COWGIRL UP!

FLORIDA’S ADDISON ROBERTS IS A TOP RODEO FLAG GIRL

Written by: Kathy Ann Gregg

Being a Flag Girl at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is a dream come true for 20-year-old Addison Roberts of Southwest Ranches, Florida. And the 2022 event was her second time being a part of the magic.

The Flag Girls consist of 21 experienced horseback riders opening the show. This elite group performs before rodeo fans packing the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the annual 10-day event.

With few coveted spots opening, the nationwide competition is fierce. The application process includes photos, essays and a video of the prospect’s riding ability. For Roberts, that meant showing off her breakaway roping skills, running barrels, cutting and just plain horseback riding.

Angie Burton, the Flag Girls’ coordinator since 2009 and a former rodeo queen and Flag Girl herself, selects some 10 applicants to come to Las Vegas for tryouts, including a personal interview and further demonstrations of their horsemanship. Roberts went through this process in 2020, the year where most events experienced difficulties due to Covid.

Every performance at the National Finals Rodeo, or NFR, entails a different outfit, often matching a theme, including honoring Las Vegas and the military, memorial and national patriot nights, and the long-running “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” night.

Top left photo: Addison Roberts poses with her older sister Mikayla Marie Roberts. Top middle photo: Addi meets up with her grandparents, Linda and Troy Weekley, fondly called "Maw Maw and Pops"

Bottom right photo: Addi (on the far right) got an opportunity to meet country singer/songwriter Luke Bryan. Other photos: This elite group performs in Las Vegas before rodeo fans.

The ladies regularly practice on their black horses. This is precision riding, where the group gets together only once a year, and always with newcomers. In addition, they participate in photo shoots and autograph sessions, all part of the pageantry of the NFR.

And this year Roberts drew a horse that was fond of bucking, so she had to spend extra time every morning “riding the buck out of him”!

Rodeo runs in Roberts’s blood — she is the granddaughter of Troy Weekley of Weekley Brothers Davie Pro Rodeo fame, and virtually everyone in the family has competed in rodeo events. She competed at age 7 in the Arcadia Youth Rodeo Association, then added the Reality Ranch and Hardee County Youth Rodeos. She was also a member of the All-Florida Junior Rodeo and Florida High School Rodeo Associations, as well as the National Barrel Horse Association. And the year 2015 saw her sporting the Miss Rodeo Florida Princess sash and crown.

For the 350 days when she is not an NFR Flag Girl, Roberts competes in barrel racing and breakaway roping at professional rodeos, together with running barrels as a member of the Florida-run Elite Bullriders Association.

In 2017, her grandfather asked her to take over the Davie Pro Rodeo flag team, which is a job she still thoroughly enjoys, carrying Old Glory and sponsor flags at her hometown rodeos, held several times every year at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds.

Roberts also runs CowTownBoutique, an online fashion platform. “Being an NFR Flag Girl is an experience I will never forget,” she says. “I have developed friendships with so many awesome ladies.”

Addison Roberts, you too are one of these awesome ladies for all you have accomplished! FCM