By Casey Archibald

carchibald@postregister.com
EDITORS NOTE: This is the frst part of a month-
ly series following the work local rodeo queens put
into earning their titles.
H
air curled, makeup perfect, clothes starched
and pressed, crown straight, hat tight and al-
ways on, boots and buckle polished, chaps
clean, legs covered, no gum, no sunglasses, stay pos-
itive and smile.
Those are just a few of the things that rodeo queens
and princesses must remember when they are making
public appearances during their reign.
Hailey Kelso, Miss War Bonnet Roundup Prin-
cess for 2013, is one such princess this year. She was
crowned princess in August and said she loves repre-
senting the War Bonnet title.
At her competitions, Kelso makes her horsemanship
skills and speeches appear to come with fawless ease.
But what many onlookers dont understand is that be-
hind the smile and rodeo queen wave, are countless
hours of work, study and practice.
Kelso is a 15-year-old sophomore at Shelley High
School and did her frst competition when she was 11.
Last week, Kelso participated in a special memori-
al rodeo called Cowboys and Angels Keely Lance
Scholarship Memorial in honor of the late Rodeo Queen
Keely Lance who died in a car accident last year. The ro-
deo took place in Rigby and was an effort to raise money
for education scholarships as well as some of the organi-
zations that Keely Lance stood for during her life.
Each girl must give a speech in front of judges, and
then demonstrate their horsemanship skills by completing
a pattern in the arena. Each girl must complete the same
pattern that is assigned to their age group. The diffculty
of the patterns goes up with the age of the competitors.
One of the most challenging aspects of horseman-
ship is to change leads. This means every time a rid-
er switches the direction she is going, she must guide
her horse to switch legs so the inside leg lands frst
throughout the duration of the turn.
Tasha Finn, rodeo organizer, said 21 girls competed
in the queen contest this year. She also said that the
Keely Lance contest is a little different than most.
Holding the Keely Lance title is not as intense as it
is for other titles. Winners may represent the rodeo if
they choose to, but they are not required to do so.
We want them to have a good time and a good ex-
perience queening, said Finn. We want it to be more
laid back, and not as high stress as other queen con-
tests.
Kelso said the rodeo was great practice for her. She
went up against one other competitor for the queen ti-
tle, who was Lances best friend and about fve years
older than Kelso.
Even though her competitor is above the age limit
for the queen title for this particular rodeo, Kelso gave
her permission to let her opponent compete.
I think it was a good thing [that she won], because
she was Keelys best friend, said Kelso. How could
I not let her compete? That wasnt really the point any-
way. I got great practice and I feel good knowing the
money I spent to participate went to a great cause and
scholarships for people as well.
Kelso is currently practicing for the Miss Rodeo Ida-
ho title that she will be competing for next year. The
event will take place in Nampa.
Advertising supplement
DO YOU . . .
have a heart murmur?
experience shortness of
breath?
have heart valve issues?
PLEASE CALL
208-239-2580
to reach the frst
Heart Valve Clinic
in southeast Idaho
Heart valve surgery without opening the chest!
777 Hospital Way
Pocatello, Idaho
PortMed.org
Casey Archibald/carchibald@postregister.com
Hailey Kelso, 2013 Miss War Bonnet Roundup Princess,
poses for a picture at the Cowboys and Angels Keely
Lance Scholarship Memorial.
Being a rodeo queen more
than just wearing a crown
Sponsored by Portneuf Medical Center