Ms McMeeken has entered the competition for four years in a row, last year finishing second, and was determined to keep coming back until she won the trophy.
She achieved that yesterday after two days of intense competition between 30 contestants, with Wanaka shepherd Michelle Osbourne and Wanaka office worker Alice Ferguson second and third.
Now she had won, she would not be back as a competitor, Ms McMeeken said.
She had loved coming back each year and had learned being patient and not rushing was the key to success.
"Every year I've learned different things and how to get better and better.
"It's not about being butch, it's about femininity . . . Even in speaking, it's about taking a deep breath. And I never look at what everyone else is doing," she said.
The competition always attracted the "bestest chicks", there was never any cattiness and she wholeheartedly supported the Canlive trust.
Ms McMeeken's next big outing would be the Waikaia Ball, next Saturday.
The Waikaia rugby team is holding the ball to raise funds for parents who cannot afford to send children to sports tournaments, she said.
Ms McMeeken said she expected to work as a shepherd at Cattle Flat Station for the foreseeable future but was keen to travel to Canada.
The first prize package included travel to the value of $1500, accommodation at Cardrona Hotel, and a range of sponsors' products, including clothing and beer.
Wanaka engineer Melissa Brewster was voted the competition's most valuable player.
The competition was filmed by two documentary crews.
One was led by Country Calendar director Frank Torley, who said he hoped the programme would screen in March.
The documentary will profile first-time competitor Jenny Campbell, who works at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, Wanaka real estate agent Tasha Jones and Ms McMeeken, he said.
A German travel documentary crew also filmed the event.
