This cowgirl called out her racist peers. Then she became Arkansas’ first Black rodeo queen.
For Jaydaya Crush, a native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, there is more to being a cowgirl than meets the eye.
“I always say I have this hoof in my heart,” says Yahoo Life. “I think that being a cowgirl, I’m a powerful woman, I have patience, I’m trying to do anything. It’s hard to hold us back. I definitely feel like we’re a Are the strength.
Crush found the horses as a child after being offered for a ride by a mental health counselor. “I was sexually assaulted when I was 6 years old and I went for two months of counseling,” she admits. “When I was 5 years old, my father was undergoing renovation and has only been out for three years of my life. And I think I have dealt with it and not been sexually assaulted, because I think I have depression. There was more concern. ” The counselor invited Krusch to her home where she first sat on a horse, which she says provided her with “the reign of my freedom”.
By 16, Krush was an accomplished cavalryman and joined a rodeo group, an old fortress dandies founded in 1977. As a Pony Express rider, Crush was expected to miss a three to four minute speech, an intro horsemanship pattern (which they sometimes know is not known until the day of the event) and a diverse wardrobe among other things. Receive. “So much work goes into preparing for a rodeo and rodeo queen pageant. If you’re not preparing for two to three months from the day of the pageant, you probably won’t be ready,” she explains.
Krush’s two-year run was with Dandiya. And being the only black member, he took more toll than expected. He experienced racism for the first time, harassing him repeatedly by treating his peers repeatedly. At one time, a teammate took a photo wearing a neon green helmet and called him “Negro Bob the Builder” on social media. She even calls him a “monkey” and the parents try to get him out of the team because of his skin color. The final straw came when he learned that there was a group message among his comrades dedicated to bashing him.
“That day I actually left the team, the coach begged me to stay, but I told him that I would be in the team, if I had to talk to all my teammates and their parents, and that was the only way. The next Sunday. Practice, we had a mandatory meeting and the rodeo board came down. I wrote my letter and I said in front of 40 people the way they made me feel … but at 16 I told them, ‘You guys don’t “I like it because I was black. I didn’t really experience it until I was on a team with girls who didn’t like me.”
Crush captured the team and in 2017, she was crowned Miss Rhoda Cole Hill, becoming the first black woman to achieve the title. “I didn’t go to a scene and felt the same. It was awful. I was just doing what I loved,” he recalls.
While the recognition is great, Crush still eliminates prejudice within the rodeo industry and would love to see diversity in doing justice. She also likes more contestants who look to connect with her and hopes to serve as an inspiration.
“If I can give any advice to any little girl that I want someone to give me then nobody is ever allowed to mute you. It’s something I’ve always done in my life , So he stays with me. You speak for yourself and talk informally to you.
Outside of the rodeo, Krush, now 20 years old, has also found himself modeling for Western-inspired clothing brands such as Wrangler. She also plans to try her hand at saddle bronc riding and, after finishing the underground, she wants to pursue a law degree in hopes of fighting against injustice.
Read more from Yahoo Life:
Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Register here For Yahoo Life’s newspaper.
