[July 15, 2011] Kourtney Hauge, White Lake, crowned Corn Palace Stampede queen Tweet Jul 15, 2011 (The Daily Republic - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo has crowned its new queen. Kourtney Hauge, White Lake, was crowned this year's Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Queen during the opening night of the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Thursday. The 19-year-old is a sophomore at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, where she is majoring in biology and public relations. Hauge won the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Junior Queen title in 2006. "That was my first title," said Hauge of her Junior Queen win. "The (queen) title I wanted to meet my goal of Miss Rodeo South Dakota. This is just one of the stepping stones." Hauge has been competing in rodeo pageants sine 2006 and has won 11 titles in five years. As the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Queen, Hauge said that she will represent the city at South Dakota 4-H rodeos and stock shows. While at BHSU, she will attend college rodeos and other West River competitions promoting the Stampede event. Caitlin Beaty, Mitchell, received the runner-up award, as well as the horsemanship trophy. Kalsey Leischner was named Miss Congeniality. Mount Vernon's Haley Hinker was crowned Junior Queen. "I ran for three years and every year I got runner-up, and now I finally got a crown," Hinker said. "It feels good." First runner-up was Morgan Janisch of Lake City. Courtney Graves of Dimock won the horsemanship division and Miss Congeniality. Bailey Bosworth, White Lake, won the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Princess title. She also received the top award in the horsemanship category. Tamara Mohr received first runner-up in the Princess division and Katlyn Knoll was named Miss Congeniality. Samantha Ford was crowned Junior Princess. Ford also won the horsemanship award. Teya Moody, Letcher, received first runner-up. Brooke Knoll, Avon, was given the Miss Congeniality award, which is chosen by all the princess and junior princess candidates. Seventeen cowgirls competed for the titles of junior princess, princess, junior queen and queen. The number of contestants is up four from last year, said Tiffany Fraser, pageant director. "Our numbers are growing, which is great because in a lot of other local and state pageants the numbers are dropping," Fraser said. This year, there were 11 girls in the junior division, which will help keep the pageant going, she added. The contestants started early Thursday with horsemanship. In the afternoon, the contestants took part in a series of introductions, impromptu questions and speeches, along with modeling in front of an audience. Each contestant also went into a private interview. Each contestant had to be involved in rodeo as well. Only candidates in the senior division gave speeches, which were derived from the topic of heroes. They also were asked extra questions, some concerning South Dakota disasters and other relevant issues in today's society. Hauge's speech recognized the men and women behind the rodeo scene -- "the mom's son who is about to mount a bull," the family of a bull fighter that travels with him or the moms who travel to rodeos each weekend replacing their "leisurely reading with reading maps and rodeo programs." "It's not about fame, but the unsung heroes behind the sport," Hauge said in her speech. Beaty addressed the issue of online communication during one of her impromptu questions. "With today's technology, it will inhibit communication. So many rely on phones and texting that youth won't have the skills to talk to someone face-to-face when the time comes," she said. Fraser said that the judges look for queens and princesses with great speaking skills, which is why the speech contests and impromptu questions are an important part of the judging process. "They do a lot of radio interviews, so you want them to be able to speak fluently and be grammatically correct," she said. Junior contestants were judged on introductions to the judges and spectators. In Maysa Davidson's introduction, the Parkston competitor was already looking at her future, mentioning she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. She was active in school and sports too, like many of the other princess contestants. Eleven-year-old Lexy Leischner, Parkston, talked about her horses, Honey and Friday, and that she enjoyed listening to Taylor Swift's music because the performer's songs were all about her life. To see more of The Daily Republic, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.mitchellrepublic.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]