Faces of the fair

Neither Bailey Miller nor McKenzie Hixon every expected a brush with royalty. When Miller, a Dalton native and freshman at Leyton High School, learned she had been selected as Cheyenne County Fair Queen, she hardly believed the news.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped.

Hixon, a Sidney sophomore named as Lady in Waiting, was equally astonished.

"This is really happening to me," she decided after a moment out of breath.

The pair heard on July 12 of their appointment. They will be officially crowned on Monday, just before the NSRA rodeo, and preside over the rest of the fair.

"Everything in that," she said, pointing at a fair brochure, "we have to be at. It's going to be quite different."

Miller has been riding horses almost from the day she was born ("we have pictures," she said) and participated in fair competitions for the past six years. In fact, she will take part--alongside her Lady in Waiting--in horse showmanship at this year's fair.

If either wins, she said with a laugh, "we get to hand the ribbons to ourselves."

Fair royalty is about more than presenting awards, however. Already they have appeared on KSID radio and at several photo shoots. They promote the fair on the grounds and in the media. They also attend dozens of events throughout the next 12 months.

To get to this point, they had to excel in front of a panel of judges, showing off their riding talents, their knowledge of animals and their poise in front of a crowd.

Now that they are past the shock, both Miller and Hixon appear to be wearing their crowns well.

"It's a really good feeling," Miller said.