By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Two sisters from Goodland came away with the Miss Ellis County Rodeo Queen and Princess titles Tuesday at the Ellis County Fair Rodeo.
Jamie Nemechek, 18, who is a K-State student in pre-veterinary medicine, was crowned Queen, and her sister, Sara, 10, was honored with the Princess title.
They are the daughters of Jerry and Penny Nemechek.
Jamie’s hobbies include reading, spending time outside and working with her 4-H project animals.
Both girls will be showing sheep at the Kansas Junior Livestock Show and the state fair. They also plan on showing their horses at the state fair.
Jamie exhibited the grand champion lamb at the 2016 Northwest Kansas District Free Fair. Jamie and her siblings also manage a small herd of commercial cows.
“I come from a long line of pageant royalty,” Jamie said. “I really love pursuing and doing pageants. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about rodeo.”
Jamie said her favorite portion of the pageant was horsemanship during which she rode her horse, Skip.
The young ladies competed the weekend of July 8 in horsemanship, modeling, talent or speech, and personal interview. They were also required to take a written test on rodeo and horses and submit photographs in their western wear.
During the horsemanship portion of the competition, the ladies compete in reining. The ladies are given a course that is written on paper and they have to replicate it in the arena. The riders also complete a queen’s run and flag run.
Sara said she wished to follow in her sister’s footsteps. This was her first pageant.
“I thought a pageant would be a lot of fun to do,” she said. “I decided to try it out for the first time.”
Sara also said she most enjoyed the horsemanship portion of the competition, riding her horse, Babe.
The girls who did not win said they also had good experiences. Mariam Towns, 12, Palco, enjoyed the interview portion of the contest. Towns had to overcome a fear of horses to compete in the rodeo competition. She was bucked from a horse at the age of 6.
“I have taken it a little bit at a time, and I work with the horses every day,” she said.
Emma Pope, 16, said she hopes to take her 4-H experiences in public speaking and parlay them into a career.
“I would really like to do something in science. I really like biology, anatomy and physiology. I would like to do something that coordinates the two,” she said.
She said she hoped to inspire other young girls through her participation in the pageant.
“I know when I was little, I was inspired by rodeo queens. They do a lot with the younger kids and in the community, and, of course, they go to a lot of rodeos. I like the atmosphere. Everyone is positive, but it is competitive too.”
Results are as below:
Princess pageant
Modeling: Miriam Towns
Public Performance: Mariam Towns
Interview: Mariam Towns
Horsemanship: Sara Nemechek
Runner up, Justina Merritt, 14, of Plainville
Princess: Sara Nemechek
Queen
Modeling: Leigh Anne Poe, 15, Hill City
Public Performance: Emma Pope
Interview: Jamie Nemechek
Horsemanship: Jamie Nemechek
Runner-up: Emma Pope
Queen: Jamie Nemechek
Queen candidate Hailey Fisher, 16, Plainville, also competed.
The outgoing royalty for 2016 were Queen Jaylinn Pfeifer of Ellis High School and Princess Jaelyn Himmelberg of Lawrence, Nebraska.
The ladies who were named royalty this year will help plan next year’s pageant and assist at fair activities. They are required to travel to at least two other state rodeos and participate in local events as a representatives of the rodeo.