There will be a special tribute at the Penola Rodeo this weekend as Shania Willemsen will carry an Australian Flag in honour of her late friend Macey Inglis.

The 20-year-old Bordertown local is being remembered fondly by friends, family, and those within the rodeo scene.

Miss Inglis was driving to work in Bordertown on January 9 when her car left the road and rolled just after 7am on Casterton-Naracoorte Road in Langkoop, near Naracoorte.

Miss Inglis was going to ride in the Penola Rodeo alongside Miss Willemsen this weekend but unfortunately that did not come to pass.

Friends and loved ones will honour Miss Inglis at the event by wearing her favourite colour – turquoise.

Miss Willemsen saw her dear friend just an hour before the tragedy as the two were staying at a property in Dartmoor.

“She was actually meant to go home on the Sunday, and we were having so much fun I said to her ‘can you stay another night? Just go home Monday’.

“She had organised to leave from my house on Monday morning and head straight to work.

“She woke me up at about 6am, gave me a hug and a kiss and said ‘seeya, I’ll see you next weekend’ and only made it an hour down the road.”

Despite Miss Willemsen hailing from Echuca and Miss Englis from Bordertown, the pair connected through their love of rodeo.

“I have known her on the scene for a fair while but we went on our first long trip together over Christmas and did the whole Christmas run together,” Miss Willemsen said.

“Over Christmas she was carrying the flags for most of the rodeos, and she loved doing it.”

Miss Willemsen said she was tossing up about riding this weekend before deciding Macey would “want me to go there” and “would not want me to stay home and be sad”.

“She was the life of the party that’s for sure, just easy, outgoing, you could speak to her about absolutely anything and she was always there for you,” she said.

“She has been going really good, her horse had just come back from injury though so she’d not long been back into it, but she was going good before that.”

Miss Willemsen will be competing in the open barrel race this weekend, an event she usually rode in alongside her late friend.

“I’m hoping to win, that’s one way to go and I do have a very competitive horse under me so hopefully I can go there and win and Macey’s watching over me.

“I miss her lots and wish things could have been different and I could have changed things.”

The Penola and Districts Community Rodeo will be held at Penola’s McCorquindale Park from 4pm on Saturday.