Hobson teen wins anthem contest

HOBSON — Faith Stevenson, an 18-year-old horse trainer and riding instructor from the Diamond Dot Ranch, will sing the national anthem at the Northern International Livestock Exposition next week.

Stevenson has competed in NILE events but won the gig through an online voting contest. Her video scored 1,700 votes, beating out nine contestants.

“We had to remind people to keep voting but we had a lot of support from friends and family,” she said. “You could vote once a day so we were very much reminding people they could vote more than once.”

She’ll perform Thursday, Oct. 15, at the MetraPark in Billings before an audience of thousands.

“It doesn’t make me nervous — except it’s a lot more people than I usually sing in front of in northcentral Montana,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson took lessons growing up from a voice coach and talent agent in Atlanta online via Skype “so I’m confident in my ability to sing the song.”

In May, the Hobson grad is bound for the Clinton Anderson Clinician Academy in Stephenville, Texas, the Lewistown News-Argus reported.

“It’s really exciting for me to be able to sing at the NILE rodeo,” she said. “I started going 10 years ago and getting to be part of the rodeo is exciting after we’ve been really involved in other aspects of NILE. It’s something I’ve watched for so many years.”

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter at @GFTrib_KInbody.