The 2023 Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede Princess Caitlyn O'Connor, left, and Queen Emma Atkinson share a laugh at the Stampede office on Aug. 3, 2023. (Photo Courtesy Bob Schneider)

By Chris Brown

‘Amazing opportunity’: Stampede royalty eager to connect with community

Aug 3, 2023 | 2:55 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Royal dreams that started when they were little are now a reality for two local women.

Emma Atkinson was crowned 2023 Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede Queen and Caitlyn O’Connor was crowned Princess at Friday’s Stampede rodeo.

“I think it was a really surreal moment,” Atkinson says of the announcement. “It’s kind of like you prepare yourself for the competition and get ready and then once you’re in it everything flows. So just standing there and being named the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede Queen was truly an honour and I think it takes a couple of days for it to sink in, you know, like, ‘yes I do have this title.'”

O’Connor says it’s taken a bit for the reality set in, but she’s ready now.

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“I have this opportunity and I need to jump on it and I get to experience all these different things and I get to have an amazing friendship along the way,” she says.

Over the next year they’ll be attending farmers’ markets, rodeos and other local events.

Atkinson, who grew up just outside the city at her family’s All Season Arena equestrian centre, says she’s wanted to be Stampede royalty ever since she saw past queens and princesses as a little girl. She says it’s an amazing opportunity to be an ambassador for Stampede and the community.

O’Connor grew up in Medicine Hat and remembers seeing Stampede royalty when she was little and the fun they had. Coming down off the excitement of winning, the pair are looking forward to connecting with the community.

“There’s a sense of pride that, you know? The little girls are looking up to you and you are kind of a big role model in their lives almost. And the older generations as well … getting to talk to them and hear their stories,” O’Connor says. “And I’ve met a few past royalties that they’ve shared their experiences and it’s amazing.”

In the next few weeks, the pair will appear at a Desert Blume golf tournament and the rodeos in Strathmore and Lethbridge.