Codi Clemmons, an airman stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, is heading to Las Vegas to take her shot at Miss Rodeo America.
“It started with this dream of representing rodeo, and being around horses was the really big pull for me. Horses make me happy,” Clemmons said.
Clemmons grew up riding horses on her family’s farm in southeast Alabama. Her mom got a horse the day Codi was born.
“I like to say I’ve been riding ever since I was born because I really have,” she said.
She grew up saddle trail riding, barrel racing, participating in the little britches rodeo, cowboy mounted shooting and carrying the flag on horseback with her family’s mounted drill team. As a child she competed in Alabama Junior Rodeo Association events and showed cows and chickens with 4-H and Future Farmers of America.
Her favorite horse as a child was named Sable.
“She was just a very special horse. She was really just my everything horse. We could go on a trail ride or win a barrel race or just walk around the pasture. She could just do it all, and she was like my best friend.”
She didn’t participate in in pageants as a child, but once in college, she told her mom to meet her in north Alabama with clothes, boots and her hat. “I went into it so blind,” she said. She didn’t study beforehand and placed third out of three contestants but had a good time and fell in love with the competition. At that competition, she met Miss Rodeo Alabama, who encouraged Clemmons to run for the state title in the future.
Clemmons attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, where she was a member of the collegiate cheer team and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She was a cadet in Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of South Alabama and commissioned into the Air Force in May 2023.
Clemmons joined the Air Force to see the world and serve her country. “I just wanted to get out, see the world, travel and serve my country.” Riding horses in another state also appealed to Clemmons.
“Public Affairs was my top choice and Alaska was my top choice,” she said. “I was very fortunate.”
She made the drive to Alaska and started working as a second lieutenant in the public affairs office at Eielson AFB in August 2023.
Moving so far from home has been a big transition for Clemmons. She volunteers with the Arctic Equestrians 4-H Club in North Pole and coaches youth cheer at Eielson AFB, which remind her of home.
Clemmons was planning on competing for Miss Rodeo Alabama, but after she learned she was moving to Alaska she reached out to the board in Alaska. She was the sole applicant for the 2024 title and was crowned Miss Rodeo Alaska in April.
“I love people, and I love the rodeo community, so it’s so easy to advocate for those people and the western way of life,” she said.
She’s the first Miss Rodeo Alaska from the Interior since 1982 and the 25th Miss Rodeo Alaska in the organization’s 51-year history. She’s also the first service member to become Miss Rodeo Alaska.
“I think I have a very unique person being in the military. You don’t just represent one base or one state, you represent the nation and Americans as a whole because that’s who you’re serving. I’m not just representing Alabama because I’m from there but now I get to represent Alaska and the military.”
She’s been excited to share what rodeos are like in Alaska. “It’s based off of events that cowboys would do to take care of their livestock on a daily basis,” she said.
As Miss Rodeo Alaska, she’s attended 13 rodeo weekends, including one on Calgary, Canada, rode in parades, like Golden Days, spoke on the radio and attended other events. At every rodeo she gets to meet fans and share fun facts about rodeo in Alaska. One fact she’s always excited to share is that Alaska is home to the northernmost rodeo, which takes place in Fairbanks in July.
Her favorite part of serving as Miss Rodeo Alaska is meeting people and interacting with rodeo fans.
She said she serves as a liaison between rodeo contestants and fans looking to be entertained. “I get to be that in between the contestants, telling fans about the contestants and maybe what time the rodeo starts,” she said.
Clemmons is heading to Las Vegas compete in the Miss Rodeo America pageant in December. She said the pageant is an opportunity to represent Alaska on the national stage.
During the eight-day pageant, she’ll take a written test, walk in a fashion show, compete in the horsemanship competition, participate in multiple interviews and make a speech. She’ll be tested on her public speaking skills, horse knowledge, current events and personality.
Clemmons has spent most of her free time immersing herself in rodeo history and studying for the pageant.
“Honestly the past few months I’ve just been living and breathing rodeo,” she said.
It’s not just knowing a few things about horses, she said. She has to know the names of the top competitors in the National Finals Rodeo, the inductees into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the livestock or the year.
Clemmons is excited for the pageant, and said the memorizing has been a challenge. She has family members and friends coming from across the country to support her.
“Miss Rodeo America is a spokesperson for rodeo across the nation,” Clemmons said. “She doesn’t just represent one state or one rodeo, she represents all of them. That’s a big responsibility.”
For the horsemanship competition, Clemmons will practice three patterns with a horse. On the day of the competition, she’ll be given one of the three patterns and go. Her outfit for the horsemanship portion has to be monochromatic, so she had a pair of jeans specially dyed to match her top, and painted her boots and belt to match the outfit. She has 12 outfits ready to go for the competition.
