BEGINNING JULY 12 ITS THE 61ST ANNUAL ELGIN STAMPEDE RODEO

STAMPEDE COURT: Princesses Aspen Risseeuw, Brenda Laber and Christina Montgomery (Submitted photo).

ELGIN - Stampede court princesses, Brenda Laber, Aspen Risseeuw and Christina Montgomery welcome families and rodeo fans to the 61st annual Elgin Stampede Rodeo running July 12 through 15 at the Stampede Grounds.

The princesses will await the proverbial drum roll Friday evening when one of them will be crowned queen of the 2007 Elgin Stampede. The three girls will compete for the honor by demonstrating an overall proficiency in public speaking, rodeo promotion and horsemanship.

"From these three events, we will select a queen based on points. The queen will be crowned Friday night right before our bull riding event," said rodeo representative Kyle Evans.

The girls will have an active role in the four-day rodeo weekend. "They will be carrying flags in the arena, doing run-ins to start the rodeo, helping with the kiddies parade, riding in the main parade and running stock out of the arena," Evans said.

After the rodeo is over, the court will continue to promote the Elgin Stampede as they travel to other rodeo events this summer, Evans added. The last of these will be the Pendleton Roundup in September.

Brenda Laber, 16, will be a junior at the Elgin High School this fall. She plays volleyball, basketball and is a member of FBLA. She's been involved with the rodeo since age 6, and in 2006, she was crowned Queen of the Catherine Creek Junior Rodeo. Laber has always wanted to be on the court and aspires to become the Elgin Stampede Queen.

"I want to be queen because it would be a huge honor for me to be a rodeo queen of my home town. It has always been one of my goals," Laber said.

Aspen Risseeuw, 16, came to Elgin from Central Oregon about 2 1/2 years ago. She is a junior at the Elgin High School and is a member of FFA and FBLA. She likes running cross-country, playing basketball and softball. Over the rodeo weekend, she will be riding Chrome, a bay quarter horse with four white socks and a blaze down his face.

"I would love the opportunity to be queen, and I believe I could represent the Elgin Stampede in a good and positive way," said Risseeuw.

Christina Montgomery, 16, will be a senior this fall at Enterprise High School. She is active in volleyball, basketball, track, FFA, 4-H, student government and numerous school clubs. An award-winning equestrian, Montgomery was honored to be on the Wallowa County 4-H Court in 2005.

"I would love to be chosen as queen of the Elgin Stampede because I would like to be an ambassador for a spectacular rodeo that possesses great hometown pride," Montgomery said.

The Stampede Court will be dressed in outfits including chaps, buckles, hats, clothes and boots. They welcome everyone to enjoy the rodeo, parades and dance planned for this weekend.

"So please come to the Elgin Stampede and see me, Christina and Brenda ride through the arena and watch a great rodeo!" said Risseeuw.