Three ladies are vying for the title of Miss Rodeo Agribition 2026.
Sunny Schutte, Grace Pain, and Shylah Sitter participated in the horsemanship aspect of the competition on Tuesday and public speaking on Wednesday.
The three contestants then answered questions from reporters Wednesday morning. One question was what inspired them to take part in the competition.
For Schutte, it started years ago when she was in the eighth grade when she attended an event and saw someone carry the Canadian flag "in this beautiful, sparkly shirt."
"Right then and there, I was like, 'Mom, I want to do that one day. I want to be her one day.' And so I carried my first title in 2023 as Miss Saskatchewan High School Rodeo. And now that has led me here to compete for my first Canadian Pro Rodeo title as Miss Rodeo Agrobition. And it's just been a total dream come true to just be here and a part of this experience.” said Schutte.
For Sitter, she loves all things rodeo, agriculture, and Saskatchewan.
"There's no other way that I would have it. Most of my family is from Saskatchewan," said Sitter. "I live out on a farm and I honestly love agriculture quite a bit. I love rodeoing, and I worked on a feedlot for quite a while and got to get the feel for some more livestock part of it. And I loved it. I didn't think it was going to be my thing, but I quite loved it. And then I was like, 'why not? You only live once.' And then once I started, I was like, absolutely. I love it. I love it. I'm so excited to represent Saskatchewan and Canadian (Western) Agribition. I'm very excited to begin this.”
Pain noted she grew up in an urban setting, "which is very unusual for trying to become a rodeo queen" but grew up around the agriculture industry.
"All of my family is around agriculture and it's something that I've always had a passion for. So anytime I could, I was out there being with horses, cows, doing anything that I could, so coming towards this title, I know that I like being a leadership role and it's something that I love. And I am a Saskatchewan girl through and through and I would love to represent our province to all of Canada, just like Abby did this past year.”
Abbey Harty, the current Miss Rodeo Agribition and Miss Rodeo Canada, offered some advice to the trio.
"I think the biggest piece of advice that I can give these lovely girls is just to be yourself and to do this with kindness, because at the end of the day, it's not going to matter who comes out of this competition successful. All of these girls are leaving here successful, and I think what's going to be remembered is who had a kind heart. At the end of the day, that's what I want to leave this program with and the legacy I want to leave on this program and with Miss Rodeo Canada. I want people to remember me as being kind and authentic and so genuine." Harty said.
The winner will be crowned tonight during the intermission of the Maple Leaf Finals Rodeo Wednesday night.
