Charlatan Sandford (princess) and Charlie Christie (queen) were named the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede 2024 Royalty during the intermission of Friday's Professional Rodeo competition.--PHOTO COURTESY RANDY FEERE
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Competitors Charlie Christie and Charlatan Sandford emerged from the dirt of the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede Grandstand as the 2024 Stampede Queen and Princess, and are looking forward to taking on their year together.
The crowning came as a complete shock, said Christie on Friday night, immediately after receiving the honour.
“I’m so excited, proud and very overwhelmed,” said Sandford. Both Christie and Sandford explained that the competition had been extremely close this year, and they had entered the ring that evening thinking that truly anything could happen.
“All of the contestants did amazing, and it was a great group of girls to do the competition with,” said Christie. “We had good memories and good times, and definitely made some lifelong friends.”
Christie and Sandford were both born and raised in and around Medicine Hat, and are thrilled to be taking on the role of ambassadors for the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede, as well as introduce themselves to the city.
“I come from a family of two sisters and my mom and dad, so I definitely have an overwhelming support system. I just started barrel racing a couple of years ago now, and I’ve really enjoyed it from my horse, from my grandpa,” said Christie.
She explained that she comes from a legacy of Rodeo Royalty, with three other relatives who have been past royalty for the Calgary Stampede, and she’s proud to have the opportunity to follow in their footsteps for her hometown.
“I think it’s a great honour to be able to do this, to let the tradition grow, and I hope one day, if I have a little girl, that she wants to be a rodeo queen or princess, too,” said Christie.
Christie has developed her passion for horsemanship working on a ranch in Brooks, and has a love of barrel racing developed in recent years.
For Sandford, also a lifelong Hatter, to wear the crown as Stampede Princess is a lifelong dream.
“It’s an unbelievable dream that has just become a reality, and I don’t think me or my support system has really let it sink in how unbelievably amazing this opportunity is just yet,” said Sandford.
Sandford is a woman of many big plans, she said, as she’s just completed her equine technician certificate, and will be going into nursing school in the fall. She added that she feels all the more prepared for these goals and opportunities with her new “partner in crime” by her side, and is grateful to get to spend the next year as a team with Christie.
Both women expressed their gratitude for the support of their families, and their fellow contestants, as well as their predecessors Stampede Queen Emma Atkinson and Princess Caitlyn O’Connor.
The pair will be on the road shortly with their first appearance as royalty at the Strathmore Rodeo, the beginning of what they expect to be a busy but wonderful year full of personal growth and lifelong memories.
