By Pennie DeClark
Special to The PREVIEW
There will be a mandatory meeting for young ladies who are interested in becoming the 2014 Red Ryder Rodeo Queen and Princess.
The meeting will be Monday, June 3, at 6 p.m. at the Extension Office.
The princess contest is open to girls who are ages 8 to 13.
The queen contest is open to girls ages 14 to 21 who are not married and do not have children.
If you are interested in running, you must attend this meeting; if we do not have at least two contestants each for both queen and princess, the contest will be cancelled this year.
We also have a new format for the contest this year: Each contestant will demonstrate their horsemanship by completing a pattern in the arena (given ahead of time), circling the arena and performing the queen’s wave, herding cattle, and dismounting to answer a few questions from the judges.
The winners of the contest will each receive: a 2014 Red Ryder Royalty buckle, a 2014 Red Ryder Royalty sash, a personalized jacket, a commemorative tiara, and use of the Red Ryder Royalty chaps and crowns (to be returned at the end of your reign).
The participants will have the opportunity to practice a few weeks in June, at which time they will be able to run through what the contest will entail. The actual contest will be held in late June at a date to be determined after the contestants have been identified.
The girls will be required to ride in this year’s rodeos on July 4, 5 and 6, in the grand entry each day. The 2014 queen and princess will be crowned on July 6. If chosen to be the 2014 Red Ryder Royalty, the girls are required to ride in the Little Beaver Parade in Dulce, N.M., as well as the Fiesta Days Parade in Durango, the Chama Days Parade and our local St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They will reign over the three-day Red Ryder Rodeo in 2014.
If you have any questions, contact Pennie DeClark at 903-3242.
