Two Wyoming rodeo favorites take to the Cheyenne skies
Jul. 27—CHEYENNE — Two southern Wyoming favorites in the world of rodeo took an afternoon excursion into the skies on Tuesday.
Madelaine McElwee, Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2022, flew saddle bronc rider Brody Cress over Cheyenne in a small, single-engine plane, to enjoy Wyoming and the spirit of Cheyenne Frontier Days.
McElwee earned her private pilot's license from the Wings of Wyoming flight school in May 2020, and also holds her commercial pilot's license and pilot instructor's license. She was first runner-up in the Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2022 pageant and was called up to be Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2022 in April after the initial winner, Sierra Butler, resigned.
McElwee, who is from Laramie, and Cress, who is from Hillsdale, had never met before their flight. Cress is a professional saddle bronc rider and graduated from Cheyenne's East High in 2014. He will compete in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo at Cheyenne Frontier Days starting Wednesday.
"I think we just got it set up that we're both from Wyoming and to do something this cool, it's pretty unique with how successful she's been with everything and being a pilot," Cress said.
Cress said that it would be a unique opportunity for him, because McElwee was going to teach him a bit about how to fly.
"Rodeo-wise, that really ties in," Cress said. "We take some of these small planes to Fourth of July rodeos, rodeos that are really tied together, so it's going to be pretty unique to get to do this."
Both Cress and McElwee said they were excited to see Frontier Park from the sky, especially during CFD.
"I think it's going to be a total blast," McElwee said. "I love flying, I love rodeo ... and I've never met Brody before, so it's great to meet him."
Cress also said that whenever he flies to rodeos, he thinks of his favorite movie, "8 Seconds," when "they're flying over (and) flying in and out," so to be able to experience that for himself with a view of Frontier Park was exciting.
McElwee received her pilot instructor's license just before being called up to serve as Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2022, so Cress got to be her first student.
"I've always sat in the back when we've done this, so it'll be cool to get to be up front and learn more about it," Cress said.
McElwee said her favorite part about flying is "the freedom of it."
"There's a lot of fun stuff that you can do, and it's just so much fun," McElwee said. "It's really cool to see everything from the sky, and it's just a really interesting career path."
McElwee will make appearances at the rodeo throughout Cheyenne Frontier Days, and Cress will compete in the saddle bronc riding event Wednesday. Cress won the event three consecutive years, 2017-19, becoming the first cowboy to do so.
Correction: A previous version of this story said Madelaine McElwee flew in a multi-engine plane, which is incorrect. It was a single-engine plane.
Serena Bettis is a senior journalism major at Colorado State University who is interning this summer at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. She can be reached by email at sbettis@wyomingnews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @serenaroseb.
