In her reign as Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2025, Dusty Miller has appeared in dozens of rodeos across America. Whether she鈥檚 riding in a rodeo in Florida or Oregon or somewhere in between, Dusty is exactly where she wants to be: on horseback, representing her beloved Cowboy State.
The 24-year-old rodeo queen said she is 鈥減roud to represent Wyoming, proud to be part of rodeo, and proud to call this place home.鈥� As a fourth-generation Wyoming native, Dusty鈥檚 agricultural roots run deep. As a first-generation cowgirl, her love for horses started early. 鈥淚 grew up riding horses,鈥� Dusty said. 鈥淢y mom put us all on horses before we could walk.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 much longer before she started attending local circuit rodeos. 鈥淕etting to watch the girls ride their horses and do something with them really sparked my interest,鈥� Dusty said. 鈥淎nd then once I got to start actually going and competing, I fell in love with it, and I don鈥檛 think I could see my life in a different way.鈥�
She grew up in Cowley, and her first reign in rodeo royalty started at age 8, as the Cowley Pioneer Days rodeo princess. In high school, Dusty became more involved in rodeo and started barrel racing when she was 15. All the while, she also stayed busy with 4-H and FFA, showing livestock and participating in horse judging. Unfortunately, Dusty鈥檚 first barrel horse suffered a fractured foot and overstretched tendon. 鈥淭hat essentially was career-ending and almost life-ending for him,鈥� Dusty said. But the unexpected injuries led to an unexpected career path for Dusty. She started digging into ways to rehabilitate him to be a companion horse and a lessons horse. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I officially chose my path for Animal Science at Northwest [College],鈥� she said. 鈥�...It really just made me realize that I wanted to continue to help horses.鈥�
Dusty started her own business, Crowned M Equine Rehabilitation Services, where she鈥檚 been able to apply lessons she learned from NWC Associate Professor of Agriculture Vern Dooley. 鈥淎ll of his classes really just helped me strengthen my knowledge to better help my clients rehab their horses back into peak performing shape,鈥� Dusty said.
She graduated with an Animal Science degree in 2022, joining her grandparents and dad as NWC alumni. 鈥淪o essentially, I was following in their footsteps,鈥� she said. During her time at NWC, Dusty appreciated being close to home, so she could keep her horses with her parents, Kie and Christy Miller. She was able to ride her horses everyday, 鈥渋nstead of only getting to take one to college with me.鈥�
A highlight of her time at Northwest was an ag operations trip to Kissimmee, Florida, touring cattle ranches. The trip with the NWC Block and Bridle Club, led by advisor Jason Horton, truly helped expand Dusty鈥檚 horizons. 鈥淭hat was so cool to get to experience as a little Wyoming kid that hadn鈥檛 really been out of state or gone anywhere,鈥� Dusty said. 鈥淭he college giving that opportunity to ag kids is absolutely outstanding.鈥�
This year, Dusty has driven thousands of miles to rodeos 鈥� including Florida 鈥� since she鈥檚 not a big fan of flying. 鈥淚 would probably be a little scared to actually add up how many miles I have driven,鈥� Dusty said.
Along the way, she has road-tripped with Miss Rodeo America, and Miss Rodeo queens from Iowa, Nevada, Montana, Kentucky and North Dakota. 鈥淵ou meet so many people, and just the connections you make 鈥� we call them sash sisters,鈥� Dusty said. 鈥淵ou just have a lifelong friend that you probably would have never gotten to meet if you weren鈥檛 in this position, and it鈥檚 just absolutely amazing.鈥�
Though the year is wrapping up, Dusty still has a major milestone to look forward to: competing for the Miss Rodeo America crown at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Reflecting on her reign as Miss Rodeo Wyoming, the events close to home are especially close to her heart. She called Cheyenne Frontier Days 鈥� the largest outdoor rodeo in the world 鈥� a definite highlight. 鈥淥n our flybys, you would think that you could hear the announcer and hear the music and hear the crowd,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the only thing you could hear when you鈥檙e running down the track is the horse鈥檚 hooves hitting the ground. It鈥檚 just the most mesmerizing experience.鈥�
Growing up, Dusty watched rodeo queens at the Cody Nite Rodeo from the grandstands. Last year, she entered the arena as Miss Cody Nite Rodeo. But this year, she was the final rodeo queen to be announced, as she proudly rode into the Cody Stampede as Miss Rodeo Wyoming. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even know how to explain it 鈥� it was the most amazing feeling ever,鈥� she said, calling the experience 鈥渁 dream come true.鈥� 鈥淚t was a dream for as long as I can remember, and it was one that I personally never thought I could achieve,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 here now, and I wouldn鈥檛 change it for anything.鈥�
This feature originally appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of TrapperConnect. If you'd like to receive future copies of this biannual publication in your mailbox, click here.