Tia Tomburello says she has definitely never considered herself rodeo queen material: she doesn’t really like to fix her hair much beyond a braid or pulling it back and putting on a hat or cap, and if she is wearing mascara it is a pretty special occasion. “But,” she says, “that’s the cool thing about WSRRA, they wanted someone who knew horses and cows and knew the ranching life style. And that’s all I know. I’ve bartended twice but the rest of my work history consists of ranches and working with horses. I don’t know anything else, and to be honest I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Tia was one of four ranch women vying for the very first Ms. WSRRA Ranch Rodeo Queen title at the 2014 Finals in Winnemucca, Nevada last fall. The judges were looking for a handy ranch gal with spunk, tenacity, personality and great horsemanship skills who could represent the best of what the WSRRA stands for, and Tomburello definitely fit the profile. Born and raised in Reno, Nevada and currently living near Bruneau, Idaho, she has worked in the livestock industry since high school and sports a degree in Equine Studies from Feather River College in Quincy, California. Tia started out competing in high school rodeo, but in recent years has leaned more toward roping and ranch rodeo events. She said “So far I’ve competed in two women’s ranch rodeos; my first one was in Spring Creek, Nevada with Moon Creek Saddles. It was a lot of fun, and a great group of gals. And the second one was last summer in Rexburg, Idaho with Vicky Jackson, Maggie Muratore and Blair Smith. Again, great group of gals to compete with, and Vicky helped me out a ton on the horse I was riding. He was real young, and I hadn’t ever roped on him, and didn’t know if he knew how to be roped on. But he handled town great, and if I got something necked, Vick was right in position to keep me out of a wreck.”
2014 was her first time to compete at the WSRRA Finals on a team, though she says she has been to nearly all of them for the last five years to cheer on friends. According to Tomburello, from the first rodeo that she went to until now, “the WSRRA has blown up! It’s unreal to me how big it has gotten. It’s amazing. Not last year, but the year before last, I was down for it and ended up in the family branding afterwards with a few guys from Nebraska. Actually, one was from Nebraska, one from Oklahoma, and then the kid on our team was from Southern California. Three years earlier, if I were to have had a team, all of us would have been from one state, or maybe two, and they would have only been western states. It’s so cool to see how big and diverse it has gotten. And as far as competitive, the bigger this organization has gotten, the more competitive it has gotten. It went from a small bunch of people that were all from the same place to nine states now.Guys from different areas that do things way different to get the same job done. The events got faster. The horsemanship got better. It all got a lot more fun.”
Tia’s reign will continue through the 2015 WSRRA Ranch Rodeo National Finals on October 29th through November 1st, 2015. If you are interested in competing for the Ms. WSRRA 2016 Ranch Rodeo Queen title, call Crystal Kelly at (208)-972-3403 or find forms and more information on the WSRRA website at http://www.WSRRA.org.
Story by Lindsey Fancher 2022 became the record-breaking year in ticket sales for the pioneer in Washington ranch bronc riding, Darrington Timberbowl Rodeo. “When I […]
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7/30-8/1/20
Perkins County Fair & Rodeo
Bison, SD
8 Seconds Whisky Tour Stop SD 40 PT tour stop, $2000 added money, Entry fee $65, entries open Friday, 7/24 thru 7/27 8:00pm, online entries at Midwest Rodeo Entries 605-374-7754 Monday, 7/27 12 -5:00pm Dan Anderson 605-788-2978 dans@sdplains.com
8/2/20
Garden County Fair
Lewellen, NE
Open & Women’s Ranch Rodeo NE
8/6/20
Wild West Men’s Ranch Rodeo & Bronc Riding – Ogallala, NE
8 Seconds Whisky Tour Stop NE 60 PT tour stop, $3000 added money, Keith Co. Fairgrounds, $125 entry fee, Entries open July 6th. MaKenzi Spurgin 308-289-1304 keithcoag@yahoo.com http://www.keithcountyfair.com
8/8/20
Eureka County Fair & Rodeo
Eureka, NV
8 Seconds Whisky Tour Stop NV 40 PT tour stop, $2000 added. Outlaw Broncs 775-340-2616 outlawbroncs@gmail.com
8/16/20
Harding County Fair Rodeo
Camp Creek, SD
Ranch Broncs SD 30 pt bronc riding, Enty fee is $50 plus $3 misc fee. Entries are August 10 6:00pm – 10:00pm Karen Stevenson 605-641-1224 krbrown@sdplains.com
8/21/20
White Pine County Ranch Rodeo
Ely, NV
Open, Women’s, Bronc Riding and Women’s Steer Stopping NV $500/4-man team both open and women’s, $125/man entry for broncs and $60 entry for women’s steer stopping. Fees & entry form must be turned in by Aug. 9. All entries must be pre-entered and will be taken on first received basis. First 15 open teams & the first 5 women’s team will be accepted. Entries can be hand delivered to any committee member or mailed to Ag District 13, PO Box 150872, Ely, NV 89315 Events are branding, slick horn team roping, sort rope & doctor and trailer loading. Ben Noyes 435-691-2536 or Pook Hoots 775-340-5624
Short List:
9/5-6/20
Methow Valley Rodeo Twisp/Winthrop, WA
9/26/20
Carl Wendt Memorial Ranch Bronc Riding Haines, OR
