MIDDLETOWN >> Gracie Pachie, a 12th grade student at Middletown High School, has earned a position on the California State National High School Rodeo Team. She will be traveling with fellow teammates to Rock Springs, Wyoming July 12 to 18 to compete at the 67th annual National High School Rodeo Finals as the 2015-16 State High School Rodeo Queen.
Pachie, 16, has been riding since the age of 3. She spent many years being coached by Helen Owen of A-1 Horse Programs in Middletown. As a junior high student, Pachie put all the coaching to practice when she official joined the California Junior High School Rodeo Association in 7th grade. She competed in Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, and Goat Tying. After taking 2 years off, she decided to return to her rodeo roots by running for District 2 Rodeo Queen, as well as compete in Barrels and Poles again. Unfortunately, a cross country injury sidelined both her running and goat tying career. During her first State run for queen, Pachie was named 1st runner up, having won the horsemanship portion of competition, and also being named Miss Congeniality by her fellow competitors.
This past year, she added Cutting to her resume, and ran again for District 2 Queen, always keeping her eye on the state title. After days of intense competition in Bishop, crowning of the 2015-16 Queen was held on June 19.
Pachie had the honor of not only being crowned as State Queen for the upcoming year, she accomplished it with a bang. Horsemanship, Speech, Modeling, Impromptu question, Personal Interview, Appearance, and Personality were the seven of eight categories she swept on her way to the top title. She is the first State Queen in 15 years for the North Coast and District 2 of High School Rodeo- the last title holder was Jamie Buckner of Lakeport back in 2000.
Besides rodeo, Pachie is the Middletown FFA Chapter President, Middletown High School Mock Trial Team Captain, Associated Student Body Vice President, handles AKC registered dogs, and maintains a 3.97 GPA, all the while maintaining a full schedule of AP classes at Middletown High School. She would like to attend San Diego State University to earn a degree in Criminal Justice, and a minor in psychology, with an eye towards becoming a parole officer.
The run for the National Rodeo Queen Title will take place in mid July. Anyone who is interested in sponsoring Pachie can email her at graciepachie@gmail.com.
