Wednesday, June 10, 2009

San Antonio rider aims to be high school rodeo queen

Nat Holland El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

San Antonio, N.M., rider Leslie Ramzel will demonstrate her skills this week as she competes for the title as New Mexico High School Rodeo Association Queen and also in pole bending and barrel racing events at the state finals.

The finals start today (Wednesday) and run through Sunday, June 14, in Clovis.

"I started (rodeo) when I was tiny — age 5," said Leslie. "It started out real slow — then I fell in love with it."

Leslie climbed her way through the ranks of the New Mexico Junior Rodeo, the Wrangler Junior High Rodeo and now as a leader and competing in the high school rodeo association.

As the Student Pole-Bending director, Leslie helps set up the poles and makes sure no one breaks the pattern when they run the event. She is also the first line if a contestant has a question or a complaint. If she can't resolve an issue, she will then take it to an adult director.

Another project Leslie helped with was to get rodeo, which is a New Mexico Activities Association sanctioned event, officially under the wing of Magdalena High School, which she attends.

"We hardly get recognized for going to rodeos and I wanted to find a way to get recognized," said Leslie.

"I think meeting new people is part of the excitement of it all for her," said Leslie's mother, Becky Ramzel.

The tight-knit groups that travel together to rodeo events " become more like family than friends," said Leslie.

One of those friends is Socorroan Catherine Blythe, who won the queen competition last year and serves as the association's current rodeo queen.

"We ride horses together and talked about it (the queen competition) quite a bit," said Leslie.

nholland@dchieftain.com

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