Michelle Hewitt –
Miss Reins in Motion
Thankful for the love and support of her family Michelle Hewitt views her education as
a major priority. The daughter of Darrel and Beth Hewitt of Tracy is currently
a freshman at San Joaquin Delta College while also completing high school as an
honor student. Michelle aspires to one
day become a large animal veterinarian in addition to being a therapeutic
riding instructor. For now she enjoys her time as a volunteer at Reins in
Motion, a therapeutic riding center for disabled children.
Actively involved in 4-H, Michelle is raising both swine and
beef projects for her county’s fair. She is also dedicated to her church’s
AWANA Club and this year will be awarded the Citation Award. This highest honor
from AWANA is in recognition for her completion of an intense program course which
spanned from first through twelfth grade.
Selected to run sponsor flags multiple years at the
Livermore Pro and Junior rodeos she loves the focus and adrenaline of training
and riding. Michelle’s devotion to rodeo
as a way of life and an American tradition has prompted her to enter the
contest to become Miss California Rodeo.
Katherine Hillen –
Miss Springville Sierra Rodeo
A recent graduate of Summit Charter Collegiate Academy, Katherine Hillen currently resides in
California’s Central Valley town of Porterville. In the fall the daughter of Brent W. and
Jacquelyn Hillen will begin her college education at Point Loma Nazarene
University as a part of their Pre-Med program. Once completing her
undergraduate studies she plans to attend medical school with the ultimate goal
of becoming a cardiologist and returning home to open her own practice in the
Central Valley.
As the President of the Prairie Center 4-H Club and member
of the Porterville Junior Fair Board, Katherine enjoys traveling and meeting
new people. She also finds time to barrel race, golf and skeet shoot
competitively. Once settled into her career as a cardiologist she is also
looking forward to raising her own beef cattle.
Katherine passionately promotes her favorite sport, rodeo.
She recognizes the need to secure the future of rodeo by instilling the
knowledge of rodeo to younger generations and encouraging them to be involved. She
enters the contest with the hopes of becoming an ambassador for the sport of
rodeo and the California Rodeo.
Taylor Howell – Miss
Cuesta Rodeo
The historic mining town of Sonora is home to Taylor Howell. The daughter of Gary and Krista Howell has
just completed her second year at Cuesta Community College majoring in Agribusiness
with a minor in Accounting. She plans to
transfer to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the next year and continue her
education towards becoming a CPA. Taylor also hopes to make a career as a
successful reined cow horse trainer.
Her love of Quarter Horses is due to their versatility as
she has ridden in several disciplines throughout her life. As the current President
of the Cuesta Rodeo Team, she most recently added breakaway roping to her list
of events. Outside of the arena Taylor
competed in several varsity level teams in high school, as well as ski racing
events in the Far West Ski Racing Circuit.
Taylor treasures the friends and memories she has made
through years of competition in the NCHA and barrel racing. With the
possibility of representing 105 years of tradition and the American Cowboy that
the Salinas Rodeo embodies, Taylor is excited to compete for the title of Miss
California Rodeo.
Danielle Ray – Miss
Valley Volunteer Firefighters
From the Salinas Valley town of Soledad, Danielle Ray is the daughter of Louie and Jennifer Ray. A graduate
of Lighthouse Christian Academy, Danielle found her passion for flying at the
age of 13. Since then she has logged many hours of flight time to receive her
private pilot certification. The sky is the limit for Danielle’s flight career
as she has plans to continue working towards receiving additional ratings for
flying and furthering her education in aviation at Le Tourneau University or
Embry Riddle.
With experience as an explorer for the Monterey County
Regional Fire program and additional fire academy training Danielle has learned
many aspects of firefighting and search and rescue. Through these programs she
has spent a large amount of time volunteering within her community. Ultimately
Danielle would like to combine her passion for flying and experience with
firefighting by flying for Cal Fire.
While growing up on a ranch with her family Danielle has
spent a considerable amount of time training and working with horses. She is
looking forward to another year of the California Rodeo and would be honored to
represent the Rodeo as Miss California Rodeo.
Annie Tobias – Miss San
Benito Rodeo
A native of rural San Benito County Annie Tobias is the daughter of Charlie and Lisa Tobias. Currently completing
her second year at the University of California, San Diego she is majoring in
Management Science with a minor in Business. Upon the completion of her college
degree she will pursue a career in product marketing or brand management.
Through nine years of participation in 4-H Annie has shown numerous
animals at the county fair and was awarded the highest honor of the program by
being named California State Ambassador. She attributes 4-H for helping her to
learn skills in public speaking and leadership. Now in college she is a member
of the Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity and has served as President of the Junior
Pan-Hellenic council.
A part of the San Benito Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo since
she was a young girl Annie loves the combination of traditional rodeo events
with San Benito’s unique ranch style competitions like Figure 8 Roping. She has
been honored to be a part of the history of the Saddle Horse Show Association
and is proud to represent tradition in the Miss California Rodeo contest.