The Oneida County Fair Board held their annual Rodeo Queen Contest held at the Oneida County Fairgrounds June 20 and 21.  The event welcomed participants to compete for the opportunity to represent the fair board and rodeo as the 2025 royalty for the upcoming year.  The competition began the evening of Friday, June 20 as young hopefuls competed in the Mini- and Little Cowgirls division. 

The Mini Miss category, set for ages five years old and younger, included three contestants- Timber Howell, Seader Burnhope, and Hazel Hollingsworh.  Competing in the Little Miss Cowgirl, the six to ten year old age group, were Charlotte Werk, Ember Howell, Kymber Howell, and Aspen Booth.  Dressed in their very best cowgirl attire, the little royalty chatted with the judges and rode their pattern in the arena.  To set apart and challenge the Little Cowgirls, the young contestants were set to ride the pattern without a lead line.

With the intent of allowing the young girls an opportunity to gain experience at an early age, each of the participants received a prize for their efforts leading up to and throughout the contest.

The following Saturday morning, June 21 featured the royalty divisions of the Oneida County Rodeo Queen Contest.  Twelve contestants gathered to throw in their hats to see who would rise to the top and represent Oneida County as its new rodeo queen in three different divisions- Princess (ages 8-10), Jr. Queen (ages 11-14)and Sr. Queen (ages 15-18) classes.  

The morning began with a check in, before the contestants began their interviews and  modeling before a panel of judges, an opportunity to showcase their poise, confidence, and public speaking skills.  The contestants were also tasked with a written exam, testing their rodeo, horsemanship, tack, and equine knowledge.  

Following their exam and interviews, the contestants were excused to prepare for the final portion of the competition- horsemanship.  Having previously been given the pattern, each participant would attempt to ride the pattern as near to perfect as possible, taking their horse through the paces exactly as prompted.  In addition to the horsemanship pattern, the Jr. and Sr. Queen divisions had an additional pattern to perform that included carrying the American flag.

Working first through the Princess division, then the Jr. Queen, and finally the Sr. Queen, the twelve hopefuls rode through the arena to showcase their horsemanship skills.

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. 

In the Sr. Queen division, Ryann Wolfley took first place in the Appearance/Modeling, Horsemanship & Flag, scored the highest on the written test and was awarded the Congeniality award.  Aimee Hunt took first place in the Personality/Interview decision.  After totalling all the points, Aimee Hunt was crowned as the Second Attendant, Paislee Davis as First Attendant and Ryann Wolfley as the Sr. Queen.

In the Jr. Queen division, Katy Carter won Appearance/Modeling and the Personality/Interview categories.  Cassidy Schrenk had the high test score and won the Horsemanship & Flag category as well.  The Congeniality award was given to Paige Eliason.  Paige was also crowned as the third Attendant, Sunni Barnes as the Second Attendant, Katy Carter as the First Attendant, and Cassidy Schrenk as the Jr. Queen.

In the Princess division Austin Shrenk won the Appearance/Modeling and Personality/Interview categories.  Shelby Sorensen won the Horsemanship category in addition to having the high test score.  The Congeniality award was presented to Paris Carter.  Rickell Call was crowned as Fourth Attendant, Paris Carter as the Third Attendant, Payzlee House as the Second Attendant, Austin Schrenk as the First Attendant and Shelby Sorensen as the Princess.

The newly crowned royalty look forward to their upcoming duties as they represent Oneida County including riding in the Malad 4th of July Parade and assisting in the 2025 Oneida County Fair this coming August.