The new Oneida County Royalty has been crowned after the completion of the 2023 Oneida County Queen Contest.  The two day event, held June 2 and June 15, brought rodeo queen hopefuls to compete in the arena to represent the Oneida County Fair Board throughout the rodeo season.  Contestants from ages three to eighteen participated in several events dependent on their age level, such as interviews held by a panel of judges and a horsemanship pattern, all while cheered on by their families and friends.

Thirteen Mini Cowgirls (ages 5 and under) and nine Little Cowgirls (ages 6 to 7) gathered on the afternoon of June 2nd to perform their riding pattern as well as answer questions from the judges.  While a winner isn’t chosen at the Mini and Little Cowgirl levels, the experience of preparing, performing in the arena and answering questions is significant, not only for future queen contest appearances, but for other events that require similar readiness, performance and public speaking.  At the conclusion of the horsemanship patterns and interview each of the contestants were awarded with a feed bucket of goodies, for themselves and their horses.

The Royalty competition was held June 15, consisting of contestants in the Princess (ages 8 to 11), Jr. Queen (ages 12-14) and Sr. Queen (ages 15-18) classes.  After checking in for the event, the contestants participated in interviews, modeling and a written test.  They were then excused to tack and warm up their horses in preparation for their horsemanship pattern.  In addition to the horsemanship pattern, the Jr and Sr Queen divisions had an additional pattern to perform that included carrying the American flag.

To conclude the competition of the royalty divisions, a coronation and awards ceremony was held to announce the winners of each category and the overall winner of each class. 

The winners of the Princess division were as Princess- Cassidy Schrenk, 1st Attendant- Paige Eliason, and 2nd Attendant- Rickell Call.  The winners of the Jr Queen division were Jr. Queen- Sunni Barnes, 1st Attendant- Aimee Hunt and 2nd Attendant- Samantha Schrenk.  The winners of the Sr Queen division were Sr. Queen- Sara Glenn and 1st Attendant- Erin Wallace.  The newly crowned royalty will be featured at the annual favorite Oneida County Cowboy Classic Rodeos and Family Rodeo held during the Oneida County Fair.   

The Oneida County Rodeo Queen Contest is organized and sponsored by the Oneida County Fair Board and chaired by board member Lacy Clark.  Lacy was assisted by the 2022 Rodeo Sr. Queen Kaitlyn Armstrong, Jr. Queen Oakley Jones, & Princess Hadlee Douglas.  They would all like to thank the sponsors of the event, including saddle sponsors ATC, Ridgewalker Seamless Rain Gutters, Twisted Iron, IFA, Oneida Family Dental and Patrick Werk Custom Leather.