HOUSTON (KNWA/KFTA) — America’s first Black rodeo queen and Fort Smith native Ja’dayia Kursh got the Christmas gift of a lifetime.
Kursh performed with one of the world’s biggest superstars, Beyoncé, during halftime of the Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens game on Christmas Day.
Kursh said in her industry, she’s always had to have thick skin, making her performance on Christmas that much more special.
River Valley woman talks history-making athletic career at Northside High School
“I just got tired of asking the organizations to be more diverse so I started crowning Black rodeo queens myself and so that’s when I started the miss rodeo fort smith pageant three years ago,” Kursh said. “When you realize you’re in an industry that does not want to see you succeed, I’m not the type that buckles at the knees, I’m a cowgirl I’ve been riding forever, for 19 years now. I have enough grit where I don’t lay down and take anything.”
She said performing with Beyoncé is an experience she will never forget.
Kursh said her next venture in the rodeo pageant circuit is to begin a competition for adult minority competitors.
Through her experience, she said these women don’t feel represented in the adult rodeo field, which is why she’s blazing new paths forward.
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