Rodeo queens are known for their sparkle. From glittery crowns to beaming smiles to bedazzled Western shirts.<\/p>\n
But for Zoe Montgomery, 2026 Miss Spokane Interstate Rodeo Queen, there\u2019s a deeper meaning behind the dazzling patriotic Western shirt she designed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a lot of queens had military appreciation shirts,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to honor my parents. They both served in the Air Force.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first 14 years of her life, she was a military kid, which involved moving to new cities almost every summer. It also meant owning a horse was out of the question.<\/p>\n
However, when her dad retired after 23 years of service and the family settled in Spokane, she got a horse for her 14th birthday.<\/p>\n
That was six years ago, and her love of all things equestrian hasn\u2019t abated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was homeschooled through the Riverside School District and joined the Riverside Equestrian Team,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cI saw rodeo queens, and I knew that\u2019s what I wanted to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
In November 2025, Montgomery was crowned, and her reign as Miss Spokane Interstate Rodeo started Jan. 20 and runs through Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the face of the Spokane Interstate Rodeo,\u201d she said. \u201cI ride out with the flag during the Grand Entry, and I advocate for the sport of rodeo and for the Western way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montgomery recently returned from the Omak Stampede where 40 rodeo queens participated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love riding my horse and waving at the crowd and putting smiles on people\u2019s faces,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter every rodeo I sign autographs, and the kids gather \u2018round. I really enjoy that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her ride is Gambler, an American Quarter Horse.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive years ago, he came to me as a 20-year-old \u2013 I think he taught me more than I taught him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shirt she designed honors every branch of the U.S. military. One sleeve carries patches representing the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Space Force and Coast Guard.<\/p>\n
The opposite sleeve honors the Air Force, including her father\u2019s military patches from his days as a recruiter and his time in the 649th Munitions Squadron in Utah \u2013 where he met her mother.<\/p>\n
A beaded rhinestone dandelion adorns the front of her red shirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned from my mom that dandelions are a symbol for military children because they are able to move and put down roots anywhere,\u201d Montgomery said.<\/p>\n
Above the dandelion, a black patch reads, \u201c22 too many.\u201d<\/p>\n
It refers to the statistic that an estimated 22 U.S. military veterans die by suicide every single day.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo many veterans fight unseen battles and don\u2019t receive the support they need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In January, Montgomery will trade her crown for a diploma when she graduates from Whitworth University with a degree in elementary education.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s thankful she\u2019s been able to honor military service members and veterans during her tenure as rodeo queen and feels her experience as a military kid has prepared her well for her future.<\/p>\n
\u201cMilitary life taught me to be adaptable and embrace a sense of adventure,\u201d said Montgomery. \u201cTo focus on the positive instead of the negative and find the joy in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contact Cindy Hval at cindyhval@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rodeo queens are known for their sparkle. From glittery crowns to beaming smiles to bedazzled Western shirts. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-330869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}