Youth Fair Rodeo this week

Yee-haw! Saddle up pardner, it's time for the 19th Annual Youth Fair Rodeo. The rodeo will feature steer wrestling, bareback broncs, saddle broncs, calf roping, team roping, barrel racing and the crowd favorite, bull riding.

The rodeo runs June 3, 4 and 5, beginning at 8 p.m. each evening, rain or shine. The rodeo helps fund the Vernon County Youth Fair, this year in its 65th year. Tickets are $6 in advance, $8 at the gate and children 7 to 12 are $3, children 6 and under are free.

State Rep. Barney Fisher said the rodeo was a good way to begin summer activities in Vernon County.

"The rodeo is a good start to the fair season," Fisher said. "It's something I look forward to every year."

The rodeo is usually well-attended, except in those years when the weather interferes. This year the forecast calls for a chance of showers early Thursday with highs in the low 90s each day of the rodeo. Other than the early Thursday showers the weather should be clear through the rodeo.

Youth Fair board member Scotty Pritchett said there were usually 600 to 700 people each day of the rodeo.

"It all depends on the weather," Pritchett said. "It averages about 600 or 700 per night, but with the rain it may be 200 on that one night, then 1,000 that Saturday."

Pritchett said the board was looking for some way to raise money so they decided to do the rodeo.

"They were trying to find ideas for fund-raisers and the Jaycees used to have a rodeo years ago," Pritchett said. "The fair board decided a rodeo would be a good way to make a fund-raiser, in three days they make pretty good money.

Being this kind of community, a farming community, people like rodeos. They already had the arena here so it just made sense. They didn't have to go build something, it was already here so they just took advantage of it."

The last few years the rodeo has brought in several thousand dollars a year.

"I'd say the last few years, it's averaged about $8,000 -- $8,000 to $10,000," Pritchett said.

Pritchett wouldn't give any predictions, but said he was hoping for a good turnout.

"With the economy there were several who weren't sure about buying tickets, so I'm not sure," Pritchett said. "Hopefully it's a good turnout. I think maybe with the way things are, people will stay home and do things around their community instead of traveling, but you never know."

Queen and princess candidates sell tickets to the fair and each ticket they sell counts as a vote for them. The 2010 Youth Fair Rodeo queen and princess will be crowned during the Saturday performance. The princess candidates are: Kianna Mogan, Emily Peterson, Hayden Richmond, Katrina Snyder and Taylor Stratford. queen candidates include: Chasity Ashworth, Audrey Daniels and Katie Harms.

Barnes and Company, Tahlequah, Okla., have been operating the rodeo for several years and have kept Vernon County audiences coming back for more. The event is sanctioned by two organizations, the American Cowboy Rodeo Association and the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association.

Holding a sanctioned event means participants gain points toward national championships, which brings high-quality contenders to Vernon County.