Tiah DeGrofft, a long-time rodeo volunteer, has been elected as the first female president of the Pendleton Round-Up Association Board of Directors.

Tens of thousands of people from across the country and around the world fill the city each year for Oregon’s legendary rodeo and celebration of the American frontier.

“The Pendleton Round-Up is incredible, but what makes it continue to be great is that each year we make tweaks,” DeGrofft said. “We find ways to improve. We never rest on our past achievements.”

It runs in the family

DeGrofft, 43, has volunteered at the Round-Up for the past 37 years.

Starting at age 6, she picked rocks out of the arena while her dad served in the Round-Up leadership. After that first job, she went on to volunteer as a pennant bearer, work in the sponsor room, drive the VIP shuttle and eventually become a Round-Up princess in 1999 and queen in 2001.

DeGrofft was on the board and president of the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame. She’s also participated in the Happy Canyon show — a night pageant that tells the story of American Indian life on the Columbia Plateau — in various roles since age 6.

“I’ve been in Happy Canyon just as long as I’ve been on the Round-Up side,” she said, “so it’s just kind of second nature to me to be down there.”

For DeGrofft, rodeo leadership is a family affair.

“My dad was a director, he went on the Happy Canyon board when I was 8,” DeGrofft said, “and then went onto the Hall of Fame board after that quickly followed that with going on to the Round-Up board, so I’m a second generation director.”

Looking ahead

The preparations are underway for the 2024 Pendleton Round-Up, which will be the 114th iteration of the rodeo and will take place Sept. 11-14.

In the year ahead, DeGrofft said she’s looking forward to connecting with people and spreading the excitement about Round-Up.

“I just love to see the joy in people’s faces when they talk about the Pendleton Round-Up,” she said. “When you live here, I think you tend to forget just how special the Pendleton Round-Up is because we’re immersed in it every day.”

It’s not lost on DeGrofft that taking on this role is historic.

DeGrofft said it’s hard to put into words what it means to be the first female president of the Round-Up.

“I’ve had a lot of comments and people coming up and saying, ‘It’s awesome to have my daughter have somebody to look up to,’ or that, ‘If you can do this, we can do this, too,’” she said. “And certainly, if I can ever help somebody else achieve their dreams, then boy, what an honor to me.”

DeGrofft’s prominent role in rodeo leadership marks another goal young girls in Pendleton might dream of, as not everyone might want to be queen and court Round-Up ambassadors.

DeGrofft feels lucky to hold this position.

“It truly is just a huge honor for me,” she said. “I’m very thankful that the board and the stockholders saw me fit for the position and gave me this opportunity, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that 114 is the best year we’ve had.”

Berit Thorson is a reporter for The East Oregonian in Pendleton.