Contestants completed the last of five parts of the Bonnyville Queen contest on Saturday, but will have to wait until the opening of the Bonnyville Pro Rodeo on May 28 before the winner is declared.
Bonnyville's four queen contestants, Jayelle Demers, Carolynne Vallee, Kristie Knudsen, and Chelcie Rask, demonstrated their horsemanship and showmanship capabilities for an audience of supporters and friends at the Bonnyville Rodeo Grounds.
“The contestants did really good. They put a lot of effort into it. Overall they did fantastic,” said organizer and former rodeo queen Tracy Paron.
Collin Balan, Carrol Porteous, and Kevin Picray judged the horsemanship competition at the rodeo grounds.
“I think all girls put a lot of effort into it. It looked like they spent a lot of time getting ready and did their best,” Balan said.
He said the winner could go on to compete in the Miss Rodeo Canada contest, so she must be someone who is capable of handling many different horses at different events.
“We were looking for someone that had a lot of horsemanship skills and was comfortable and could probably handle lots of different types of horses under different kinds of situations and look good doing it,” he said.
The queen horsemanship competition consisted of five sections, including showmanship, two horsemanship patterns, presentation wave, and the flag run. Contestants were responsible for leading and riding the horse through patterns as precisely as possible. Judges also considered the cleanliness and appearance of the horse and tack, as well as poise and control of the horse.
The horsemanship contest is worth 30 per cent of each contestant's overall mark. In recent months contestants were marked in four other areas, including a written test worth 10 per cent, poise and appearance worth 20 per cent, public speaking at the Country Opry worth 30 per cent, and ticket sales for a barbecue raffle from Bonnyville Water Conditioning worth 10 per cent.
The winner of the contest will receive a gift package including a buckle, satin sash, saddle, saddle pad, and chaps. The Bonnyville BPCRA queen will represent the community across Alberta. A Bonnyville BPCRA princess will also be crowned to attend events with the queen when available.
