Arleta Thiessen
Arleta, along with her husband Orin and their two children, Emery and Lincoln, live in Tomahawk, Alberta, where they help manage a 5,000-head yearling operation. They are also in the process of launching their own horse breeding and training program. Arleta's rodeo queen journey began in 2009 when she earned her first title as Miss Rodeo Sundre. She went on to win the Miss Rodeo Canada title in 2012. Since then, she has been actively involved in coordinating queen programs and mentoring young women aspiring to compete for titles. The experiences and life lessons she gained during her time as a rodeo queen are ones she will always cherish. Arleta is deeply honored to be invited to be a judge for this year’s Miss Rodeo Canada competition. She wishes all the contestants an enriching experience and offers this advice: always be true to yourself in every aspect of the pageant.
Mel Hyland
Mel is a celebrated rodeo athlete, with four Canadian Saddle Bronc titles, one Canadian Bareback title, one amateur Saddle Bronc title, and two Worlds Championship Saddle Bronc titles. He was inducted into five different halls of fame in the USA and Canada, and has been celebrated with many prestigious awards such as the Canadian Cowboy of the Year award. After leaving the world of professional rodeo, Mel focused on horsemanship. He studied with some of the greats like Ray Hunt and Dennis Reis. He has been a much sought after colt starter, clinician, advisor and private teacher. His philosophies are that the horse is never wrong, and that the horse knows when you know and he knows when you don’t know. He stresses the importance of feel, timing and balance, and helps students focus more on themselves which has a direct effect on the horses behaviours and performance. Mel has been involved in three different colt starting challenges, and was the winner of one.
On a personal level, Mel is a family man and a musician. He and his wife Marjie have a large family and enjoy spending time with them and playing music together. Mel has written and recorded many songs over his lifetime, and in recent years he put out a remix of his favourites with Marjie and three of their children, produced by Allan Christy. It is Mel’s desire to share with others what he has learned over a lifetime in the world of horses.
Dean Ross
Dean is long-time resident of Castor, AB. He is the father of two children, Colton and Carter.
Dean has been involved in training, showing and judging horses the better part of his life. He owns and operates the Dean Ross Training Centre.
Dean remains active in the horse business, judging across the United States, Canada and Europe. He holds judges cards with the American Quarter Horse Association and the National Snaffle Bit Association. Dean has judged many major shows including AQHA and NSBA World Shows, All American Quarter Horse Congress, The Reichert Celebration, Big A Circuit, Sun and Surf as well as numerous others across North America. Dean is also a director with the American Quarter Horse Association.
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Deborah Dilley
Deborah Dilley is a life long resident of the State of Colorado. Raised on a Hereford and Quarter Horse operation in Colorado, she spent most of her life showing horses.
She participated in 4-H, Little Britches and Amateur Rodeo. She held many local and state titles and was the 1st Runner up and Horsemanship Award winner for the Miss Rodeo Colorado Pageant.
After participating in the Colorado Pageant, Ms. Dilley assumed the role of Pageant Director for Colorado. Ms. Dilley then began work on the National level serving for the last 27 years as a chaperone for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant. She has also worked on the horsemanship committee for the national pageant. She is a founding member and past president of the Miss Rodeo America Scholarship Foundation. She is currently a member and Secretary of the Miss Rodeo America Executive Board of Directors. She was honored to be inducted into the Miss Rodeo America Hall of Fame in 2021.
Ms. Dilley has judged many state level pageants in addition to numerous local pageants and has also judged internationally.
Ms. Dilley retired from the Denver Police Department in 2010 after serving with them for 26 years. She retired as the Commander overseeing a station with 190 officers in the downtown area of Denver.
Ms. Dilley is married and resides in Lone Tree, Colorado with her husband James Palermo. In her spare time she enjoys reading and traveling.
