HAVRE — Some athletes chase the spotlight. Others are more comfortable sharing it.
For MSU-Northern cowgirl Georgia Orahood, the focus often shifts somewhere else — to the horse she credits for much of her success. When MTN Sports asked her about her own accomplishments, she quickly changed the subject.
VIDEO: Georgia Orahood chasing CNFR qualification
“I really want to talk about my horse for a minute,” Orahood said.
That horse is McQueen — her partner, her constant, and in her words, “a true champion.”
“He deserves the world,” Orahood said. “He’s my number one for sure.”
Before she ever started climbing the standings in the Big Sky region, rodeo was already part of her life.
Orahood grew up in Malta on a bucking horse ranch, surrounded by the sport from an early age. Her family raises bulls and bucking horses, and she began competing while still in junior high.
“My family’s always been rodeoing,” she said. “It’s just kind of always been a part of my life.”
Now, that background is translating into results at the college level.
Competing for MSU-Northern, Orahood is in the hunt for the Big Sky Region all-around title, with strong performances in breakaway roping and goat tying.
She's a Montana Circuit Finals qualifier and recently captured the all-around title at the Big Sky Region rodeo in Havre.
With just one rodeo left in the regular season in Missoula, the margin for error is gone.
“I just want to be more consistent,” Orahood said.
That mindset fits the culture at MSU-Northern, where Orahood says the support system has helped her continue to grow.
“It’s such a family,” she said. “When we need help, somebody is always there.”
McQueen has been a big part of that journey.
The horse, owned by her sister, came into Orahood’s life a few years ago and hasn’t left. Even when McQueen was sidelined with an injury last season, his impact remained — including helping a friend, Ellie Meeks, win a go-round at the circuit finals.
“He’s just been on the road with me ever since,” Orahood said.
Now healthy, the duo is right in the middle of a tight race in the Big Sky Region standings — battling for position and a chance to qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo.
“I want to make it to the CNFR for sure,” she said.
For Orahood, it’s the next step in a journey that started on a ranch in northeastern Montana.
These days, she’s just fine doing her damage from the ground, with McQueen right by her side.
