Annual Youth Fair rodeo begins on Thursday

Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances of the 21st Annual Vernon County Youth Fair Board Rodeo will be highlighted by Saturday night introductions of four queen candidates and six for princess and crownings of the winners in Centennial Park Fairgrounds Arena.

Starting with the grand entry of participants at 8 o'clock each night, the event features from 250 to 300 cowboys and cowgirls and is sanctioned by the American Cowboys and Missouri Rodeo Cowboys associations. Rodeo fans will see steer wrestling, calf roping, bull riding, team roping, barrel racing, bronc riding and more. Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the gate.

Queen candidates are Darcy Bond, 15, daughter of Jason and Margaret Bond; Cara Comstock, 15, daughter of Charlie and Patty Comstock; Madison Ewing, 17, daughter of Rick and Angie Ewing; and Susie Hartman, 17, daughter of Michael and Christine Hartman.

Darcy, Cara and Madison attend Nevada High School while Susie is a Bronaugh High School student.

Rodeo Co-Chairman Vickie Erwin said Tuesday that advance ticket sales will cease at noon Thursday from queen hopefuls and princess candidates Haley Byram, Hannah Kenny, Katrina Snyder, Katelynn Vandenburg, Cori Best and Payton Brooks.

Haley, 9, is the daughter of Kevin and Susan Byram of Nevada; Hannah, an eighth grader, the daughter of James and Courtney Kenny of Prairie City; Katrina, 10, the daughter of Mike and Jennifer Snyder of El Dorado Springs; Katelynn, 13, the daughter of Mike and Cindy Vandenburg of Nevada; Cori, 14, the daughter of Travis and Dawn Best of Nevada; and Payton, a seventh grader at Northeast Vernon County Junior High School, the daughter of Michelle Brooks.

"Thursday always has the most rodeo contestants and Saturday has the biggest crowd because everyone wants to see the queen coronation," Erwin said. "We have a calf scramble each night with the first five kids who pull a ribbon off a calf's tail winning $5. It's quite an entertainment."

The queen and princess will be crowned by last year's winners, Jaynee Beaty and Emily Peterson.

The producer is Barnes Rodeo Co. of Tallequah, Okla. Other committee members are Jim Erwin, Rick Ewing, Tim Haner, David and Cindy Irwin and Scott and Brandy Pritchett.