LINCOLN -- Sarah Kelsey, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, got a college degree and speaks and interprets Mandarin Chinese, but left the corporate world behind to start her own business.
Her business, Rhinestone Lipgloss, relies heavily on sales to rodeo queens.
She admits she started her GEMpire purely by accident. In October of 2014, she pawned a practice marriage wedding ring to enter a horse show, and created a pair of earrings to match the western shirt her mom had sewn for her. Within six short months, that single pair of earrings became a crystallization hobby.
She carefully evaluated her future and followed her heart, which led her back to rodeo. With an $85 commitment, and Facebook and Instagram pages, she made her hobby official by setting up her licenses and buying her first package of wholesale Swarovski crystals.
Former Barrel Racer
This former barrel racer served among a trio of experienced pageant competition judges for the 70th annual Lincoln Riding Club Rodeo Royalty contest.
When asked what it takes to become a successful barrel racer, Kelsey said it all comes down to maintaining one's balance.
"Ever carry a little kid on your shoulders? When that kid's leaning forward or backward, it's hard to balance, but when you're sitting square in the saddle it's easy to balance. You need ab strength to balance so your horse can do its job," Kelsey said.
Kelsey paid her own way to Lincoln. She was clearly enjoying herself when the Enterprise-Leader caught up with her at the street dance on Wednesday, Aug. 9, which kicked off the 70th annual Lincoln Riding Club Rodeo.
"It's really neat that Sherry Smith and so many people put so much effort into investing into these young girls. The girls benefit, but more importantly the communities do," Kelsey said.
Judges were selected by Smith as the royalty chairperson, based on their rodeo queen knowledge and reputation in the rodeo queen industry.
First Impressions Good
Kelsey was setting foot in the Natural State for only the second time. She first visited Arkansas in 2022.
"I'm really flattered that Sherry thought of me and asked me to come. It's going to be tough to pick a winner out of these girls," Kelsey said.
A line dance broke out as Johnny Dale Roberts and his three-man band performed a cover version of Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road" on the Lincoln Square. Kelsey was drinking it all in.
"My first impressions of Lincoln, I love the small town, everybody's been amazing. It's going to be a really tough weekend to pick a winner. The town is just darling," Kelsey said.
Kelsey's motivation for paying her own way and judging the royalty competition stems from a desire to give something back to the rodeo queens who appreciate the lightweight earrings she makes by hand.
"These girls here are who keep me in business. They buy my jewelry. I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to reinvest in them," Kelsey said. "If it wasn't for gals like this, I wouldn't have a business."
Maintaining Perspective
She laughed, recalling entertaining the invitation, now mixed with a dose of reality as temperatures and humidity levels turned the street dance into a way to slim down for those dancing.
"You want to come to Arkansas in August, in Ohio it's humid, but not like this," Kelsey said.
Kelsey's living out her passion. She now has several years of traveling, speaking, and judging pageants on her resume. That enabled her to purchase an 18,000 square foot historical building in Wapakoneta, Ohio, where all of her pieces are hand made. In addition, she owns four Air BNB's where her clients can stay when they travel in for personal consultations, and in 2022, she became an international best selling author.
That success hasn't caused Kelsey to lose perspective of the things that make America and rodeo great.
"Rodeo is about the only sport left that has any sense. We still stand for the flag. We still play the National Anthem and we still pray before every rodeo. Rodeo doesn't get political, unless it does it for the right reason, and put God at the center of it, " Kelsey said.
She points out holding a street dance isn't feasible in every area of the nation.
"There's lots of place in the country where it's not safe to do this. You can't do this in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago. Little towns like this, they are hidden treasures," Kelsey said.
Spirited Cowgirl Dreams
She's one cowgirl, who made it without any business, entrepreneurial, marketing, or advertising background. Yet, she and her team have amassed clients in over 20 counties around the world -- all with no loans, no debt and zero paid advertising while focusing on a cowgirl clientele.
"They've invested in my brand, which allows me to re-invest in theirs," Kelsey said. "It helps me to be a better designer. I get to visit with the girls and find out what they want, instead of just doing what I want."
Kelsey has built her GEMpire one crystal at a time -- and has proven that in American, one can make a living at whatever sets their soul on fire.
Kelsey found Lincoln's small town rodeo pageant to be "phenomenally well organized" and said that's refreshing to see at the grass roots level because the cowgirls will go on to compete at Miss Rodeo America.
"We got lots of compliments on how well our pageant was run and on how well it was organized," Smith said.
As royalty coordinator, she empathizes with those who don't quite pull out a pageant win.
"There was disappointment. That's to be expected. When you work that hard for something and you don't get it, you're going to be disappointed. But we didn't have any issues. Everybody showed good sportsmanship," Smith said.
The royalty pageant gave away a record seven saddles this year, and continues to grow in stature and influence -- thanks in part to volunteer judges like Kelsey willing to come to Lincoln on their own dime and taste the small town western way of life for a weekend.