Local rodeo royalty gifted much of her unique memorabilia to the High River Agricultural Society this week.
Crowned Miss Rodeo Canada in 1959, Phyllis (Backs) Dahl saved memorabilia from her time as rodeo royalty and on April 21 gifted much of it to the Agricultural Society, where it will be on permanent display.
Belt buckles, clothing, photographs, and a saddle are among the items Dahl donated.
She wants to see them preserved, and displaying them at High River's Ag Society makes sense, Dahl said
Dahl reigned as High River’s rodeo queen before being crowned Miss Rodeo Canada.
“It’s like a full circle,” she said. “I was rodeo queen in High River, I went on to do all the things I did, and here I am donating my things back (to where it started.)”
Her journey began when a group of local business owners encouraged her to compete for the title of High River rodeo queen.
“I was a naive country kid at 18 years old,” Dahl said. “Horses were my favourite pastime of all.”
“There were three of us that competed, and I was fortunate enough to win it,” she said.
That led to the opportunity to shoot for the title of Miss Rodeo Canada.
“By golly, I won that, too,” she said. “That was really a feather in my cap.”
A short time later, Dahl was runner-up at the Miss Rodeo America contest.
That contest was only about a month after the Canadian version, she said.
“It didn't give me much time to get ready for that one, because that's really upscale," she said. "You needed the right clothes and all the rest of it.”
With help from a friend, Dahl got a pair of western suits from a Colorado tailor for the event in the United States.
“She measured me all up," she said. "I don't know how she did it, but she chose the fabric and everything.”
One of those suits is included in the items Dahl gave to the Ag Society.
Growing up in ranching country near Millarville, Dahl describes getting together with friends to ride cows on Sundays.
She was the only girl around, with six or seven boys.
“I was kind of a tom boy, I think,” she said. “I got to ride the cows pretty good.”
She even competed in High River's Little Britches Rodeo.
Friends talked her into entering the steer riding event there, even though girls weren’t allowed at that time.
Dahl was 14 years old. She entered the contest as Phil, pretended she was a boy, and ended up winning.
“When they went to give me the little buckle, and they found out I was a girl, they didn’t know what to do,” Dahl said.
Following a meeting on the grounds, Dahl was awarded the buckle. The following year, it was made known that absolutely no girls were allowed in the contest, she said.
Carl McGovern, president of the High River Agricultural Society, and Suzie Killam, president of the Miss Rodeo Canada Alumni, joined Dahl for the donation.
“We’re thrilled to be accepting these items and to celebrate our heritage and our lifestyle,” McGovern said.
It’s a good feeling to see her memorabilia find a home, Dahl added.
“I feel complete,” she said. “Like my whole life is complete.”
