Rodeo rides into town; show begins tonight

File photo-- Steve Gussent, with his trademark straw in his mouth tries to keep his seat during the bareback bronc riding competition during the 2007 Vernon County Youth Fair Rodeo. This year's rodeo will have performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m., rain or shine, at the Vernon County Youth Fairgrounds.

The ridin' and ropin' and racin' to the sounds of the cheers and gasps of the crowd will soon fill the arena at the Vernon County fairgrounds.

The Vernon County Youth Fair will host their annual Rodeo this weekend with numerous events as well as a queen and princess contest. The purpose of the event is to raise funds needed for the youth fair board and the youth fair -- and, of course, to have fun, promoters pointed out.

A total of 264 cowboys and cowgirls have registered to ride in the rodeo. The most popular event for fans is the bull riding event. Forty cowboys will attempt to be the rider who can last the full eight seconds and earn the top spot. Fifty-nine teams have entered for the team roping and 40 ladies will try to be the fastest at barrel racing. Other events include steer wrestling, calf roping, bareback and saddle bronc riding. There will be something for everyone of all ages. Each night there will be a calf scramble for the youngster to try to win $5.

One of the highlights of the rodeo is the queen and princess contest and this year there are three queen candidates and four princess candidates. The three ladies vying for the crown. They are Kelsey Hancock, Tiffany Edwards, and Kristen Dilly. The four young ladies hoping to walk away with the title of princess are Hanna Bates, Becca Raper, Kianna Morgan, and Natalie Wolf. All the royalty candidates have tickets that can be purchased in advanced for $6 and $8 at the gate. Kids ages 7-12 for $3. Children under 6 are free. The coronation ceremonies will be held Saturday night during the rodeo.

Barnes and Sons Rodeo company out of Tahlequah, Okla., will provide the stock for the cowboys and cowgirls to attempt to ride. Along with the rodeo events, Twister Trailers will have stock trailers on site for viewing as well as a homemade jewelry booth, and as usual, the Lions Club will be running the concession stands. The rodeo is June 5, 6 and 7 at 8 p.m., each night.