Spencer named Mounted Posse queen

Maddie Spencer, 21, has been named the 2018 Grays Harbor Mounted Posse rodeo queen. The 2015 graduate of Elma High School is the daughter of Renee and Justin Spencer of Elma.

Spencer takes over for Shelby Baker-Worth, who held the title for 2017.

She said the nonprofit Grays Harbor Mounted Posse, which is affiliated with the Northwest Professional Rodeo Association, is responsible for putting on a popular indoor professional rodeo event every year during the fourth weekend in March at the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds in Elma. Her duties as queen extend year-round, however.

“I spend the whole year representing the posse and spreading the word of the rodeo,” she said.

To that end, she’ll travel throughout the Pacific Northwest, attending rodeos, parades and other events during the year.

Rodeo is something of a family tradition for Spencer. An aunt was a queen with the Grays Harbor Mounted Posse years ago, and she herself held the title of princess with the organization as a teenager. In high school, Spencer won two overall state championships and a slew of other awards as a member of the Washington State High School Equestrian Team. Today she coaches a related high school equestrian drill team that practices weekly at the county fairgrounds.

There are three horses at Spencer’s home, she says. A female named Shorty participates in speed events with Spencer, while a male named Smoke is for horsemanship, cow events and parades. A pony named Shot belongs to her sister.

Spencer says her favorite rodeo event is barrel racing, which involves riders competing for time as they run a clover leaf-shaped pattern in the arena around three barrels. She recalled that she’s ridden in the Posse’s March rodeo every year as a contestant since she was 14.

“Everyone falls off. I’ve had a couple of bad accidents,” she said. “But thankfully I’m a bit of a helmet stickler. I’ve always had helmets, and they’ve pretty much saved my life every time.”

In addition to her rodeo pursuits, Spencer is studying math education for grades 5-12 online through Western Governors University and works alongside her mother as a preschool teacher of 4- and 5-year-olds at Learning to Grow in Elma.

“The kids love it,” she said of those times when she wears Western outfits to school, particularly her cowboy boots and oversized rodeo belt buckles.

Spencer acknowledged that most people don’t immediately think of rodeo when they think of Southwest Washington.

“Yeah, I get funny looks. But the community really comes together for the rodeo. You see all sorts of people come together for the event,” she said. “The kids love when you do the local parades. … They love being able to see the horses. It’s not something everyone gets to see around here.”

Grays Harbor Mounted Posse maintains a Facebook page, and Spencer said she plans to set up her own Facebook page as queen in the near future where she can be reached.

(Todd Bennington | Twin Harbors Newspaper Group) Maddie Spencer is the 2018 Grays Harbor Mounted Posse rodeo queen. The Elma native has had a lifelong involvement with equestrian activities.