Dodge to reign as queen for the 2025 Pendleton Round-Up
By Terry Murry on Saturday, November 30th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Queen Sydney Dodge of Pendleton and her princesses are being introduced to the media this morning at the annual introduction breakfast. The princesses are Alexis Bowen of Pendleton, Rowdy Israel of Canyon City, Myranda Spicknall of Pendleton, and Lexi Thompson of Adams.
The breakfast is at the Pendleton home of Steve and Susan Corey. It is also hosted by Doug Corey, Michael and Jenny Corey, Megan (nee Corey) and Tyson Furstenburg, Cydney (nee Corey) and Kipp Curtis, and Bobby and Addie Corey.
The newly-named court director, Stuart Roberts, is excited about the coming year, which includes more than 180 appearances of the court before the royalty make their first run-in at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds during the second full week of September.
“It’s a little daunting at the beginning,” he said. “It’s an awesome responsibility. We have a great group of girls. Their strength is they’re diversified.”
Roberts said while some court members are trained in public speaking, others are equine experts, and some are skilled in both. He believes the queen and princesses will work together with the new director and his wife, Lisa Roberts, to refine those skills.
Sydney Dodge, 20, is the daughter of Chad and Jody Dodge of Pendleton. She grew up in Pendleton and graduated with highest honors from Pendleton High School in 2022. She earned an associate’s degree at Blue Mountain Community College. She now attends Eastern Oregon University, working towards a bachelor’s degree in agriculture entrepreneurship. The full-time student also works at GT Land and Cattle in the embryo facility and assists with weekly pregnancy checks.
In high school, she was extremely active in FFA and was an active member of the National Honor Society. She also participated for the Oregon High School Equestrian Team and four nine years showed beef cattle and quarter horses for 4-H. She started riding when she was 4.
Dodge attended her first Round-Up at the age of 17 months and hasn’t missed a single performance since. She began volunteering for the rodeo at the age of 8 as a pennant bearer. She has also worked livestock, carried flags, helped clean up the grounds, assisted in retail, helped in the Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame, and acted as a prairie girl in the Happy Canyon Night Show.
Alexis Bowen, 20, is the daughter of Nicki and Howard Bowen of Pendleton. She was born and raised in the Round-Up City and graduated from Pendleton High School in 2022. She is currently attending Walla Walla Community College working towards a bachelor’s degree in animal science. She hopes to finish her education at Eastern Oregon University and plans a career as an FFA advisor.
Bowen was on the PHS swim team, a member of the National Honor Society, and active in FFA. She earned her greenhand, chapter, state, and American degrees and served as a Pendleton FFA officer for two years.
As a youngster, Bowen volunteered for Round-Up by selling programs and helping Altrusa. In eighth grade she began volunteering in the souvenir booth as an FFA member. She continued that work beyond high school. She has attended Round-Up every year since she was 2 months old and began her love for horses when her uncle would take her to the rodeo and let her pet every horse she could. Now she still pets horses, and rides every day.
Rowdy Israel, 18, is the daughter of Nicole Israel and Ronnie Taynton of Canyon City. She is a 2024 graduate of Acellus Academy through Unity High School. She is currently studying business administration at Linn Benton Community College and is the owner of her own business, Rowdy’s Teeth Whitening Services. Her future plans include attending cosmetology school.
She played volleyball and basketball and was a student council member in high school. She was also extremely active in FFA serving as vice president and president of her high school chapter and earning her chapter and greenhand degrees. She was also active in the Oregon High School Rodeo Association, competing in breakaway roping. Israel was the Oregon High School rodeo queen for two consecutive years and finished in the top 20 in the national high school rodeo finals in 2023 in the queen contest.
Israel has held several rodeo royalty titles beginning at the age of 5 when she was Lil Miss Grant County Fair and Rodeo Queen. Her love for the Pendleton Round-Up began when she attended the rodeo as a child. Beginning in 2017, she participated in Westward Ho! Parade on several occasions. It was through this and the many royalty luncheons she attended that she made her greatest goal to be a princess for the 115th Pendleton Round-Up.
Myranda Spicknall, 19, is the daughter of Tom and Rachelle Spicknall of Pendleton. She graduated from Pendleton High School in 2024. She is attending Blue Mountain Community College, studying for a career in the field of diagnostic imaging.
While attending high school, she competed in high school rodeo all four years. She attended the Silver State International Rodeo in both 2021 and 2024, competing in barrel racing, pole bending, and breakaway roping. She also competed in the Cayuse Junior Rodeo, Western States Junior Rodeo, Milton-Freewater Pioneer Posse, Mustangers, and various barrel racing events. She also teaches riding to children.
Spicknall became involved with the Pendleton Round-Up when she was 8, working as an usher and eventually transitioning into a volunteer for the Round-Up store. She has also participated in the Westward Ho! Parade and the Main Street Cowboys Dress-Up Parade as a pennant bearer.
Lexi Thompson, 19, is the daughter of Vic and Heidi Thompson of Adams. She graduated from Weston-McEwen High School in 2023 and is currently working as a dental assistant for Dr. Durk Irwin. She plans to go to Carrington College in Boise to pursue a degree in dental hygiene.
While attending Weston-McEwen, she participated in high school rodeo, competing in various other rodeos and barrel races as well. She earned her greenhand, chapter, and state degrees and was very active in the FFA chapter. Ever since she can remember, she has been on the back of a horse helping her aunt, Katie Thompson, with her cows and working on the family ranch. Thompson’s family has volunteered for the Pendleton Round-Up for generations. She is taking on that legacy. Her duties have included helping run the stripping chute, running stock out of the arena, ushering the queen and court in for the grand entry, and participating in the Happy Canyon Quadrille.
Editor’s note: We are experiencing some problems with images on our website. If the picture of the queen and court does not appear, it will be viewable on our Facebook pages.
