One of the West’s most outstanding women

By Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
 
Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns, who has been involved with rodeo for as long as she can remember, shows her passion and love for rodeo as she continues to be involved in it, and the longtime member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame recently recalled for the NLJ how her rodeo journey began. 
Stearns, the daughter of Francis and Violet Sedgwick, grew up on a ranch near Newcastle with parents who were active in rodeo. So it was natural for her to jump right in. 
“I grew up with it. I often say that I cut my teeth on the arena fences,” Stearns said. 
The idea of women riding in rodeo wasn’t very popular at the time, Stearns said, but her mom pushed for it. Stearns participated in her first rodeo as a barrel racer when she was 8 years old. 
“I loved it from the beginning,” she said. 
Calf roping and pole bending were her favorite events, she said, but she loves all of them, except for goat tying. 
Stearns grew up being home-schooled so she was afraid the school wouldn’t let her compete on the high school rodeo team; however, she was able to join right after her eighth-grade year and even placed at state when she was only 13.
By the time Stearns was 14, she trained and broke her own horses and went to the National High School Rodeo on her 3-year-old gelding. In order to go to the national rodeo, Stearns said, she had to place in the top three at state. She not only accomplished that but also was crowned Wyoming High School Rodeo Queen. 
As rodeo queen, she had to ride certain patterns on her horse while carrying a flag. She was proud of her horse for cooperating because he was only “a baby,” Stearns said.
Stearns also won the rodeo queen title at the national level. According to Stearns, her mother didn’t like the idea because she thought Stearns was too young. After Stearns was crowned queen, all the female judges walked over to her and told her they fought for Stearns because the other judges said she was too young, just as her mother had. Stearns said the judges told her that if she ever let them down, she would be in trouble because they fought so hard for her to win the title.
Stearns said the role of being rodeo queen is to be “a public relations expert for the sport.” It’s to sell the sport to the public, which requires a knowledge of animal rights, salesmanship, etc. One also has to ride her horse well and have the right personality to meet and give autographs to all the little girls who hope to someday be rodeo queen too, Stearns said. 
During her high school rodeo career, Stearns set a national record in pole bending and met several friends along the way, noting how great the camaraderie is in the sport of rodeo.
“Rodeo is a sport where everyone helps everyone,” Stearns said. 
Women such as Sacagawea and Narcissa Whitman have been enrolled into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. So, in 1977, when Stearns was in her 30s and her friend Irwin “Red” Bennett nominated her for the honor, Stearns said, she was inclined to turn it down. 
Stearns said she received a phone call that told her she had been selected as an honoree for the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. 
“I’m not going to do it,” was her initial response, she said. She said it would be “sacrilege” to put her in the hall of fame without first enrolling other notable women into it. However, the person on the other side of the phone told Stearns that she encompassed a wide variety of the different aspects of a “cowgirl.” Her ranching background, involvement with breeding and showing, hosting of horsemanship classes, writing for rodeo publications, and playing the organ at various rodeos, among other things, favored Stearns for the honor. The caller said that the organization doesn’t find that much variety in only one person.
The National Cowgirl Hall of Fame induction isn’t just about someone’s involvement in rodeo, but about all aspects of cowgirl life including music, art, literature, etc., said Stearns. When Stearns finally agreed to accept the honor of the title, she said, she told the organization she couldn’t go to the banquet because it was during calving season. Stearns said, however, that she remembers her dad adamantly mouthing to her that they were going. 
Years later, Stearns became a Gold Card member, which is a group for people who have been involved with rodeo for over 50 years. It was during the Gold Card reunion at Las Vegas in 2017 that Stearns was recognized along with 50 other women for being an Outstanding Woman of the West. She received a medallion for it and said it was “a big honor,” especially to be among her peers. 
“I was really thrilled,” said Stearns, who had the opportunity to emcee for the same event the following year for the next set of 50 women being honored.
Stearns said she gives the glory to God for her successes and gives credit to her parents and horses. Starting out young by riding a horse at 3 years old set the pace for Stearns, who was grateful for the opportunity. 
“I was so privileged to live on a ranch with horses,” said Stearns, who said she feels “abundantly blessed.”