Seven young women vied for the rodeo queen crown, and most said they had dreamed of being rodeo queens since they were little girls

"I was asked the other day who the love of my life was,” 20-year-old Lacey McBeth told a crowd of about 50 supporters and judges at the Crooked River Roundup Queen tryouts Sunday afternoon in Prineville.

“Now, most of you would expect me to mention a big, strong, handsome cowboy’s name,” said McBeth, who is from Prineville. “However, that was not the case.

“I began to describe a big, stout, four-legged creature with a rather nice looking rear end. No, my heart does not belong to a cowboy, but rather a horse by the name of Doc’s Diamond Country. She seems to enjoy my attention, always does what I tell her and never talks back.”

McBeth’s speech — and perhaps her sense of humor — helped her win the crown of 2010 Crooked River Roundup Queen on Sunday, after a competition in which judges said Western heritage and rodeo knowledge were key characteristics of a winner. Seven young women vied for the rodeo queen crown, and most said they had dreamed of being rodeo queens since they were little girls. Tryouts took place at the Crook County Fairgrounds.

“It’s such an honor for me,” McBeth said Sunday evening. “I’m just on cloud nine.” McBeth said she didn’t sleep much the night before the competition, but if she was tired, she hid it well behind a broad smile that never seemed to leave her face.

From Sunday morning through the afternoon, the seven young contestants participated in interviews, demonstrated their horsemanship skills, gave speeches and answered random questions drawn from a container.

“Our queen is our ambassador,” said Hank Simmons, a board member of the Crooked River Roundup Rodeo and Race Meet Association. “We try to pick somebody who represents us, knows our community and our event.”

During the horsemanship portion, contestants had to show they could complete a horsemanship pattern and carry a flag around the arena. Heaters buzzed above the stands in the enclosed arena, but steam was still visible coming from the horses’ nostrils as each young woman took her turn.

Some competitors raced around the arena at top speed, with the rodeo’s flag occasionally whipping against the stands, while others rode more slowly. McBeth drew yells and whoops from her supporters as she raced around the arena a final time, waving to the audience.

Shay Perry, 18, of Bend, was the 2009 Crooked River Roundup Queen and on Sunday, she was at the arena to pass her crown to the next queen. Perry demonstrated the horsemanship pattern before this year’s contestants took their turns. “At this point, most of them are probably pretty worked up,” Perry said after the women finished the horsemanship competition.

Amorita Anstett, a board mem- ber of the Crooked River Roundup Rodeo and Race Meet Association and the rodeo queen adviser, said young women who serve as queen grow more confident through the experience.

“For example, with Shay, when she was crowned last year, she knew nothing about what this queen thing was about,” Anstett said. “She probably gave 20 speeches last year ... She’s still a teenager, and she’s got all the confidence of a 25-year-old.”

Perry said serving as queen was a new experience, since she was always a tomboy. “Amorita turned me into a girl for a year,” she said, adding that Anstett kept after her to apply lipstick and curl her hair. “It’s kind of like being Miss America on horseback. The kids are your biggest fans.”

McBeth wrote in her application for rodeo queen that the position is about more than appearance, and she hopes to put her experience from communications and business management courses at Central Oregon Community College to work in the position.

“First of all, I feel that being a rodeo queen isn’t all about being beautiful,” McBeth wrote. “It’s about taking charge and doing absolutely whatever you possibly can to benefit the association and represent the rodeo.”