LINCOLN -- Wearing the 2019 Lincoln Riding Club Lil' Miss sash has been a blast for Dalli Jo Fisher, 6, of Vian, Okla., over the past year.
Dalli Jo, daughter of Sherri Risley and Seth Fisher, attends school at Rocky Mountain in Stilwell, Okla., where she is in first grade, and is a member of the Lincoln Riding Club. She aspires to be a stock contractor when she grows up. She admires all the bucking stock she can while at rodeos, and roots for the animals. In the meantime she enjoys spending time with her mares Peach and Indy, riding with her mom, barrel racing, pestering her sisters, hanging out at drill practice, and rodeoing.
The LRC Royalty committee structures the competition to benefit candidates for Lil' Mister and Lil' Miss throughout the experience, wanting the junior cowboys and junior cowgirls to emerge with increased knowledge of rodeo and a better understanding of rodeo pageants to help further their careers.
The Lil' Mister and Lil' Miss contest is open to ages 3-7. During the contest each contestant will model a "V" formation while current LRC royalty reads a short bio based on their application. At the end of their bio they will approach the current LRC Royalty, and are then asked 3-5 questions.
They are judged on several factors:
• Appearance: expected to be clean, well dressed, in appropriate western attire, standing up straight, facing the audience, not trying to hide, appearing confident, and ready to tackle the task at hand;
• Answering questions: not shy, speaking clearly and confidently, making eye contact with the audience, refraining from looking at floor when talking; and
• Personality coming through -- smiling, talking easily, projecting confidence, and not afraid to interact with others.
Contestants at all levels are expected to maintain sportsmanship before, during and after the contest and throughout the rodeo.