She taught me that money can't buy success,” she continued. “It takes endless hours of practice and hard work. I have applied these principles not only to rodeo competitions but to my professional career as well.
Cowley grew up in West Point, Utah, and is a late-bloomer to barrel racing but not the rodeo. A self-professed city girl, Cowley got her first horse at the age of nine and competed in 4-H and the National Reining Horse Association for years. She achieved a childhood dream of becoming Miss Rodeo Utah in 2008, and placed in the top five at Miss Rodeo America that same year.
Cowley earned an undergraduate degree in communications from Utah State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M-Commerce. “My nine-to-five job is a lobbyist, but I am a weekend warrior professional rodeo cowgirl,” Cowley said. “After completing my MBA I really missed competition and decided to try my hand at barrel racing, having zero experience.”
“I am honored to be counted among an elite, impressive group of women who have held that title (of Miss Rodeo Utah),” Cowley said. “I don't know that I have ever worked harder for anything else in my life, but it taught me how to work hard; it taught me that I am capable of doing hard things, and it taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to do.”
Following her reign as Miss Rodeo Utah, Cowley earned an undergraduate degree in communications from Utah State University
“I don't know that I have ever worked harder for anything else in my life, but it taught me how to work hard; it taught me that I am capable of doing hard things, and it taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to do.”
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True Beauty Award
Photo Credit: Beautiful Boudie Studio