Miss Rodeo USA 2014, Elisa Swenson is a native of California. Serving as Miss Rodeo Lakeside, she is leaves a full time job with West America Corp. to take on her reign as Miss Rodeo USA. “I was working in estimating and assisting the financial controller,” said the 25-year-old from Lakeside, Calif. She is also researching nursing school after her reign as Miss Rodeo USA. “I know that different opportunities might arise, but my passion for helping others through nursing is where my heart is right now. My main goal in life is to grow in my relationship with God and the nursing school at Point Loma Nazarene a prestigious nursing program.”
Elisa wasn’t allowed to ride horses as a young girl. “My mother asked me to quit riding because of her fear that I would get hurt. Her greatest fear became my biggest asset,” she said. Viola passed away in 1998, when Elisa was 10, after a six year battle with breast cancer. “My father sent me to a riding camp and my love of horses returned.” She began her queening career on a trail ride in January of 2011. “Nikki Tremblay and I were riding in the riverbed in Lakeside, Calif., and she asked me and another girl which one of us was going to try out for Miss Rodeo Lakeside and I had no idea what she was talking about.” The quick learning curve, less than two years, has taught her about respect, perseverance, and not to give up. “I was very passionate about it (queening), and this helped me overcome the passing of my mother. Queening helped lift me up in a different way – it was about chasing my goals and setting my mind to those goals.”
Her title as Miss Rodeo Lakeside introduced her to the International Pro Rodeo Association. “The Bulls Only rodeo is the only rodeo I knew of for IPRA in California. I know that California has a history of IPRA,” she said. She has been to Oklahoma only once before the competition. “I love Oklahoma. It’s a reflection of our Western heritage. The open land, horses, and fields, is much different than California.”
Her life is going to forever change with her new title. “I think about what Lisa Lance (Executive Director for the Miss Rodeo USA Pageant) wrote about being and becoming – it’s something you grow into – it’s all about taking it as it comes.”Elisa’s platform is Brand your Attitude. “My goal is to encourage others to think more positively in all aspects of their lives. I want to do that by encouraging people to choose words to live by. For example, I have a lot of quotes and images that inspire me – I look at rodeo and the athletes that compete. They face challenges and they push on and don’t let anything stand in their way. That image helps me whenever I’m in a tough situation.” She has no idea what to expect throughout the year. “I have a brief idea of what I’ll be doing, but it’s really about all the things I’m not going to be expecting that is exciting for me.”
