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Publication Date: Friday, June 11, 2004 Saddlin' up with the crown
Saddlin' up with the crown
(June 11, 2004) Horses are a lifestyle for Pleasanton rodeo queen
by Teresa C. Brown
When Christine Swartz dons her royal crown, it isn't accompanied by tiaras, beaded evening gowns or strolls down the catwalk. Instead, she'll put on her best cowboy hat and saddle up a favorite horse as she takes center stage as the 2004 Livermore Rodeo queen.
Crowned in February, the 20-year-old Pleasanton woman is excited to be an ambassador for the rodeo, a sport she calls a lifestyle.
"My father grew up in Kansas and brought the lifestyle with him," she said, adding that although she and her brother, Austin, grew up around horses, riding them every day, she did not get interested in rodeo competitions until she was about 10.
Her brother, who currently is a bull rider on the pro rodeo circuit, began competing, sparking an interest in her for the sport.
With her father Tim as a role model and mother Colleen as the family "cheerleader," the family lives a rodeo lifestyle. "We gave up family vacations," Swartz said, noting that the sport can be expensive. Sometimes, between her brother and herself, high school-level rodeo entry fees crested $300-$400. This did not include the travel expenses of gasoline, hotel and food as well as the care and maintenance of the horses.
Nevertheless, one day, Christine hopes to compete at the granddaddy of the rodeos - the National Finals held in Las Vegas in December - a goal that must wait until she finishes college.
Until then, she continues to barrel race and compete in team roping with either her father or her fiancˇ Ryan Ravalin as a partner.
Swartz has also competed in goat tying and pole bending, a race where the rider and horse weave between poles, competing for the fastest time.
"I did pretty good and made it to state (competition) in goat tying," she said. She competed in the pro circuit for a year before committing to attend Las Positas College to earn an associate's degree in business and also attending Chabot College to earn a California real estate license.
In spite of her academic aspirations, her true passion is the rodeo.
"Hopefully, I'm getting a new horse, a faster horse," she said. "And then next year I'll hit some California and Nevada rodeos. I won't go far, I'm still in college."
Getting a new horse is a challenge. "I'm looking for the right one," she said, a horse she likes and gets along with as well as one with the speed needed for barrel racing. Barrel-racing horses are usually high strung, she said. "They love to run."
Swartz described working with her current horse, Swift Prowler, as like "riding a pogo stick." In addition to her barrel horse, she has two others, Hercules and Jammer, that are used for team roping events.
Although Swartz has competed in rodeo pageants before, this crown is her first as Miss Livermore Rodeo. She's also won in junior competitions at the Livermore and Rowell Ranch rodeos. But it took some convincing for Swartz to seek her first royal title.
"My friend talked me into it. I can't stand being prissy," she said. She won runner-up the first year and found out it was not what she expected.
"I finally realized that a rodeo queen isn't a prissy girl. They drill you on your knowledge of horses," she said, adding they also quiz contestants on rodeo knowledge and other horsemanship expertise.
Being rodeo queen means almost daily appearances for Swartz as an ambassador for the Livermore rodeo, which is June 12-13. "It's one of the best ways to promote the sport I love," she said. "It's a good way to explain about the rodeo and how well the animals are treated."
One of her favorite appearances she'll make as rodeo queen is assisting at a rodeo for disabled children. During the event, the children are able to ride horses, try a hand a roping and get a good look at steers up close. "To see their faces, smiling, laughing, crying. They're having so much fun," she said.
Just as Swartz begins her reign as queen, it is bittersweet for her.
"This is the last rodeo I'll be queen of," she said. "I'm getting married next year. You can't be married and be queen."
But she said that with the crown, she fulfilled one dream, and when she hands it over to her successor and gets married, she will be fulfilling another ... one that will give her a new title and lifetime partner.
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