Royalty Contestants Keep Busy

PAGEANT COMPETITION ONGOING THROUGHOUT WEEK

LINCOLN — Competition to decide the 2018 Lincoln Riding Club queen, junior queen and princess goes throughout the week as the 65th annual Lincoln Rodeo holds nightly performances Aug. 9-11.

The 2018 LRC royalty itinerary actually began during the spring on April 29 prior to the original dates before the rodeo was rescheduled to August. Attendance at each event on the itinerary is required for all current royalty, including: 2017 LRC queen Shayla Fox, 2017 junior queen Alexis Arnold and 2017 princess Olivia Moody.

One switch from previous years is the speech and modeling competition, which had been held on Wednesday after the 6 p.m. Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss contest and prior to the 8 p.m. street dance, will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, the final day of the 2018 Lincoln Rodeo at the Lincoln Farmer’s Co-Op. Interviews of individual royalty candidates will immediately follow the conclusion of the speech and modeling competition.

2018 LRC ROYALTY ITINERARY:

April 29 — Deadline to submit program ads and sponsor money collected by royalty candidates with an optional practice as well as question and answer session regarding the royalty horsemanship pattern at the Lincoln Riding Club Arena.

July 25-28 — Contestants were provided an opportunity to try on modeling outfits at Chic Gypsy in Farmington during store hours, Monday-Friday 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 8 — Events associated with the 65th annual Lincoln Rodeo held at the Lincoln Square.

Raffle tickets and advance ticket sales for the rodeo sold by Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss contestants are due at 6 p.m. before the Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss contest which begins at 7 p.m. Street Dance begins at 8 p.m. and continues until 11 p.m. featuring music by Howard Lester & the Boston Mountain Playboys.

Thursday, Aug. 9, — Current royalty interview times to be announced for 2017 winners. Candidates for queen, junior queen and princess must check-in with Queen Committee at 6:30 p.m. Newly-crowned 2018 Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss lead the stick horse grand entry at 7:30 p.m. followed by the grand entry with all contestants (excluding Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss contestants) participating mounted on horseback. Thursday night rodeo performance begins at 8 p.m. A horsemanship competition portion of the 2018 pageant will be conducted during royalty introductions.

Friday, Aug. 10 — Candidates for queen, junior queen and princess must check-in with Queen Committee at 6:30 p.m. Newly-crowned 2018 Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss lead the stick horse grand entry at 7:30 p.m. followed by the grand entry with all contestants (excluding Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss contestants) participating mounted on horseback. Friday night rodeo performance begins at 8 p.m. A horsemanship competition portion of the 2018 pageant will be conducted during royalty introductions.

Saturday, Aug. 11 — Royalty speech and modeling competition will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, the final day of the 2018 Lincoln Rodeo at the Lincoln Farmer’s Co-Op. Interviews of individual royalty candidates will immediately follow the conclusion of the speech and modeling competition. In past years, speech and modeling competition was held on Wednesday after the Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss contest and prior to street dance.

Contestants will enjoy lunch following completion of contests and interviews.

Royalty must be checked in and ready at 3:30 p.m. with the parade lining up at 4 p.m. at the LRC Arena one mile west of Lincoln. The 65th annual Lincoln Rodeo parade begins at 4:30 p.m. and ventures into town around the Lincoln Square before returning to the arena.

Candidates for queen, junior queen and princess must check-in with Queen Committee at 6:30 p.m. Newly-crowned 2018 Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss lead the stick horse grand entry at 7:30 p.m. followed by the grand entry with all contestants (excluding Lil’ Mister and Lil’ Miss contestants) participating mounted on horseback. Friday night rodeo performance begins at 8 p.m. A horsemanship competition portion of the 2018 pageant will be conducted during royalty introductions.

Crowning of new royalty is set for Saturday, during the final rodeo performance.

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER In this photo from last year, Lincoln Riding Club 2016 royalty pose with 2017 contestants. Front row (from left): Bailey Sizemore; Jackson Hutchison; Karson Sampley; Braxton Blankenship, 2016 Lil’ Mister; Ethan Parker; Bella Cate Keenen; Lilian Huffaker, 2016 Lil’ Miss; and Emmalee Parker. Back row (from left): Olivia Moody; Shayla Fox; Sammie Jo Moore, 2016 Junior Queen; Mika Arnold, 2016 Princess; Loran Lopez, 2016 Queen; Hannah Taylor; and Alexis Arnold. Competition goes throughout rodeo week.