Royalty Notes

As the Lincoln Rodeo gets under way this week three young ladies are competing for queen of the 61st annual event with an ongoing competition to be decided with a coronation at the start of Saturday’s rodeo.

Ashley Thomas, who is in charge of the Lincoln Riding Club Royalty committee for 2014, has been impressed with the background and qualifications of the 2014 candidates for queen.

“With their history as far as with running for rodeo queens and the titles that they have all held. They have been in other contests where they have won titles and they have decided to come to ours to run also,” Thomas said.

Thomas thinks candidates for queen and princess stand to gain from the experience of competing for a crown.

“I hope that they’ll come away with the knowledge of and understanding, not only of rodeo, but of rodeo pageants to help them further their career,” Thomas said, going on to mention “Arkansas State and Arkhoma Old Fort Days Rodeo, Rodeo of the Ozarks, Miss USA, Rodeo America, that type of thing, that type of contest. We hope that what they take from our contest will help them go do something bigger.”

Last year there were no candidates for junior queen so Taylor Cunningham continued her reign another year. This year there is no contest for junior queen which Thomas attributes partly to of a lack of interest.

“It’s hard to find girls in that age range, 12-15 yearsold. It’s just hard to find girls that want to run within that age group.”

Thomas is optimistic the junior queen crown will return to Lincoln Riding Club and the Lincoln Rodeo in the future.

“I think that the more that we have good feedback from our contests that the more people want to get involved,” Thomas said.

Thomas said Lincoln Riding Club roya l ty contests are not limited to just Arkansas contestants. “You have Oklahoma and Missouri and Kansas girls that hopefully in the future want to compete and get involved.”