A special Miss Ponoka Stampede reunion is happening.
On Friday, June 26, Miss Ponoka Stampede alumni are reuniting in the Ponoka Stampede arena to showcase the strong history of the association’s royalty. Since 1956 Miss Ponoka Stampede has been a staple competition where talented cowgirls represent the rodeo across North America.
Karen Skeels helps organize the rodeo queen program and as 1992 Miss Ponoka Stampede the legacy is not lost on her.
“Being a rodeo queen allows you to be authentic to yourself and push yourself past limits that you didn’t think you could get past,” explains Skeels.
This reunion is a special one; it’s Ponoka Stampede’s 90th anniversary along with this year’s theme of the Year of the Cowgirl. The combination has really set the stage for a special experience and bringing so many Miss Ponoka Stampede alumni to the rodeo is something Skeels says showcases what it means to be rodeo royalty.
“It’s a role that’s so big and you get to have your heart and soul into what you represent,” she explains. “When you’re with the people and you’re Miss Ponoka Stampede and you wear your sash and your chaps and you have it on your horse when you’re in the parades, you’re a walking billboard.”
The Miss Ponoka Stampede program is really about celebrating the rodeo and representing the association throughout North America. Skeels points out that the Ponoka Stampede Association takes great pride in having a Miss Ponoka Stampede. That support has allowed several from Ponoka to move up to become Miss Rodeo Canada.
“We’re so proud of our alumni. And I think too, bringing the alumni full circle is that when you have a legacy behind you as Miss Ponoka Stampede, you have this legacy of people that hold you up, allowing you to flourish in your role” says Skeels.
Former Miss Ponoka Stampede (2014) and Miss Rodeo Canada (2015), Katy Lucas, says it was her experience in Ponoka that helped skyrocket her career in rodeo and broadcasting on the Cowboy Channel.
Ponoka Stampede’s Parade Marshall
Lucas is this year’s parade marshall and she’ll be leading the entire parade along with Brooke Baehl, Miss Ponoka Stampede 2026 and alumni through the Town of Ponoka.
“I’m so excited to come back. I actually haven’t been at the Ponoka Stampede since 2019, so it’s a huge deal for me to get the opportunity to come back,” says Lucas.
“For years I was such a big part of the Ponoka Stampede in a lot of different ways and always got to be involved in covering and promoting the rodeo.”
Lucas’s career is all working in rodeo but this year will be a little bit different.
“Usually, I’m working, so it’ll be a lot of fun to come back to Ponoka and actually get to be a fan and get to be a part of it in a different way, so I can’t wait,” she says.
Her experience as Miss Ponoka Stampede became a confidence boost that follows her in her professional life.
“The Ponoka Stampede board of directors just showed me time and time again that I was good enough. Every time I would show a little more of my personality, they would just applaud,” says Lucas.
“You might think it would come with a lot of extra pressure because it is such a major Canadian pro rodeo, but it’s almost like they took the pressure off, and being a rodeo queen became so much more fun and easy because they showed me that I was good enough.”
It’s that very support that allowed Lucas and Nicole Briggs, then Miss Rodeo Canada, to showcase their riding skills in the Ponoka arena in 2014. “We were able to team rope a steer during the rodeo performance.”
They did this in full chaps, crowns and sashes.
“They made a hell of a run. They got it done in front of God and everybody. It was awesome,” adds Bruce Harbin, Ponoka Stampede president.
“Even to this day, folks bring up that event,” says Lucas, adding that the experience set off a trend where future Miss Ponoka Stampede queens were able to showcase their skillsets to rodeo fans.
Year of the Cowgirl
Stampede president Bruce Harbin appreciates what the alumni have done to represent rodeo and Ponoka as they travel around Canada and the U.S. representing the rodeo and meeting young rodeo fans.
“Miss Ponoka Stampede is one heck of a program. The girls kind of christened it the ‘sisterhood of the traveling chaps,’” says Harbin.
With the alumni returning to Ponoka this year, rodeo fans will be able to see them ride through the arena and be honoured for the work they have done.
“It’s fitting for the 90th annual Ponoka Stampede and the Year of the Cowgirl to bring all those ladies front and centre and have them be recognized,” says Harbin.
One of the ways the association recognizes its past queens is through a Miss Ponoka Stampede gold card. It’s an exclusive recognition for their work and time representing the rodeo.
For Karen Skeels, Ponoka Stampede and being Miss Ponoka Stampede is something so unique to this community. Her daughter Mackenzie Skeels was 2022 Miss Ponoka Stampede and it’s a major source of pride to see such strong history in the program.
“It’s rooted in me, and it’s pretty exciting to see where it’s gone and how big it’s become. I’m so proud of them,” says Skeels.
More information on the Miss Ponoka Stampede program can be found at https://ponokastampede.com/miss-ponoka/.