An enthusiastic crowd cheered on the four women and their armies of supporters launching fierce fundraising campaigns in a bid to become the 2024 Santa Maria Elks Rodeo Queen.
As one of the hallmark events of the rodeo season, the kick-off dinner at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge 1538 on Saturday introduced the quartet competing to replace the 2023 Rodeo Queen Michaela Jamison.
The 81st Santa Maria Elks Rodeo will run from May 30 through June 2 at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center with the parade rolling south along Broadway on June 1.
Seeking the crown and their sponsor organizations this year are Tori Ortiz for VTC Enterprises, Jenna Ramirez for Kiwanis Club of Guadalupe, Alexis Righetti for St. Joseph High School and Neveah Rogers for United Black Student Union of California.
Each has a unique reason spurring them into the intense campaign.
Ortiz, blind since birth due to optic nerve hypoplasia, never thought her dream of running for rodeo queen could come true.
“Good evening, everyone. It’s nice to see you tonight,” said Ortiz, who carries a white cane and had help from the 2023 rodeo queen navigating the cavernous Elks Lodge hall, drawing laughter, applause and a standing ovation.
While raising funds through her campaign, Ortiz said, she hopes to spread awareness about blindness and VTC Enterprises, “an amazing nonprofit organization that helps enrich the lives of individuals with disabilities.”
“That truly means so much to me,” she added.
She is a senior at Righetti High School and plans to study animal sciences in college.
Her queen campaign website with planned fundraisers is available by clicking here.
Rogers, a first-year student at Allan Hancock College, said she stepped up when it appeared the Black Student Union wouldn’t have a rodeo queen candidate.
“The funding that they get from this is really important to things they do in the year,” she said. “This is something I can do for our community.”
Rogers said she was surprised to learn the college’s Black Student Union chapter wasn’t active due to low membership, and hopes her campaign will encourage others to join the organization.
The Olive Grove Charter School graduate hopes to further her studies of elementary education at a four-year university.
Righetti, a senior at St. Joseph High School, couldn’t help being intrigued by the chance to compete as rodeo queen.
“My family’s always had deep ties to the rodeo,” the great-granddaughter of rodeo co-founder Clarence Minetti said.
Additionally, her grandfather’s sister was a prior queen candidate.
“I’d always seen it but I’d never really thought about doing it until my principal approached me,” she said, adding she welcomes the chance to raise funds for tuition assistance for students attending the Catholic high school in Orcutt.
She hopes to study art in college and major in illustration or games and entertainment.
For more on her campaign, click here.
Ramirez, a junior at Pioneer Valley High School, said running for rodeo queen and representing Guadalupe’s Kiwanis Club provides a chance to achieve her goal of giving back to the community after receiving a lot of opportunities.
“I just really wanted to be able to give back to kids just like me,” she said, adding she looks forward to meeting some of the youths who will benefit from her campaign proceeds.
Santa Maria’s rodeo has a special place in her heart since it’s been a tradition for generations of her family, she added.
After high school, she said, she hopes to attend a four-year university and pursue a career in the medical or forensic science field.
Her queen campaign events can be found here.
Queen candidates and their supporters will spend the upcoming weeks holding various fundraisers as they look to raise the most money and earn the crown.
Since the start, the rodeo queen contest has raised $15 million for youth recreation and other programs. Jamison, last year’s winner, raised $525,801 for VTC Enterprises.
Before the 2024 queen candidates unveiling, Jamison, now a Righetti senior, said she recommended the quartet avoid being nervous and focus on having fun.
“A piece of advice I would give is to be open to anything and everything,” she said. “Every bit of my campaign was fun.”
The dinner also revealed assorted honorees for the 2024 rodeo events.
Pryor Baird, who grew up in Orcutt and relocated to Tennessee to pursue his musical career, has been named Star of the Parade while junior barrelman Chael Silva will ride as the parade’s junior grand marshal.
Interim City Manager Alex Posada, a long-time member of the Santa Maria Recreation & Parks Department, including a stint as director, will be honored as parade’s grand marshal.
Rodeo organizers also recognized Scott Parsons, a longtime volunteer and a 10-year director of Elks Rec.
Each performance during the four-day rodeo will be dedicated to a different honoree. They are in Thursday’s performance, Janene Scully, Noozhawk; Friday, Bob and Andrea Taylor, who run the roping chutes for the rodeo; Saturday, stock contractor Reno Rosser of Flying U Rodeo Company; and Sunday, Ray Morawski, a longtime volunteer.
Click here to purchase rodeo tickets or for more information. Click here for parade applications or information.