On one of her very first promotion events for the California Rodeo Salinas, Hollister’s Brittany Slaton arrived early, so she and her mom decided to kill some time by taking her car through a nearby carwash.

“I was in the passenger [seat] and my mom was driving,” Slaton says. “Once in, a part of the carwash machine hit my rear passenger door.”

The window gave way. Water splashed in. Soap splattered everywhere. Slaton’s mom scrambled to cover her coiffed daughter.

“Green foamy soap started to spray me all over,” Slaton says. “I was screaming.”

“My mom tried to cover me with anything she could find so that my outfit, hair and makeup wouldn’t get ruined,” she continues. “It all happened so fast, and I was soaked with soap and water and my hair was half curled, half wet, a total mess.”

Freestyle bullfighters are famous for tempting horns despite broken wrists and ankles. Bareback bronc riders, cow wrestlers and bullriders all depend mightily upon resilience and calculations on the run. But that skill set isn’t exclusive to the arena events.

“Miss Rodeos need to be well rounded, have poise, good presence on stage,” rodeo spokeswoman Mandy Roth says. “And they need to be able to think on their feet.”

That day, Slaton lived those lessons herself. She handled the public appearance gracefully, speaking, shaking hands and taking pictures. She discovered perseverance that she might not have otherwise, honoring her prestigious charge with enough adaptability to make Salinas proud.

But Slaton has demonstrated and cultivated other things besides poise. For one, she’s learned and reaffirmed the fact that Miss Rodeo is more than a year-long gig, but a lifestyle that lasts a lifetime. Slaton has been riding horses since childhood and owns her own horse, Caden. She’s a veteran of 4-H lifestock programs and has competed in barrel racing, pole bending and cutting in high school. And like many past Miss Rodeos, she plans on attending California Rodeos well after her reign ends (to that end, The California Rodeo Salinas honors the 50th anniversary of past Miss Rodeos each year; this year also marks a special reunion for the ladies, in addition to the “Forever Royals” gatherings that happen ever five years).

In Slaton, Salinas has a girl who wears its cowgirl hat well – wet or dry.