Noted as the biggest queen contest in the Western world, the Miss Rodeo America Pageant of 1973 title went to a 19-year-old Pam (Martin) Minick.
By Chan Bergen, written February 1973
Pamela Martin, Miss Rodeo America 1973, and the saddle that was presented to her by Big Horn.
The pageant can’t boast a Bert Parks to introduce the contestants nor does it have the nation-wide television coverage of the other Miss contests. This pageant is held in Las Vegas, a tough town to make a big splash in. But the event does have Wayne Newton, and if you are a namedropper, that’s not a bad name to drop. Still, in the western world it is the biggest queen contest in the land and recent developments would indicate that it is going to get bigger.
Joe Golden; president of International Rodeo Management and Mary Kay Ash, Chairman of the Board of Mary Kay Cosmetics.For example, Mary Kay Ash, Chairman of the Board of Mary Kay Cosmetics in Dallas, one of the judges at the pageant last November, announced that she was awarding $6,000 worth of Mary Kay Cosmetics stock certificates to the winner. This is to be an annual award and, along with the other prizes given to Miss Rodeo America, should help to move the event into the big time.
The coronation ceremony was held at the Frontier Hotel immediately after the Wayne Newton show. Comedian Jackie Kahane acted as master of ceremonies and when the quips were finished, Pamela Martin, a 19-year-old, blue-eyed blonde from Las Vegas, Nev., was named Miss Rodeo America 1973. Pamela also received the personality award.
The new Miss Rodeo America earned her title through competition in three areas: appearance, personality, and horsemanship. As part of that competition, each contestant had to draw a question and answer it. Pamela Martin’s answer to a question involving horsemanship and husbandry included this observation on life: “A good man is like a good horse; he’s at his best when properly fed, groomed, loved, and managed, of course!” Her answer concluded with this advice: “A wife should not hold the reins too tight-let him run. Of course, where family security is involved, a wife should keep the bit in his mouth, stay in the saddle, and keep him bridled.”
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