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Timber Lake's Tobi Hintz ready to be herself in the National Finals Rodeo Queen competition
Timber Lake's Tobi Hintz
Courtesy of South Dakota High School Rodeo Association
Jun 30, 2022
 

By Rich Winter

In 2020, then Timber Lake freshman Tobi Hintz was named Miss South Dakota High School Rodeo Association Queen. Young and inexperienced in the nuances that make a rodeo queen successful, Hintz said she didn’t fare well at her first shot at Queen of the National High School Finals Rodeo. 

“I was a baby,” Hintz said. “My sister Tyler tried to explain how big this competition was and I worried too much and didn’t have fun.” 

After finishing as first-runner-up following her sophomore year, Hintz grabbed the crown again this summer when she was named 2022 Miss South Dakota High School Rodeo Association Queen at the South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals in Fort Pierre, earlier this month. 

“This year is a whole different ball game,” she said. “I get to represent an amazing state and I get to represent my home town (Timber Lake) and that means a lot to me.” 

Queen contestants at the state and national competitions compete in the categories of horsemanship, personal interview, modeling, speeches and a written test. Contestants are also judged on being photogenic and in the category of congeniality. 

Of all those categories, Hintz feels the most at home when she’s giving a speech. 

“Prepared speeches are my favorite thing,” she said. “We had a class at Timber Lake that I absolutely loved and I like doing personal interviews with judges because they can see your personality.” 

Of the remaining categories Hintz participates in during a competition she says she is most fond of things she is in command of. 

“Horsemanship is something I look forward to because that is within my control.” she said. “The pattern is already set so the whole thing comes down to how well you can control your animal all while keeping a smile on your face.” 

Not many high-school students look forward to tests during the summer but Hintz is keen on being on top of that information. 

“The written test is about the national rulebook, the events and regulations,” she said. “It has a certain amount of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank and true or false questions and counts for 25 points.”

The Hintz family has been known to do pretty well at these written tests and in the queen competitions. Older sister Tyler was the 2017 Miss South Dakota High School Rodeo Association Queen. 

The family does have a bit of an ace-in-the-hole for these written tests. In 2017, the Hintz family made 700 flash cards with possible written test questions. 

“Tyler told me this year to make sure I study because that is one of the things you can control and not based on the opinion of another person,” she said. 

Hintz participates in barrel racing and pole bending, riding her 10-year old horse “Dennis” in both events. 

“He is a bit of a character and he’s a new horse for me in barrel racing,” she said. 

Having matured over the last few years and feeling more confident in herself, Hintz is eagerly anticipating the queen competition at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyoming, July 17-23. 

“I feel way more prepared because I know what to expect,” she said. “I’m studying and doing everything I can to the best of my abilities and I’ll just let the chips fall where they may.”