Rodeo Queen Ja’Dayia Kursh is Striving to Grow Diversity in the Western Lifestyle

In 2017, Ja’Dayia Kursh was named Miss Rodeo Coal Hill of Arkansas on her 17th birthday. The significance of her title was not immediately apparent, but after an interview with Essence in 2019, she was formally recognized as the first Black rodeo queen in Arkansas.

Even before this recognition, Kursh was determined to use her platform to bring attention to diversity and inclusion within the arena. Since 2019, Kursh has been a driving force in pushing for inclusion in Western brands and in rodeos. She even hosted the inaugural Miss Rodeo Fort Smith at Hero’s Arena in Natural Dam, in an effort to make the sport accessible for everyone.

“Being recognized as Arkansas’ first Black rodeo queen was really bittersweet for me. I was only 19 years old, but I knew it held weight. I knew then that as the first, I had so much more work to do,” Kursh said.

Rodeos are deeply ingrained in both American and Arkansas culture, with the oldest organized rodeo dating back to 1888 in Prescott, Arizona, and the first rodeo in Northwest Arkansas dating back to 1926. Rodeo queening is not all that unlike other pageants. Miss Rodeo America, the national organization, serves as a scholarship 501c(3) nonprofit and operates similarly to the Miss America organization, with regional and state competitions held throughout the year.

Rodeo queens, like other pageant queens, represent their titles at various events – educational, charity and other – including rodeos and parades. Rodeo queens are well-versed on rodeo knowledge, public speaking and horsemanship.

A Fort Smith native, Kursh is a first-generation cowgirl who started riding horses at age 6 and competed in her first rodeo when she was 13 years old. In an effort to satiate her interests, she got involved with Arkansas Seven, a local riding group. After her first rodeo, Kursh knew it was something she wanted to continue to do.

“I had been riding horses for a while when I got involved in the rodeo. It felt really good to be part of something like that, and that first rodeo really inspired me,” Kursh said, adding that rodeoing also drove her interest in the Old Fort Days Dandies, a bygone mounted drill team formerly based in Fort Smith.

Photos By Kirstie Marie Photography LLC

Diversity and inclusion efforts are incredibly important to Kursh, as she said she wished she would have seen more minority representation in rodeos growing up. While she said she’s now aware of the Bill Pickett Rodeo, she wishes she would have known about it when she was introduced to rodeoing. Bill Pickett was an Afro-Indigenous cowboy local to West Texas and known for his showmanship skills. The rodeo named in his honor has existed for nearly 40 years and celebrates the contributions of Black cowboys and cowgirls in the western U.S.

“The lack of diversity and representation is so deep. The western industry, when I was growing up, was seemingly really reflective of white cowboys, and looking back, nobody really was focused on representation,” she said.

According to Kursh, it is no secret that seeing cultural representation in all aspects of life is important, a view backed up by numerous research studies published by Forbes and the Economic Policy Institute. Recognizing the lack of representation in her own journey toward becoming a rodeo queen, she works extra hard to give Black girls someone to look up to.

“I know that the things I speak about can make people uncomfortable, but I’ve found that the people who are uncomfortable tend to be the exact people I’m speaking to,” Kursh said. “I started Miss Rodeo Fort Smith because I really got tired of copy-and-paste rodeo queen pageants. I got tired of being mad about the problem and realized that I just needed to be the woman that God already intended for me to be, and everything after that came so naturally.”

In just two months, Kursh was able to put together a diverse event with representation of girls from all demographics and backgrounds. To pull off the event, Kursh secured sponsorships from brands such as Ranch Dress’n and Rock and Roll Denim, so that cost would not be a barrier for participants.

“I will never not be the first Black rodeo queen in Arkansas, and that is something that I think few understand. I turned my feelings of resentment into action, and boom, Miss Rodeo Fort Smith Pageant was born,” Kursh said.

“I just needed the support and kids to sign up who wanted to come out here and learn about rodeo queening. I handled the sponsorships and the clothes; the girls didn’t pay for anything. I did all of it so we could have a pageant that was truly inclusive.”

Kursh is affiliated with several brands including Wrangler and Justin Boots, and she has partnered with several others over the years. She said she looks for brands that are truly representative of other cultures.

“I’ve been wearing Wrangler jeans for basically my entire life, and I remember looking through their social pages and didn’t really see anyone who looked like me, initially,” Kursh said. “After I asked them about it, they were one of the only brands that seemed genuinely interested in making sure their brand was as inclusive as possible.”

From that moment, Kursh began to receive attention from multiple other brands, companies that were also searching for ways to involve other demographics.

“I didn’t really know what I was doing at first, but I realized shortly after that speaking up caused this ripple effect in the representation that existed in these brands,” Kursh said. “I’ve built some amazing relationships with these brands; they respect me, and every brand I partner with truly is looking for ways to be more inclusive.”

While she has taken responsibility for co-creating inclusion in the industry she is so proud to be a part of, Kursh has made one thing clear: She is nobody’s token.

“I’m blessed to be able to say that I’ve played a huge part in making sure that amazing cowboys and cowgirls get the opportunities they deserve,” Kursh said. “I don’t want to be the token Black Girl. … I do, however, want to encourage representation of all nationalities.”

Kursh is looked up to by many young girls and women, and because of this, she is passionate about setting a positive example, despite any negativity or backlash she has received.

“I have so many little girls to teach and to help grow, so that I can give them the same opportunities I had to fight tooth and nail for,” she said. “I kind of ran so that they could walk.”

Photos By Kirstie Marie Photography LLC

Kursh’s inaugural event was not only diverse, she said, it also made for the largest rodeo queen pageant in the entire state, with 50 participants registered and 32 contestants. Fort Smith Mayor George McGill crowned the winners, which included Queen Carissa Webster, Teen Jaydah Releford, Princess Skyla Burton, Sweetheart Stella Smith and Little Miss Cataleya Reyes.

The Miss Rodeo Fort Smith Pageant also benefited Agriculture for Kids, a nonprofit organization Kursh founded to teach children who don’t otherwise have access to the farm about agriculture and the ag economy. She said the nonprofit, in addition to her status in rodeo queening, helps her fulfill her biggest role in life, empowering young girls and women to be whoever they want to be.

“I don’t care how old you are, what anyone has to say about you or how out-of-reach your goals seem to be, if you want to achieve something badly enough, don’t give up,” she said. “Keep pushing and keep going; you never know who you are inspiring.”

For more information about Kursh visit her Instagram page @Jadyiakursh, and for more information regarding Agriculture for Kids or Miss Rodeo Fort Smith, visit Facebook at Miss Rodeo Fort Smith.