Bear Lake County Fair royalty says wearing crown is yearlong commitment

It’s a way of life to attend county and regional fairs across Idaho.

These fairs have been a part of Idaho's culture since the early 1900s.

Traditionally rodeos are a big part of these fairs and in turn have been a place for young ladies to compete for the title of rodeo royalty.

Many see pretty in pink cowgirls showing their horsemanship and beauty. However, these rodeo royalty competitions are far more than a beauty pageant and the time and efforts advance way past fair week.

One of the strongest attributes these programs teach young ladies is presence and responsibility. They learn a great deal about how to conduct themselves in public especially when stress is high. They know they are in the public eye and must constantly set a good example.

Taylor Hymas is the Bear Lake rodeo royalty coordinator. She is well-versed in the program as she held the Miss Rodeo Idaho title and carried flags at the National Finals Rodeo.

She’s excited to share her knowledge and continue to help the program grow.

“It’s such a privilege to teach those who are curious about the western way of life and strive to promote our rodeo sport,” says Hymas.

The rodeo royalty at the recent Bear Lake County Fair included Queen Hadlee Jo Kotter, Junior Queen Charlee Friddle and Princess Jayde Bergholm.

Eight-year-old Jayde was honored to receive her crown handed down from her older sister.

The highlight of Jayde's week was riding her horse in the parade and getting to help out with the fair. But above all, she enjoyed the friendships she made.

Jayde’s mom Kristel said, “Fair week was rough but we survived. There is so much joy watching your daughter show such grace and maturity through some tough times especially at her age. It was exhausting but so well worth it. What this program teaches these girls is priceless.”

Hadlee takes her crown seriously and works hard to represent well. A quote she loves and lives by is “Practice like you’ve never won, perform like you have never lost.”

These young women represent their communities and promote fair and rodeo events. They have a responsibility to be an ambassador and face of the fair and rodeo.

There is a great deal of time spent behind the scenes that most don’t see.

The girls are expected to be knowledgeable about anything and everything involving rodeos and agriculture and to always present themselves with grace and kindness.

Rodeo royalty tryouts typically start in the spring to allow the royalty to represent rodeos throughout the year.

Young ladies are able to tryout as young as 6 years old. Most rodeo queens strive for the most prestigious title of Miss Rodeo America.

Tryouts consist of modeling, impromptu questions, a speech given on a specific topic, and a secret judges interview where the girls are asked questions about anything from current events to saddlery.

Horsemanship is almost always a part of the tryout and is one of the most important parts of the competition as this is how the public will most often see and remember the contestants.

As if the stresses and hard work put into the tryout weren’t enough, the hardest work comes after being crowned.

When you think how young some of these girls are, it’s impressive to see how well they handle the workload, persevere through the exhaustion, and make so many appearances throughout fair week and the rest of the year.

They hand out 4-H ribbons, help with FFA shows, sell raffle tickets, chase cows at the rodeos and organize the fair's grand entries.

While the world sees the pretty in pink of rodeo royalty, those who have earned the queen or princess crown know it’s far more than pretty at times.