It was a night which was every bit as successful as organizers could have hoped for.
On Thursday evening, April 11, the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce and the Oakdale Cowboy Museum hosted the largest crowd to date for the 2024 Oakdale Rodeo Chamber Mixer and Queen Coronation.
As the iconic cowboy statue became surrounded by queens, family members and community members alike, Oakdale Cowboy Museum Director Bambi Porter welcomed the crowd before graciously turning over the mic to Queen Contest Chair, Jodie Moffatt of the Oakdale Saddle Club.
She thanked all in attendance as well as acknowledged both Queen candidates – Lillian Crummey and Kyndal Castle – for their participation in the 2024 event.
“We had a fun contest this year,” Moffatt stated. “We’ve had a really, really tight contest.”
The difference in points separating the two in the competition was less than 200 out of a total of 3,000 possible points.
“That’s a really close contest,” Moffatt said.
Prior to announcing the winner, both contestants were presented with $500 scholarships by the family of Lilly Butler, a Calaveras County Rodeo Queen who died tragically in a car accident last November. She was 17.
According to Moffatt, the 17-year-old had plans of participating in the 2024 Oakdale Rodeo Queen Contest. At the news of her passing, the rodeo community came together wanting to give a scholarship to the contestants in Lilly’s honor.
Moffatt further noted that 2024 was the first year there had been more than one queen contestant since the pandemic.
Lillian Crummey of Acampo was named 2024 Miss Rodeo Oakdale that night, showing a mix of emotion as well as composure as she was crowned by outgoing 2023 Oakdale Rodeo Queen Rayna Rogers.
Not new to the queen world or the rodeo world, Crummey shared she was thrilled as well as moved by the honor.
“I used to compete in that arena when I was in Junior Rodeo,” Crummey said of her love for Oakdale Rodeo as one of the reasons she chose to enter the 2024 competition.
The second and perhaps most touching was her relationship with Butler and a desire to honor her in the competition.
“She was going to run for this title, so I decided to run in honor of her as well,” Crummey said. “So she could be in the contest in spirit.
“Lilly was probably one of the queens I was closest to,” she continued. “She truly was my ‘sash sister,’ I viewed her as a little sister to me. It was quite hard when she passed away.”
The 2024 winner shared she was shocked at first hearing that she had won, acknowledging that she goes into contests knowing she’s not always going to win.
“It felt great,” Crummey shared after the event. “I was really happy and then I started thinking about how happy Lilly would have been. It was amazing. I’m really excited to be the new Miss Rodeo Oakdale and to represent the Cowboy Capital of the World for the next year.”
She was on hand throughout the weekend at the Oakdale Rodeo Grounds, officially beginning her reign.
“It means a lot to me because Oakdale is such a prestigious town and it’s held in so high regard in the rodeo community,” she continued, “that I want to be able to ensure that when I travel to places I represent that true western way of life.”
