Macia Borowiec is the first to admit she adores the showgirl movement.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And she’s fast to add that it’s not a beauty pageant.
She thinks that stereotype stops a lot of young women from putting their hands up to take part in the Maitland Showgirl and Miss Maitland competition – and she knows that concept couldn’t be further from the truth.
“If it was a beauty pageant I wouldn’t be taking part. Everyone who knows me personally knows I wouldn’t do a beauty pageant. I’m here to break the stereotype, she said.
I drive a ute, I ride horses, I hardly ever wear makeup, I’m a jeans and boots kind of girl but I will go up there and try my best in a dress and heels, and do public speaking in front of a committee I don’t know very well.
“I enjoy it so much, overall it is great fun, you get to participate in the show in a way that you wouldn’t normally unless you were on the committee – and I just love the community value that it has.”
Read more: A more confident Macia comes back for more
Read more: Macia chooses showgirl quest
The 21-year-old took part in the quest for the first time in 2017 and took out the third place sash. Last year she was named runner-up to winner Caitlin Hipwell with three points separating them.
“Last year [the society] couldn’t believe the chance in me from 2017 to 2018, and the confidence that they wanted me to go in it again this year was another push for me to come back because I thought if they think I am progressing really well than I would like to continue improving and show people what I can do,” she said.
So could she take home the winner’s purple sash this year?
Perhaps, but that’s not her focus.
The Abermain resident is hoping the quest will help her to build upon her confidence and allow her to work on her social and public speaking skills.
“I value the confidence I have already gotten from this everyday, it helped a lot with starting TAFE again, it had been 3.5 years since I’d been in a classroom,” she said.
I thought right, this is no different to showgirl and I took that confidence from the meet and greets and took that into the classroom and I’ve made some wonderful friends.
This time she will complete the quest with two fellow contestants, who are also valued friends.
“I had four girls contact me about showgirl and I encouraged Billie-Jo Cresswell and Tamieka Lupinski to enter,” she said.
“I’ve never had friends in it before, I’ve always made friends by being involved.”
Ms Borowiec will complete her Certificate IV in Vet Nursing in June, giving her qualifications to work with large and small animals.
She already works at the Newcastle Equine Centre and is also completing a study placement at Heights Pet Hospital in Sydney.
In her spare time she is chipping away at her horse riding goals. She will compete in 80 centimetre eventing jumps this year and tackle 90 centrimetre show jumping on her trusty steed.
“Hopefully next year we can start jumping one metre freely and easily,” she said.
Meet the other 2019 showgirl entrants
Belinda-Jane Davis
Passionate about community news
Passionate about community news
