HOOPER -- Today when West Haven cowgirl Shianne Lowe rides around the arena waving to the Hooper Tomato Days crowd, she'll be thinking about how she has come full circle.
The 17-year-old Miss Rodeo Hooper is a well-recognized rodeo queen.
In July, she also was named queen at the Silver State International Rodeo in Winnemucca, Nev.
She was the winner in all categories in the queen contest for that high school rodeo competition. The contest was designed for cowboys and cowgirls who placed fifth through eighth in their events at their respective state high school rodeo finals contests.
"I've worked for this and it's finally paying off," Shianne said.
She's talking about 13 years of evaluating her every move from horsemanship and horse knowledge to interviewing, dress modeling and public speaking.
She said her passion for promoting her sport and riding at the head of the grand entry began in the Hooper arena.
Shianne was 4 years old when she was named junior rodeo princess for the Hooper Labor Day celebration.
"There I was in a royalty with all these girls who I looked up to as rodeo queens," she said. "It made me want to keep working at it."
On Saturday, at the first performance of the Hooper Tomato Days Rodeo, Shianne's grandmother, Joyce Lowe, was explaining the thrill she felt in Shianne's winning the title of Miss Rodeo Hooper last month.
"So many contestants go on from Hooper to Miss Rodeo Ogden and Miss Rodeo Utah," she said. "This has just been our family tradition to come out here for so many years."
Rodeo performances continue today at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Also part of Hooper Tomato Days will be a full gamut of activities throughout the day at Hooper Park.
There will be free entertainment, children's games and activities, vendor booths, a 5K run, 2K walk, farmer's market, craft fair and displays of homemade crafts and homegrown fruits and vegetables.
Shianne said she started the year with the dream of being Miss High School Rodeo Utah, a dream she pursued for three years.
In June, she was named first attendant instead, which qualified her to compete for queen at the Silver State International Rodeo.
She said the change of plans also taught her a great deal.
"It taught me to be a better person," she said. "I kept trying."
And that, she said, made all the difference.
"Even when you don't get exactly what you want, it's good to look past the bad and see the good," she said.
"Here in Utah, we are so sheltered," she said. "It was so fun to see the different personalities."
Shianne has spent the summer traveling around the country promoting the Silver State International Rodeo and will do so more this winter and in the spring.
She said she's ever-grateful for her family, many friends and sponsors for helping her get where she is today.
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