Lusk local and 2015 Niobrara County High School graduate Meghan Proctor competed in the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo Queen Competition where she took the crown on January 27 of this year; her official title is Miss Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo Queen.

Proctor, daughter of locals Bill and Geri Proctor and younger sister to Miles Proctor, participated in the event in Rapid City, South Dakota at the Civic Center. Competition for the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo Queen lasted one day where Proctor had to compete on various levels before being crowned and then spending a week at the Black Hills Stock Show held in the same city. Aside from winning the crown, Proctor explains other highlights of the competition included, “The highlights were winning horsemanship and the speech contest”. During the horsemanship event, Proctor was required to draw random horses to complete first a reining pattern and then a pattern she designed on her own. During the speech contest, Proctor was given ten minutes to prepare an impromptu speech and then put through an interview—without pre-preparation of questions—where she answered several media themed questions. “I would say do your best to prepare before you get to the contest because no one will ever be able to tell you how much goes into the contest until you get there. Always be true to yourself and don’t try to conform to what you think that the judges might want, just stay true to who you are and if they really like you, then they’ll pick you” says Proctor when asked her advice for others looking to compete. 

Per Proctor, there are no set duties to her crown; however, she is able to attend any PRCA Rodeo or state fair to carry and represent the flag. For Proctor, winning the Miss Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo Queen crown has pre-qualified her for the Miss Rodeo USA competition. The competition is slated to take place in Oklahoma in January of next year should she choose to participate. Proctor has also looked into competing for Miss Rodeo Wyoming in Douglas during the State Fair. If Proctor earns the Miss Rodeo Wyoming title, she will have the chance go to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas for two years to compete for Miss Rodeo America; although the first year she would be required to act as a First Queen and shadow that years Queen representing Wyoming before being able to compete for the title herself the second year. “I haven’t decided which one but I would definitely like to do something higher with this title” states Proctor.