Middletown >> It has been 15 years since a student from Northern California has snagged the title of Miss California High School Rodeo Association (CHSRA) Queen. But that was then.
At this year’s state finals, 16-year-old Gracie Pachie, who just finished up her junior year at Middletown High School, blew away eight competitors by sweeping seven of the eight judging categories on her rise to the title. She took speech, modeling, the impromptu question, a personal interview, horsemanship, personality and appearance. The only category she failed to dominate was a 50 question test. So next week, Pachie leaves for Rock Springs, Wyoming to compete for queen at the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) Finals.
Pachie almost made it once before. At the end of her sophomore year, she competed in the state finals for the first time, just missing the boat as she was named first runner up. The attempt was a valuable learning experience. This time around, she was prepared to take home the title. “For California they just want a really well-rounded girl who’s personable,” Pachie explained. “Since this was my second year I was a little bit more comfortable. Being more confident definitely helped me. It was just a little bit easier going into this time just knowing what I was getting myself into.”
Pachie’s mother, Patricia Pachie, beamed with pride over her daughter’s victory at the state finals. “This is something that not in our wildest dreams we never would have expected,” she said. “For her to have put her heart and soul into it and to walk away with this title … it’s just so cool.”
When she made her bid for queen initially, winning wasn’t on the forefront of her mind. But after doing so well, she thought maybe she could take the title after all. She made victory her objective. “She said, ‘you know what my goal next year is? I want to win state queen,’” recalled Patricia Pachie. “She said, ‘I’m going to do it. I’m going to run and I’m going to win state queen.’”
Pachie explained that she didn’t see any reason to throw in the towel after coming so close to winning. After her first state finals she told herself, “If you do it [compete again], you have a really good chance to win and even if you don’t win you know you did the best that you could do.” She spent the next year prepping outfits, working with her horse and loading up on as much rodeo knowledge as possible. The hard work obviously paid off.
Pachie’s charisma also played a part in her success. With a good sense of humor and a consideration for others, her mother felt running for queen was a natural fit for the “social butterfly.”
While competing for state queen was always in the back of Pachie’s mind, she didn’t decide to run until the CHSRA Northern California district president approached her with the idea. It was just the push she needed.
Pachie grew up with an older sister who approached rodeo with a certain aggression Pachie herself didn’t possess. But running for queen was never something her sibling tried. “So when they offered that to her she thought, ‘that could be fun because it’s my little niche,’” Patricia Pachie said.
Though Pachie and her siblings were raised around horses (Pachie has been riding since the age of three), the family didn’t become immersed in the rodeo scene until Pachie’s sister decided to try her hand at it. In 7th grade, Pachie followed suit and joined the Junior High School Rodeo Association.
Rodeo is just one of the many activities filling Pachie’s very crowded plate. She’s the Associated Student Body Vice President, mock trail team captain, Middletown FFA chapter president, she shows AKC registered dogs and takes a full load of AP classes. And now, she’s tasked with representing high school rodeo for the next year. Yet, she approaches it all with a nonchalant attitude. “I never feel overwhelmed,” she said. “I think I’m going feel a little overwhelmed this year, but it’ll all work itself out in the end.”
These activities may require more juggling than Pachie let on. “The Ag and FFA kids and rodeo kids learn time management better than almost any other kid out there,” said Patricia Pachie, who is the Middletown High School Ag teacher and the FFA adviser. She’s seen her students learn how to schedule a multitude of responsibilities, like school work, feeding their animals and public speaking.
While some families are connected through blood, others form a bond through the trotting horses, barrel racing and goat tying of the rodeo. “I don’t know how to describe a rodeo family,” said Patricia Pachie. “You can find one horse trailer broken down on the side of the road and you’ll see ten trailers behind it.”
Recently, Gracie and Patricia Pachie found themselves without transportation to travel to the national finals. Then the texts started to flood in. Six different people from all over the state of California offered up their motor homes. “It’s just what rodeo families do,” Patricia Pachie said. “It’s just a phenomenal environment to raise your kids in.”
This sense of camaraderie helped spark Pachie’s love of rodeo. “I really enjoy the family aspect of it,” she said. “Everyone in the rodeo competition … we’re all really close, so it’s like a giant family.”
When she refers to the network as giant, she’s not exaggerating. According to Patricia Pachie, the NHSRA Finals is the largest rodeo held in the United States each year, attracting 1,400 visitors and the same number of horses. People travel from all over the U.S., as well as Canada and Australia, for the event.
Pachie isn’t intimidated. “It’s not really nerve wracking because I know I already made my district really proud,” she said. “I’m just going to put my best foot forward and make California proud … If I don’t win I’m not going to be upset because it’s this amazing opportunity that not everyone else gets.”
The NHSRA Finals are July 12 through the 18. To help sponsor Pachie, contact her at graciepachie@gmail.com.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
Gracie Pachie
