Skip to content

Longview woman crowned Stampede Princess

Longview is now home to rodeo royalty as Jessica Manning was crowned one of the two 2012 Calgary Stampede Princesses at a ceremony Oct. 2. Manning said she was anxious while waiting for the crowning ceremony Saturday afternoon.
Left to right: Calgary Stampede Princess Jessica Manning from Longview, Stampede Princess Danielle Gariepy and Stampede Queen Candice Lee celebrate their win after the
Left to right: Calgary Stampede Princess Jessica Manning from Longview, Stampede Princess Danielle Gariepy and Stampede Queen Candice Lee celebrate their win after the crowning Sunday.

Longview is now home to rodeo royalty as Jessica Manning was crowned one of the two 2012 Calgary Stampede Princesses at a ceremony Oct. 2.

Manning said she was anxious while waiting for the crowning ceremony Saturday afternoon. When her name was called, she hesitated to ensure her name was actually announced, as there were two girls named Jessica in the competition.

“I was shocked,” she said. “It’s just so huge. And you work so hard for so long to get there and then when it finally happens it’s just surreal.”

Manning will travel with Stampede Queen Candice Lee and Stampede Princess Danielle Gariepy to rodeos and parades across the country representing the Calgary Stampede.

Manning said she might have to take a year off from her equine osteopathy studies in Texas to fulfill her royal duties, but will have to speak with the Stampede committee first. She said it sounds like the Stampede trio will travel a lot, although they don’t know all the details yet.

“I just can’t wait to find out what they’ve got in store for us,” she said. “It sounds like we’re going to get started here pretty quickly. So I have no idea what to expect, but every day is just getting more and more exciting.”

She said the experience would be worth taking a year off from school as the Stampede trio program has many benefits, not to mention it is the Stampede’s centennial year making this a special year for the Greatest Outdoor show on Earth.

The benefits of the competition are already apparent.

In just the past month, Manning said she learned to carry herself more elegantly, improved her public speaking and gained confidence. She said the trio’s skills will grow even more over the next year.

“Any girl that you talk to who’s been a queen or a princess says that they wouldn’t trade the experience for the world,” she said. “They all just gush about how wonderful this has been for them.”

For the 23-year-old princess, some of her best memories from the competition were meeting the other contestants and the friendships they formed.

“It takes a certain kind of person to come out and want to do this competition in the first place,” she said. “So you’re meeting some really unique, intelligent, great girls.”

Manning said each of the six finalists was well qualified and they didn’t know who would ultimately win.

The Stampede Queen and Princesses were each awarded a buckle, saddle and a crown to wear. Manning said they are the first trio to wear the beautiful new set of crowns and she takes hers with her everywhere.

She said she is looking forward to trying out her new saddle on the Palomino she will be given to ride as Stampede Princess.

Manning said she was also excited to work with the other members of the Stampede royalty.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to know them better and spending the year going through all of this with them.”

Jessica Williams of Arrowwood was also among the six finalists.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks