Twi-Anna Coleman, a Warrenton-area 4-H member and rodeo athlete, will travel across Missouri and the nation this year representing her sport after being named Miss Teen Rodeo Missouri for 2023.

The title is granted as part of the Miss Rodeo Missouri pageant, which seeks to promote the sport of rodeo through pageant winners who are practiced in horsemanship, charismatic, and knowledgeable. Coleman, 18, was officially crowned at a ceremony in Warrenton on Jan. 28.

Coleman was born and raised in Warrenton.  She partnered up with her first horse when she was 10 years old, and started competing in barrel racing. She’s also taken part in several pageant competitions, and in 2022 tried out as Miss Teen Rodeo. Over the course of three days, contenders for the title were scored for their riding skill, knowledge and speaking ability.

As the pageant winner, Coleman will travel to various rodeo events throughout the year, acting as a promoter and spokesperson for the sport.

“I’m definitely looking forward to making friends at all the rodeos I go to, and representing the sport that I love so much, and just being an advocate for animal welfare,” Coleman said. She commented that one of the highlights of traveling to competitions is getting to meet new people, and also educating people who are unfamiliar with rodeo.

“Everywhere I go, I find someone who doesn’t know anything about rodeo, and it gives me the opportunity to teach them,” she continued. “The most common question is ‘Are you hurting the animals,’ and we’re not at all. ... I promise, the bucking horses and bulls absolutely love their job, and that’s what they were raised and bred to do.”

Coleman said a lot of the love of rodeo as a sport comes from a love of the animals that athletes work with every day. Rodeo athletes seek to look after the animals’ best care and interest while participating in the competitions, she said.

Coleman is attending her first year at William Woods University, where she is studying biology as part of the school’s pre-veterinary program. She hopes to continue through an eight-year program to become an equine veterinarian.

Throughout college and her later career, Coleman also noted that she plans to continue with rodeo competition.

“It’s something that’s very dear to my heart, so I’m never going to let it go,” she said.

During her crowning ceremony on Jan. 28, Coleman received glowing compliments from other representatives of the Miss Rodeo Missouri organization, as well from Jeff Myers, Warren County’s representative in the Missouri House of Representatives.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into the things that she accomplished to be Miss Teen Rodeo Missouri. That’s a huge honor and a credit to her,” Myers noted. “It makes me proud, as somebody who represents this area, to be able to call her one of my constituents.”

Jo Gadberry, one of the leaders of Miss Rodeo Missouri, said the competition encourages young women to develop important life skills in order to engage with the public. Being selected as one of the winners connects Miss Teen Rodeo with a national network of fellow advocates and promoters of the sport.

However, Gadberry said there’s also a lot of expenses that comes with traveling and touring as Miss Teen Rodeo. She thanked the businesses that help sponsor the state organization, and encouraged local supporters to reach out if they want to help Coleman with expenses associated with her events.