Lydia Berg from Brookfield, "Miss Rodeo Wisconsin," loves to make others smile
BROOKFIELD -- Lydia Berg handles herself gracefully in beauty pageants and beauty salons. Then there's her other world -- involving horses and rodeos that have led her to suffer broken bones. Berg is trying to make a difference in both of those worlds.
Berg wears the crown with pride, but the young woman from Brookfield, the first "Miss Rodeo Wisconsin" from the Greater Milwaukee area wasn't thinking about that when she fell in love with horses.
Miss Rodeo Wisconsin Lydia Berg
"I actually got my first horse when I was eight. When I started riding at four, I haven't got off a horse. It's always been a passion of mine. I was born here in Wisconsin, but I actually grew up in Texas, and that's when I developed my passion for horses and rodeo and the equine industry as a whole," Berg said.
When Berg moved back to Wisconsin, she had a goal that she wanted to achieve.
Miss Rodeo Wisconsin Lydia Berg
"I've always been competing my whole life. I've completed in pretty much everything from mounted shooting to driving horses with miniatures, mounted shooting, western pleasure, barrel racing -- but I really wanted to get more into the rodeo scene," Berg said.
Berg's been barrel racing for eight years, but she wanted to do something more for Wisconsin, so she ran for and won the title of Miss Rodeo Wisconsin.
What does that mean, you might ask?
Miss Rodeo Wisconsin Lydia Berg
"You're an ambassador for the sport of professional rodeo in the state of Wisconsin, but you do travel all across America, promoting the wonderful state of Wisconsin and rodeo," Berg said.
One of Berg's favorite jobs during a rodeo is chasing back cattle.
Miss Rodeo Wisconsin Lydia Berg
"During the three events, tie down roping, or steer wrestling, we're in the arena. When they're done, roping it or wrestling it down, it's our job to get it back and chase it back to where it's supposed to be without any harm -- very, very smooth, but we help continue along the rodeo," Berg said.
Riding horses and doing rodeos are a big part of Berg's job -- especially on the pageant side and the judging side, but Berg has a heart for helping others. She uses her position to try and make a difference in the community and in people's lives.
"I do a lot of work in nursing homes and hospitals with my miniature horse Daisy. She's a certified therapy horse. I'm also highly involved in an organization called 'Love is Greater Than Hate.' I am with the anti-bullying side, so I go to a lot of schools and I talk to a lot of kids -- and also adults and teenagers, and just promoting love and that everybody loves each other and spreading it around the world," Berg said.
Miss Rodeo Wisconsin Lydia Berg
That message resonates when Berg speaks with others. She wants to change the world one person at a time with love.
And then there's chasing dreams.
"Don't let anybody stop you -- whether somebody thinks that you just can't do something, or they are bullying you. Don't give up. Don't ever give up. No matter what it is -- always chase your dreams," Berg said.
While encouraging people to chase their dreams, Berg is fulfilling one of her own.
"Just to see that I can put a smile on someone's face, it makes my whole day. And that really is what it's all about -- to just make them laugh, make them smile, make them feel good inside. That's what really makes me happy," Berg said.
To support her horses and her love for competing, Berg works at a local salon and spa, doing hair and nails.
They're two different worlds, but Miss Rodeo Wisconsin sees her country western passion and her creative side as meshing beautifully.
Miss Rodeo Wisconsin Lydia Berg
On Thanksgiving Day, Berg will travel to Las Vegas to compete for Miss Rodeo America 2016.
"It's really not about winning for me. Of course, it would be nice to win and it'd be a plus -- but it's not really about winning, but what you'd leave behind. It's the smiles that you leave on the faces and if people remember you," Berg said.
Berg hopes to one day own her own beef and cattle farm.