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Miss Rodeo Clark County Royalty Selected

	By Shyla Marshall Moapa Valley Progress Submitted Apr. 9, 2008 The 2008-2009 Miss Rodeo Clark County Queen and Princess pageant concluded on Saturday April 5. There were four princess contestants and three queen contestants. Those running the princess title included Heather Connor, Sarah Hendrix, Alexis Jones, and Kayla Leachman. The queen candidates were Chanille Chouquer, Jennifer Jack, and Cynthia Taylor. “I was very excited to have seven girls interested in running this year and they all did a great job!” said pageant co-coordinator, Mandee Davis.	Miss Rodeo Clark County participants pictured l. to r are Heather Connor, Kayla Leachman, Harmoney Ricely, Cynthia Taylor, Chanille Chouquer, Alexis Jones, Kaley Sproul, Sarah Hendrix and Jennifer Jack.
	The pageant seems to improve year by year. Davis pointed out that “it’s a wonderful opportunity for the girls and I’m looking forward to the program continuing to grow.” Davis and co-coordinator Jennifer Marshall pulled together some valuable resources for this event. Rikkie Jensen, Melanie Mooney, and Buttons Warburton, all of whom currently reside in Las Vegas judged the competition. Each of the contestants was judged on numerous categories including horsemanship, appearance, personality, speech, interview and impromptu questions.
	The newly crowned Miss Rodeo Clark County royalty: Queen Chanille Chouquer (left) and Sarah Hendrix (right).	The horsemanship category allows each contestant to display control of her mount, proper arena etiquette, balance, and an understanding of the maneuvers. In addition the constestants were expected to have a workable knowledge of general horsemanship and horse science. As for the appearance category, the purpose of this was to select a young lady who was well groomed and put together. She should have correct posture, carrying herself with poise and confidence. Her knowledge of western clothing, proper fit, and attention to detail was also considered. The third category was personality. This one was focused around the girl’s intelligence and common sense. A good sense of humor never hurt, and the ability to have a conversation in various situations, while using correct grammar and cooperation. Other important aspects were high moral standards, sincerity and a positive outlook on life.
	Along with the traditional events of a rodeo pageant, “rodeo pictionary” was an exciting addition. Each contestant drew a word or phrase out of a hat, picked a member from the audience, and tried to get them to guess what they drew. The topics had everything from rodeo events to ironing a pair of Wrangler jeans! The pageant got started on Saturday morning at 8:00 am. Each contestant was introduced to model her dress, deliver a two to three minute prepared speech, and answer impromptu questions. With a break for some rodeo pictionary, the girls got to loosen up a little before their one on one interview with the judges. At the conclusion of the morning section of the competition, the action moved to the Clark County Fair Grounds arena for the horsemanship. Each contestant was given a specific reining pattern to complete. For the second go-round of horsemanship the girls changed horses and performed the pattern once again. The coronation ceremony was held at the Old Logandale School at 7:00 pm. The ceremony began with the princess category. The runner up to the horsemanship award was Alexis Jones. The winner of the horsemanship was Sarah Hendrix. Hendrix also won the speech, appearance and personality awards. The 3rd runner up was Kayla Leachman, 2nd runner up Heather Conner, and 1st runner up Alexis Jones. Sarah Hendrix was crowned as the 2008 Clark County Rodeo Princess. Following was the queen coronation. The horsemanship runner up was Cynthia Taylor, and horsemanship winner, Chanille Chouquer. Chouquer also took the speech, appearance and personality titles. The 2nd runner up to queen was Jennifer Jack and 1st runner up was Cynthia Taylor. Chanille Chouquer was then crowned as the 2008 Miss Rodeo Clark County Queen. The award for Miss Congeniality was presented to Jennifer Jack. The prizes included everything from jewelry to custom saddle blankets and much more. New to this year’s pageant was the Rodeo Queen Scholarship Program. Eight thousand dollars of scholarship will be offered to each winner of the Miss Clark County Queen Pageant. The Rodeo queen also received a custom built Corriente Saddle. The committee would like to extend their appreciation to each of their generous sponsors who helped to make this pageant a success. A special thanks goes out to each of the following: Clark County Fair and Rodeo; Corriente Saddle Company; Eric Goedhart in Memory of Rachelle Goedhart; Home Hardware; Kathy and Eric Neilsen; Moapa Valley Federal Credit Union; Ruby Davis; The Tack Shack; and Valley Boot and Shoe. The new queen and princess, Chouquer and Hendrix will be riding in the grand entry of the Clark County Rodeo.