Mariah Beckom had never ridden in a rodeo pageant before August. The longtime Columbus resident didn’t even own a horse until about four years ago.

But when Beckom saw that Black Rodeo USA was holding its inaugural pageant in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, she decided to “give it a shot anyway.” And by the end of the pageant, Beckom had proven her skills, riding away with the Jr. Miss Black Rodeo USA crown.

“I love telling my story as a first generation cowgirl, because it hasn’t been easy,” Beckom said. “And most of the time, when you step into the western world, those are generations of cowboys and cowgirls that have learned the ropes from others. So, for me, it was different.”

Beckom also got to watch one of her horses carry Samirah Aliyah Miller to victory, when she won the Miss Black Rodeo USA title.

“It was an honor to be able to make that connection with her, and for me and her to travel and (collaborate) with each other this year,” Beckom said.

Rodeo pageants are competitions where young women compete to become rodeo queens, ambassadors that represent their particular rodeo organization. Miss Black Rodeo USA judges competitors in horsemanship, personality, appearance and photogenic categories.

While many cowgirls that compete in these kinds of pageants grow up surrounded by the western lifestyle, Beckom did not. She grew up as an athlete, playing soccer beginning when she was four years old and continuing through her collegiate career at Mississippi Gulf Coast, Alcorn State University and Mississippi University for Women.

After graduation, Beckom wanted something “extra to do,” and she asked her parents if she could buy her first walking horse.

“They told me no, but I’m the baby of four, so I’m kind of spoiled and I had already bought the horse by the time I asked them. So I just kind of eased my way into it,” she said with a laugh. “And they love it now as well, so it was worth it.”

Mariah’s father, Derrick Beckom, works as a sergeant for the Mississippi Highway Patrol. He said he was initially surprised, but he quickly saw how determined she was to get into rodeoing, and he remembered that she had asked for a horse when she was about 3 or 4 years old.

Derrick said he also saw the horse as a form of “divine intervention,” he said.

“I was recovering from my illness and I was outside with that particular horse one time, and we ended up just face to face,” Derrick said. “And I understood, the good Lord showed me then, that I could get used to this. It was probably the most peaceful thing I had experienced in a long time.”

Shortly after, Derrick joined MHP’s mounted unit, while encouraging his daughter to pursue the rodeo lifestyle. One horse quickly became two, Mariah said, before snowballing into the nine horses her family now owns at B6 Country Ranch, where they train for different rodeo events and offer training lessons for riders.

Mariah said that has come with a lot of work, including twice daily feedings and groomings, along with frequent training for rodeos and constant communication with the horses. It has also come with mistakes along the way, like overworking or misreading a horse.

“Horses communicate with us just as well as we communicate with them,” Beckom said. “You just need to be able to listen and see what they’re telling you. And like I said, every day, I just have to put the time in.”

When Mariah goes to rodeos, she’s used to being in the middle of the action – barrel racing, steer undecorating and breakaway roping. Between competitions, she treats her horses like athletes, applying IcyHot to their legs and making sure they’re warmed up beforehand.

But about two years into competing, one of Mariah’s friends recommended she try a rodeo pageant and run for queen. In July, Mariah saw that Black Rodeo USA was starting its own pageant, and she decided to compete.

Riding to victory

Since she works so regularly with her horses, Mariah said preparing for the pageant mostly came down to picking out outfits for the competition and preparing for her interview and speech.

Mariah brought two horses with her on the nine hour drive to the competition – her steady, dependable horse Trigger and her red mare with a royal personality, Queen G. But during the interview portion of the competition, she heard that Miller had flown to the rodeo and didn’t have a horse to ride during the horsemanship portion.

Immediately, Mariah knew what she had to do.

“I didn’t want her to jump on my mare that I know like the back of my hand and have anything happen out of the usual,” Mariah said. “I knew at that moment that Trigger was the best boy for her to just get on and be able to have a clean ride, and whether or not me and (Queen G) had a clean ride … we would be fine, because I knew how to control her.”

As Mariah led Queen G through their horsemanship pattern, the mare refused to follow one of the cowgirl’s commands. But Mariah focused on controlling and communicating with her horse and finished the pattern with a round of applause from the judges, taking home the Jr. Miss Black Rodeo USA crown.

Meanwhile Miller, riding Trigger, took home the Miss Black Rodeo USA title. During the competition, Mariah said, she enjoyed getting to stand together with her competitors as “determined cowgirls” putting their best feet forward. Winning the crown, she said, means she gets to represent the rodeo in her hometown and represent her hometown in the rodeo world – as she and Miller made an appearance at a rodeo in Arizona at the end of August and will make an appearance in Las Vegas as well.