Q & A With Stampede Royalty

$\"Photo$

Western Horse Review sat down with Bailee recently – one of the Calgary Stampede princesses – about her experiences, her Stampede horse, beauty tips, learning experiences and much more about her exciting life experience as Stampede royalty!

Can you please tell me what has been one of your most memorable experiences of being part of the royalty to date?

The most memorable moment so far has probably been our first grand entry at Aggie Days. I was a ball of nerves leading up to it, but my horse, Hawk, as well as Maggie and Chelsey, helped to ease my nerves and we had an absolute blast going full speed around the arena full of cheering kids!

What are you still looking forward to?

Definitely the actual ten days of Stampede! In particular, I’m really looking forward to riding in the parade – what better way to kick things off?! Every year I look forward to eating pancakes for ten days straight, and that hasn\’t changed either – haha.

What have you learned about the experience thus far?

I thought that I knew a lot about the Calgary Stampede and I thought I was very passionate about it when I first tried out for Royalty – but that knowledge and passion of this organization has only grown! Learning about everything the Stampede does year round, from agriculture education to animal events to supporting youth programs has only made me love it more and I know I will remain involved long after my year as Princess is over.

$\"Bailee$

Can you tell me about your clothes and boots?

We are so lucky to have our whole wardrobe sponsored for the year! Lammles, Janine’s Custom Creations, Alberta Boot Company and Wrangler do an amazing job of making sure that we look and feel our best whether we are at a pancake breakfast with elementary school kids in town, or at a party with the Canadian Ambassador in Berlin. I love wearing any of our Alberta Boots with skinny Wranglers and a fancy top – I feel just a little dressed up, but could also hop on my horse in that outfit!

$\"Bailee\'s$

How do you ladies always look so beautiful? Any hair, make up or nail tips you can share?

Liz from The Aria Studios gets full credit!! She provides us with all the skin care and make up products we need throughout the year and teaches us how to use all of it. My go-to’s are matte powder, blush and bright lipstick – always bright lipstick! I’m not a good person to talk to about nails, I bite mine so much! I don’t know how they do it, but Lushus Concepts always manages to make my manicure beautiful though. I love pastel colours on my nails year round. As for hair, we curl our hair a lot so I like to put coconut oil in my hair over night to help ease the heat damage. It also makes my hair smell awesome.

$\"Photo$

Can you please tell me about your Stampede horse?

My horse is a stunning dun named Hawk. He has year-round natural highlights through his mane and tiger stripes down his legs. I like to compare Hawk to George Clooney: he’s super handsome, one of the best at what he does and is always relaxed under pressure. A couple of things Hawk and I have in common are that we are both the oldest members of our trio and we both love snacks and laying in the sunshine. We call him “Hawk the Rock” because he is always a good balancing board for me; when I am energetic and little crazy Hawk levels me out and brings me back down to earth and when I’m down or having a bad day, he always lifts my spirits.

$\"Bailee\'s$

Can you tell us about a day in your life, when you are required to appear as part of the Stampede Royalty?

Typically, Maggie, Chelsey and I are in touch throughout the day, planning what outfit to wear and what jewelry to pair it with. I’ll crank up some Keith Urban or AC/DC about an hour before I have to leave the house, because doing make-up in silence is no fun! I have a big rolling rack of my royalty wardrobe in my room so everything is easy to find. If it’s not something I’ve done already, I’ll double check the event information and make sure I have an understanding of the company/organization hosting us and what we are there to do. Then I kiss my puppies good-bye and I’m out the door – I’ll meet up with Chelsey and Maggie at Stampede Park and we’ll head off to our event together! Everyday is a little bit different, but that’s the general way things go for me.

$\"Bailee$

For others who might aspire to try out for the Royalty competition, do you have any tips or advice to offer?

This is definitely a role that will require 110% commitment, so just know that you really have to put your heart and soul into it! If you decide you want to be a part of the trio, don’t be afraid to commit to pursuing that dream wholeheartedly. I was selected the second year I was in the competition and it has without a doubt been worth it. It may seem like a crazy dream or something that might be out of reach, but it’s not!