As Miss Rodeo Texas 2026, Callie Welty spends much of her year on the road, speaking to groups across the Lone Star State and beyond. But when the poised, well-spoken cowgirl tells audiences she was born with a severe hearing impairment, most find it difficult to believe.
As Miss Rodeo Texas 2026, Callie Welty plans to share her story of resilience to help inspire and encourage young women in agriculture to be proud of the stories that make them who they are. (Sarah Linnartz/L3 Photography)
“I was never ‘supposed to’ speak,” Welty said.
That was the doctors’ prediction. Her parents had other plans.
“My parents decided that I would learn to speak and that I would do it well,” she said with a smile.
With hearing aids, a lot of hard work and years of public speaking through the Texas 4-H Youth Development Program, she did just that. Not only did she learn to speak, she held multiple public speaking titles, including Texas 4-H Public Speaking Champion, by the time she graduated high school.
Finding her place in Texas 4-H
Growing up in Cleburne, Welty tried nearly every 4-H project possible. In addition to gaining confidence in her speaking ability, she learned valuable skills through food challenge competitions, showing livestock, competing in rodeo events and using her natural leadership instincts to serve the organization that provided her with so many opportunities.
Whether she was rodeoing, showing livestock or competing in public speaking, Callie Welty always felt like she had a home in Texas 4-H. (Top left: ImageHounds; top middle and right: Next Level Images; bottom: Stacy Marie Photography)
“4-H has something for everyone no matter what you’re interested in,” she said. “Whether I was rodeoing or showing or judging livestock, there was a spot for me. That’s one thing that I really love about 4-H: You can truly find a place and make your home there.”
And Welty is quick to point out that a home isn’t really a home without family.
“That’s another valuable piece of the 4-H experience,” she said. “It’s not just the kid receiving the enrichment and the education; it’s also their family because they can’t do all these things without a support system. My family and I really cherished the time we spent together, whether at home, in the barn or on the road — late nights or early mornings.”
“Not all of our paths and stories are the same, but it’s what we do with them and how we overcome in those troubling times that make us who we are.”
Callie Welty
Former Texas 4-H member
Miss Rodeo Texas 2026
Speaking up for others
Throughout her time as Miss Rodeo Texas, Welty will take the values she gained in 4-H on the road, representing Western heritage and the lifestyle that comes with it.
During her travels, Welty also plans to advocate for others with hearing loss or disabilities through her platform, Hearing for the Herd.
Her next rodeo
Callie Welty will compete for the Miss Rodeo America title this December in Las Vegas. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree from the Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications. After she finishes, she plans to continue nurturing her livestock photography business and her Hearing for the Herd platform.
“Being unique doesn’t make you weird — it makes you valuable,” she said. “It’s what gives you a story that you can then share with someone else who is going through a similar situation to give them hope.”
Only a few months into her new title, Welty has already seen that happen. She inspired that hope during an emotional exchange with a young girl and her mother when she and the girl compared hearing aids at a rodeo.
“I love that 4-H taught me how to make such meaningful connections and friendships,” she said. “I learned to really take the time to get to know someone and be interested, to actively listen.”
Welty looks forward to making many more of these meaningful connections as she educates others on agriculture, Western heritage, ranching and more. However, through all the glitz and glam, chaps and hats, and once-in-a-lifetime stops, she plans to remember her Texas roots, the team that got her there and the defining moments of resilience.
“Not all of our paths and stories are the same, but it’s what we do with them and how we overcome in those troubling times that make us who we are,” she shared. “I look forward to using this incredible experience to serve and be an example that young women in agriculture can proudly look up to.”
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