Growing up on the road with a team roper dad and a barrel racer mom, it’s safe to say that Jordan Todd is no stranger to the rodeo lifestyle. She’s a barrel racer herself, winning her very first buckle in pee-wee barrels at just three years old at the Flickerwood Arena in Jackson, MO. Todd recalled, “I remember seeing this old picture of me standing in front of my horse at the time, and I don’t even come up to his knee, with my buckle and my hand wrapped around his leg.” Todd still enjoys competing at barrel races all over Missouri and surrounding states, as well as amateur rodeos.
Jordan Todd is the current Miss Rodeo Missouri 2024 and also finished law school in May of this year. Interestingly enough, this is her first Rodeo Queen title! An Instagram post unknowingly planted a seed in Todd back in 2018 by a former Miss Rodeo America and now legal attorney, Katherine Merck of Katherine Merck Law, who managed to complete her law degree during her busy reign. Todd was never able to shake Merck’s inspirational post and decided to take a leap of faith. “In 2023 I was like, all right, it’s still on my heart, still at the back of my brain. I need to do this for some reason, I’m not sure exactly what it is, but God is really pulling me in that direction.” Todd decided to go straight to the top and submitted her application to compete at the Miss Rodeo Missouri Pageant. Although she had no prior pageant experience, she was a quick study and was able to pull from her years and knowledge as a horsewoman, with some additional training for the horsemanship portion. Her dance background helped tremendously with modeling and having grace on stage, and competing on the mock trial team at the University of Central Missouri gave her excellent public speaking skills for speech and impromptu questions. She was such a natural that she impressively won all but one category! Todd said, “I have some sort of purpose here. I don’t know what it is, and there’s a possibility that I’ll never know, but I’m on this journey because God put me here and I’m just rolling with it.”
Jordan Todd, Photo by Art of Aperture Photography
Because Todd is passionate about both rodeo and law, she wanted to take a minute and talk about the future of Rodeo and the Working Animal Protection Act (WAPA), which is now law in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Todd asked, “What do we want the future of our industry to look like? How are we going to make it better and how are we going to keep it alive? The industry has grown exponentially in the past few years which is fantastic, however, we are inevitably getting some backlash from that.” Todd explained that the Working Animal Protection Act was created by the Cavalry Group, headed by Mindy Patterson. Simply put, it is to protect lawful animal-related businesses. This includes animal-based attractions that are used for entertainment purposes – rodeos, horse-drawn carriages, animal exhibitors, etc. This law potentially prevents local governments from making these businesses illegal. Todd encourages anyone involved in the rodeo industry to call their local representative for their State House of Representatives and tell them they need WAPA in their state. Either that or contact the Cavalry Group directly for help. “All of us rodeo personnel don’t like to get caught up in a lot of politics, but your local government officials don’t know what you want unless you tell them,” Todd said. “We like to go to our rodeos, work hard, and see our progress in the arena, but sometimes we forget about what goes on outside of the arena and how important it can be to preserve this sport on the government level.” For more information about the Working Animal Protection Act, go to www.thecavalrygroup.com.
Jordan Todd grew up in Warrenton, MO. She spent four years at the University of Central Missouri where she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Political Science and Criminal Justice and competed on the Mock Trial Team. She then attended the University of Missouri School of Law, where she completed her law degree in May of 2024. Once Todd’s queening career comes to a close, she plans to intern with a law firm. Multiple offers are on the table, but Todd has narrowed it down to a location either in Missouri or Texas. This December 1 – 8, Todd will represent the state of Missouri at the annual Miss Rodeo America Pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Follow Jordan Todd and her many interviews with rodeo athletes and government officials on her socials. Instagram at @missrodeomissouri, Facebook at @missrodeomo, TikTok at @missrodeomissouri or visit the Miss Rodeo Missouri website at www.missrodeomo.com.
-Article and Photos by Art of Aperture Photography
