Fifty years after she was crowned Chickasha Rodeo Queen, Sue Mosier still represents a local riding community from atop a purebred quarter horse.
Today at 4 p.m., she will ride again in the Chickasha Rodeo Foundation parade as a part of the Tuttle Round Up Club.
“It was an honor and pleasure serving as Rodeo Queen,” Mosier said. In 1959, she was 16 years old and Sue Fitzpatrick.
This won’t be her first appearance in the parade since ‘59, however. Mosier has participated in the parade several times, including in the last six consecutive years.
“Riding in the parade brings back a lot of good memories,” she said.
MUCH HAS changed since 1959 when Mosier, just a few months shy of high school graduation, stood in front of a panel of judges.
“The person who sold the most advanced tickets won the title, but we were also judged on horsemanship, personality, and appearance,” she said. “It was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association back then; it’s not professional anymore. It used to be a lot bigger than it is now.”
Mosier still has the white saddle she was given when she won.
“[The saddle] was made by prisoners in McAlester and it has the Oklahoma state seal on it,” she said. “Being Rodeo Queen meant a lot to me. I was a young girl; I barrel raced and went to rodeos, so it was really a big deal.”
THAT SAME year, Mosier also won second place in the Oklahoma State Rodeo Queen contest.
Growing up, Mosier was always involved with the local horse riding community. Her parents were both members of the Chickasha Round-Up Club.
“I have pictures of me sitting on a horse at about one years old,” she said.
Mosier moved to California in 1963, four years after winning the title. She worked as an administrative dean for the Los Angeles City School District. She moved back to Oklahoma in 1978 and was a counselor at Chickasha High School from 1983-1987.
Now retired, Mosier serves as the secretary/treasurer for the Tuttle Round-Up Club. She and her husband of 28 years, Melvin Mosier, have three registered quarter horses. Mosier rides with the club frequently, including parades in Minco, Lindsay, Tuttle and Mustang.
FIVE DECADES later, Mosier is still watching the tradition in which she excelled many years before. Though some of the qualifications and standards have changed over the years, the institution still persists.
Modern contest rules still outline specific requirements for contestants, though prizes and judging methods have changed over the years. Now, to qualify to compete, a contestant must be between the ages of 8-24, sell over $1500 worth of rodeo tickets, and exhibit knowledge about horse riding.
Sophia Bush, coordinator of the Chickasha Rodeo Queen Contest and Parade, said there are three queen candidates this year.
“The contestants have to be able to ride, saddle, balance, mount and dismount,” Bush said.
