Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1012265
By Mark Humphrey ENTERPRISE-LEADER LINCOLN — Each year the annual Lincoln Riding Club Rodeo opens up a pageant competition showcasing royalty. Two area cowgirls contend for Miss Lincoln Riding Club rodeo queen. Hannah Taylor, of Fayetteville, finished as First Runner-Up in 2017; is up against challenger Kylee Bobacher, of Westville, Okla. Vying for junior queen are: Judy Gail McNeely, of West- ville, Okla.; and Mika Arnold, of Lincoln, younger sister of reigning LRC junior queen Alexis Arnold. The princess competition has a trio of candidates: Chloie Thomas, of Farmington; Brooklyn Teague, of Siloam Springs; and Emily Burke, of Watts, Okla. The 2018 royalty pageant wraps up with coronation at the start of Saturday's performance on the final night of the Lincoln Rodeo on Saturday, Aug. 11. L i n c o l n R i d i n g C l u b royalty contests are not limited to just Arkansas contestants. LRC queen, junior queen and princess titles have been open to Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas girls for several years. Candidates discover the process to be rigorous. Each candidate must effectively describe how rodeo is part of their life and capitalize upon opportunity to explain why they want to become LRC royalty in an essay submit- ted to Lincoln Riding Club. Sportsmanship is required at all times before, during and after the contest. There is much to do preparing their horses and practicing the queen pattern. A well-prepared candidate f inds time for rehearsal of speeches and practices modeling skills which are a valuable asset to promoting the Lincoln Rodeo. As an added bonus this year, Junior Queen Alexis Arnold, who won an LRC sash in 2017, will sing the National Anthem during the 65th annual Lincoln Rodeo on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018. Rodeo is a business with expenses. In addition to payouts for competitive events during the 65th annual Lincoln Rodeo sanctioned by ACRA and IPRA, Lincoln Riding Club sells royalty sponsorships. According to figures listed on the sponsor- ship commitment form $600 represents the fee to spon- sor all three crowns: queen, junior queen and princess. The same amount $600 sponsors all three buckles for queen, junior queen and princess. Each title also wins a saddle, which requires a $500 sponsor apiece. LRC also sells a $250 Silver Sponsorship for one buckle sponsorship or one crown sponsorship. A $100 Bronze Sponsorship is avail- able and LRC accepts dona- tions from sponsors not able to fully sponsor the Lincoln Riding Club royalty. CALENDAR OF RODEO EVENTS Wednesday, Aug. 8 7 p.m.: Lil' Mister and Lil' Miss Contest on Lincoln Square 8-11 p.m.: Street dance on Lincoln Square Thursday, Aug. 9 7:30 p.m.: Stick horse Grand Entry at LRC Arena 8 p.m.: Rodeo performance at LRC Arena Friday, Aug. 10 7:30 p.m.: Stick horse Grand Entry at LRC Arena 8 p.m.: Rodeo performance at LRC Arena Saturday, Aug. 11 3 p.m.: Rodeo parade lineup at LRC Arena 4:30 p.m.: 65th annual Lincoln Rodeo parade 7:30 p.m.: Stick horse Grand Entry at LRC Arena 8 p.m.: Rodeo performance at LRC Arena 8B Enterprise-Leader Wednesday, August 8, 2018 L i n c o L n R o d e o invites you to your hometown 65th Lincoln Rodeo Event August 9th, 10th & 11th 8 PM nightly at the Lincoln Rodeo Arena Hope To See You At The Rodeo! Lincoln Rodeo's Exclusive Sponsor As your exclusive Lincoln Rodeo Sponsor, PG Telco is honored to promote and partner with a community event of pride & skill! ❖ Community Event ❖ Fun for the entire family ❖ Skilled top ranked rodeo performances ❖ Rodeo Queen Contest Royalty Showcase JUNIOR QUEEN TO PERFORM ANTHEM MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Alexis Arnold, shown in this May 17, 2017, photo as a contestant for 2017 Lincoln Riding Club junior queen, gave an impromptu vocal performance of Can't Help Falling In Love With You as requested by people attending the 2017 Lincoln Riding Club Lil' Mister and Lil' Miss competition. Arnold won the 2017 LRC junior queen competition. Alexis will sing the National Anthem during the 65th annual Lincoln Rodeo on Friday, Aug. 10. By Mark Humphrey ENTERPRISE-LEADER LINCOLN — Among the age-old story of rodeo some- where a cowboy is compet- ing and somewhere across the horizon a cowgirl is dreaming of the moment he arrives home. Perhaps, she's a junior cowgirl wishing she could get permission to go on the road with her daddy as he heads off to the next rodeo. In a throwback to another era — before the Internet, before cellphones, before c a bl e s p o r t s n e two rk s , women want details and the cowgirl is no exception. In between their togeth- erness to fill her "down time," the cowgirl picks up the paper, turns to the sports section, and checks the rodeo scores. Curiosity compels her, she wants to know "was her cowboy in the money?" And what kind of shape is he going to be in when he gets home? Drawbacks exist in the digital age, too. Cellphones can be lost, and hard-drives crash. The best source of preserving a historical record of biographical infor- mation is often contained within the printed pages of a newspaper which docu- ments the exploits of the cowboy. In the tradition of cowboy poetry, the phrase "Even Cowgirls Read The News" spawns a lyrical rendition: she's a reader you can betcha that she keeps on competing with that danged ol' rodeo for the undivided attention of her daddy there's something about making the paper across the continent in old Cheyenne yes even cowgirls read the news lonesome cowgirls grit the curious rind was her cowboy in the money? does he have any broken bones? she's got to be the first to know she's in tune with the next go-round drawing bits and tidbits from the news yes even cowgirls read the news sometimes she longs to hear it from the horse's mouth yet sometimes technology goes south yes even cowgirls read the news she's learned at an early age that's the way he's always been l o n e s o m e r i d e r a t t h e Lincoln Rodeo got to get out of the chute the street dance chases away the blues yes even cowgirls read the news Even Cowgirls Read The News MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Cowgirl features. In this photo from the 2015 Lincoln Rodeo, Kalleigh Jo Shreve, and her younger sister, Kenleigh Shreve, along with Savannah Perkins check out Enterprise-Leader news and photos from the annual special section devoted to coverage of the Lincoln Rodeo.