Tasha Thompson Miss Rodeo North Dakota State Fair

“Everything happens for a reason” is the motto that Miss Rodeo North Dakota State Fair says fits her best. This must be the reason she captured the coveted horsemanship category and won the queen title at the 2008 Miss Rodeo North Dakota State Fair pageant.

Tasha Thompson has been around horses since she was just a little girl, first competing in horse shows but then moving onto rodeos because of the adrenaline rush it gave her. She is a two time North Dakota High School Rodeo finals qualifier and a three time Rough Rider Rodeo finals qualifier in barrel racing. She also has competed in NBHA and barrel racing jackpots all over North Dakota and Minnesota with her horse, Dusty, carrying her along the way.

The 20 year-old daughter of Jim and Sue Thompson, grew up on a Quarter Horse ranch near Sherwood, but first remembers her summers consisting of traveling “down south” and helping her family with their custom combining business. She attended Sherwood High School , where she was active in Spanish Club, was Annual Staff Editor, a basketball statistician, and competed in high school rodeos. Most recently, Tasha graduated from Williston State College with three associate of arts degrees in Agribusiness Sales & Management, Farm & Ranch Management, and Accounting. Now she is a junior at Minot State University with a double major in Accounting and Finance. She hopes to someday become a Certified Public Accountant, but wants to stay as active as possible in the equine and agriculture industries.

When asked what she would like her year to be like as a rodeo queen, Tasha’s response was: “I want to travel to as many rodeos as possible, meet a lot of people, and inform them about our great North Dakota State Fair!”

The Miss Rodeo North Dakota State Fair rodeo queen is a representative of the state’s largest annual event. She holds the responsibility of presenting herself as a spokesperson for the North Dakota State Fair and the sport of rodeo. She will travel all over the state of North Dakota as well as surrounding states to attend rodeos, parades, western events, pageants and visit schools.

If you are interesting in representing the North Dakota State Fair as its rodeo queen, please contact the State Fair office for more pageant information: PO Box 1796 , Minot , ND 58702 ; (701) 857-7620.