HUNTSVILLE — Taylor Young was crowned Madison County IPRA Rodeo Princess this summer.

Young, 10, is the daughter of Tammy Young, manager of the White Oak station in Pea Ridge, and William Young. They live on Tucks Chapel Road, Rogers, just south of Pea Ridge with their horses - five paints and a blood bay Quarter horse.

Taylor said the competition for princess has many facets -horsemanship, speech, modeling and an interview. Young said the Rodeo of the Ozarks is a PRCA rodeo, whereas the Madison County rodeo in Huntsville is a International Pro Rodeo Association rodeo.

“My parents love horses and love to work with horses. They’ve taught me about horses ever since I was little,” Taylor said.

Her horse, Easy Money, is a 10-year-old paint gelding, she has had for about three years. For the competition, she borrowed a horse from Randi Isgrigs of Hindsville, who was Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks 2008.

“He’s a Quarter horse and he’s a lot better trained because he was trained for queening,”Taylor said, explaining some of the maneuvers required during the horsemanship competition.

“We have to execute a pattern on horseback - left lead, right lead ... then there are different reinings, rollbacks and pivots,” she said, adding that after performing the requisite steps, the rider stops before the judges to answer questions. Interview questions may include questions about the sport of rodeo, their knowledge of horses, current events going on in today’s world, they can even be asked who are the current political leaders at city/county/state/or federal levels.

She had to write a one and a half minute speech. This year the topic was to be about herself, butshe said it wasn’t hard because she wrote it from the perspective of her horse.

“Some people think of me as Taylor’s best friend, but I like to think of myself as Taylor’s trusted steed ... I know my girl Taylor is smart because she tells me about the awards she earns at school,” Taylor recited, recalling the speech.

As Rodeo princess, Taylor will appear at various rodeos during the year including Rodeo of the Ozarks, Old Fort Days, Lincoln and the Huntsville Christmas parade.

Taylor’s mother, Tammy said she used to barrel race and her husband used to ride bulls, but neither compete any more.

News, Pages 1 on 08/18/2010