello PRCA Rodeo queen reflects on two unique years

OTHELLO — Brianna Kin Kade rode in as many parades, went to as many rodeos, attended as many events as she could in 2021, and didn’t mind at all.

Kin Kade was selected as the Othello Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Rodeo Queen in 2020, and retained the title in 2021. She also was selected as the 2022 Moses Lake Roundup Queen.

A rodeo queen in 2020 didn’t have much to do, and Kin Kade wanted to make up for that in 2021.

“It was really refreshing to be able to look at a packed calendar,” she said.

Kin Kade was selected as Othello PRCA Rodeo in fall 2019 and was ready to go in the spring of 2020. Rodeo royalty attend community events in the town they represent, and go to rodeos, parades and other events in other towns. There are appearances all year, right up until the time they turn over the crown to a new queen. Except in 2020, there weren’t.

One by one events were canceled as the COVID-19 pandemic laid waste to spring and summer 2020.

“It was really heartbreaking,” Kin Kade said. “Because I do have a passion for rodeo and the Western way of life.”

The rodeo and the fair are important to a lot of rural communities.

“Everybody looks forward to the rodeo,” she said.

There were a few events. The Othello PRCA Rodeo organizers managed to open the straw maze for the entire month of October 2020. Parade organizers in Ritzville came up with an innovative solution — the parade wound through town and the parade watchers stayed home.

One good thing that came out of 2020 was making friends with royalty from other rodeos, all facing the same challenges. They got to be better friends than they might have otherwise, she said, holding a virtual Christmas party.

“We were there for each other,” she said. “We all did it together.”

Since there was no Othello PRCA Rodeo in 2020, board members asked Kin Kade to stay as queen for a second year.

“It was hard to see all the cancellations, so when I was asked to carry on for another year, I was more than happy to accept,” she said.

Events canceled in 2020 started coming back in 2021, and Kin Kade went to as many as she could squeeze in, attending two different rodeos in two different states in one weekend.

“I was definitely going to take advantage of being able to go to events,” she said. “I definitely made the best of it.”

The time away made her appreciate rodeo and community events when they returned.

“It changed my perspective,” she said.

Appearing in the Othello PRCA Rodeo was especially satisfying, she said.

But being a rodeo queen also means long hours on the road, traveling from appearance to appearance, and attending events early in the morning and late at night. It means riding in the Othello Fair parade during a downpour, riding in the Moses Lake Agricultural Parade on a cold Friday night and in A Christmas Miracle on Main Street parade in Othello on an equally cold Saturday night.

“There’s definitely more than the glitz and glam,” she said.

Queens have to know their rodeos, as well as rodeo in general. They work the arena during the rodeo performances. They have to be able to present themselves and promote their rodeos, and know about Western life.

“It is a lot of work,” Kin Kade said.

She didn’t make it on her first tryout for the Othello PRCA Rodeo, but she kept trying.

“I studied for two years to get it,” she said.

She was selected as 2022 Moses Lake Roundup queen from among three contestants. This was her first time trying out for the Moses Lake Roundup, she said.

Kin Kade works as an assistant horse trainer.

“I’m going down the route of learning on the job,” she said. “I learn every day.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.