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Ten to vie for Miss Southwest Nebraska Rodeo Queen, Princess titles
Ten young ladies will be vying for the 2006 Miss Southwest Nebraska Rodeo Queen and Princess titles this weekend in McCook. The Horsemanship competition will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kiplinger Arena at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. A Style Show and Benefit Auction will be held on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Best Western Chief Motel courtyard.
Special guest, Ashley Rice will be in attendance during the pageant and will be co-hosting this year's style show, along with Derek Beck, KIOD/KSWN radio personality. Miss Rice captured the title of Lady-in-Waiting Miss Rodeo Nebraska 2006 after months of preparation and an intense four-day competition in which she rose to the top in all categories winning Speech, Photogenic, Congeniality, Personality, Appearance and the coveted Horsemanship award. Ashley is also the third Miss Rodeo Nebraska in the past five years to have previously held the MSWNR Queen title.
"Our past queens' success on the state level has contributed to the number of contestants we attracted this year," stated Carol Schlegel, MSWNA President. "We are looking forward to this weekend's competition."
The six candidates for the Queen title in the 15-19 year-old age category are:
Erika Backes -- 19 year old daughter of Lloyd and Cindy Backes of Bushnell, Nebraska.
Raesha Cline -- 17 year old daughter of Randy and Dalene Cline of Franklin.
Megan Grunden -- 19 year old daughter of Harlan and Tammy Grunden of Curtis.
Sara Hagemann -- 18 year old daughter of Bill and Sue Hagemann of Culbertson.
Cali Heins -- 17 year old daughter of Bob and Brenda Heins of Cozad.
Keila Popp -- 17 year old daughter of Kelly and Jo Popp of Curtis.
The four contestants for the Princess title in the 14 year-old and under category are:
Rosanna Goin -- 14 year old daughter of Roland and Cheryl Farnsworth of Hayes Center.
Kelcia Kugler -- 13 year old daughter of Mike and Dianne Kugler of McCook.
Cassi McNeil -- 13 year old daughter of Mike and Colleen McNeil of Stapleton.
Samantha Shearer -- 14 year old daughter of Sarah Parrett and Travis Shearer of North Platte.
The young women will compete in Horsemanship, Personal Interview, Personality, Appearance, Speech and Modeling. The pageant is held annually to select young ladies who have the desire and enthusiasm to serve as a goodwill ambassador for the sport of rodeo and Southwest Nebraska.
The MSWNR Queen and Princess 2006 will be crowned prior to the rodeo performance at the Red Willow County Fair on July 29. the Crowning Ceremony will be completed by MSWNR Queen 2005 Danie Hilton of Kearney and MSWNR Princess 2004 Emma Gosnell of Maxwell.