RATHDRUM — It’s hard for Hayle Carver not to get emotional as she watches her 11-year-old daughter, Rylin, ride horseback among other young aspiring rodeo queens.

“It’s awesome,” Carver said. “I’m kind of letting her feel out her own path, but she can still aspire to be like these women even if she doesn’t go for the title.”

Having won a few titles herself over the years, Carver began hosting a yearly “Think Like a Queen” clinic for young women ages 10 to 25 years old in 2014.

The clinic was put on pause in 2020, but her daughter, who has been riding since she was 3, inspired her to bring it back in 2024, in addition to calls from the rodeo community.

“There was nothing like this when I was younger,” Carver said.

The weekend-long clinic was an exploration of each category of competition that goes into becoming a rodeo queen, including horsemanship, public speaking, modeling and personal interviews.

This weekend, 24 young women attended the clinic at Gem State Mule Company, with some participants traveling from as far away as Montana.

Several of the mentors were rodeo queens themselves, including Kennadee Riggs, who took the crown for Miss Rodeo America in 2023.

“For young girls, rodeo builds confidence, strengthens faith and shapes you into your best self,” Riggs said.

For Miss Spokane Interstate Rodeo Queen Sorrel Aldendorf, the weekend was an opportunity to look inward.

“I’m not competing with anyone but myself,” Aldendorf said. “I’ve been working on building confidence and learning more to be the best that I can be.”

Carver said rodeo queens have long been pillars of the rodeo community.

“They’re the face of the rodeos that they represent,” Carver said. “They bring fans closer to the rodeo in a more personal way.”