Lincoln Rodeo Shifts To August

ORIGINAL DATES CHANGED FROM MAY TO LATE SUMMER

LINCOLN — For many years the annual Lincoln Riding Club Rodeo was held in June, but this year the event dates shift to Aug. 9-11 after being held in May for 2017.

Two cowgirls are vying for Miss Lincoln Riding Club rodeo queen: Hannah Taylor, of Fayetteville, who finished as First Runner-Up in 2017; and Kylee Bobbacher, of Westville, Okla. In the running for junior queen are: Judy Gail McNeely, of Westville, Okla.; and Mika Arnold, of Lincoln, younger sister of reigning LRC junior queen Alexis Arnold. The princess competition will be decided between: Chloie Thomas, of Farmington; Brooklyn Teague, of Siloam Springs; and Emily Burke, of Watts, Okla.

The royalty competition will be decided with a coronation at the start of Saturday’s performance on the final night of the 2018 Lincoln Rodeo on Aug. 11.

The LRC Royalty committee endeavors to structure the competition so candidates for queen, junior queen and princess will benefit from the experience in hopes they’ll come away with knowledge of rodeo and a better understanding of rodeo pageants to help further their careers.

Candidates undergo a rigorous process. Besides preparing their horses and practicing the queen pattern, candidates must rehearse speeches and display modeling skills. Age categories are as follows: princess, ages 6-10; junior queen, ages 11-15; queen, ages 16-24. Each candidate was required to describe how rodeo is part of their life and explain why they want to become LRC royalty in a hand-written response.