Fair & rodeo royalty program resumes after 10 years

MORROW COUNTY — KC Anderson will ride into this year’s Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo as the 2025 queen.

The 16-year-old Heppner native, daughter of Colin and Erin Anderson, will begin her sophomore year this fall at Heppner Jr/Sr High School. However, in the meantime, she is soaking in the experience of being the fair and rodeo’s first queen in a decade.

“The thing I’m definitely enjoying the most so far is being around all these little kids and being able to make their day better,” she said. “I also love the community I am surrounded with, so many people have helped and gifted me things for my queen reign.”

Morrow County trots out ambassador program

When the royalty program sputtered with no applicants for several years, Morrow County launched a fair and rodeo ambassador program in 2011. It accepted both male and female students from across the county, while leaving the door open to crown future queens.

Fair Manager Sue Gibbs’ daughter, Macy Gibbs, was the last queen, serving in 2015. With no one applying for the position the following year, Gibbs said they decided to focus on attracting youth ambassadors.

She said the program experienced a “rough start” after the global pandemic. Gibbs, who took the reins as fair manager in 2023, said she began hearing questions.

“Many people would ask why we don’t have a queen or (why) we were the only county not in parades,” Gibbs said. “So I worked with the Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo board and the Morrow County Fair board to bring back the interest.”

Following a 10-year hiatus, Gibbs said the groups worked together and received unanimous approval from the Morrow County Board of Commissioners to revive the fair and rodeo queen program. When the December 2024 deadline came, Gibbs said a field of “three wonderful, highly skilled girls” submitted applications.

The three young women provided references, presented a speech and participated in a horsemanship demonstration as part of the tryout process. Gibbs said a panel of five local judges, consisting of community members and Morrow County businesses, selected Anderson. The queen’s coronation ceremony was held Feb. 6 during the Heppner Chamber of Commerce’s annual Town & Country Awards Banquet at the Gilliam & Bisbee Event Center. Her year-long reign as an ambassador for the county will continue until February 2026.

Ambitious teen embarks on journey

A student-athlete, Anderson plays volleyball, enjoys skiing the slopes at Mt Bachelor in the winter and regularly rides and competes in junior rodeos with her horse, Tonka, a sorrel quarter horse gelding. Also, she is active with the Heppner FFA Chapter and shows livestock through 4-H at the fair. It was a combination of these interests and her love for the hometown rodeo that prompted Anderson to apply for the queen position.

“I’ve always liked inspiring youth and getting more people involved with agriculture,” Anderson said. “I love trying new things with my horse and … I knew my horse and I would both learn from it.”

While performing recent duties for the fair and rodeo, Anderson utilized horses belonging to her sister, Harley, and local veterinarian Dan Hansen and his wife, Seren. She is looking forward to getting back in the saddle with Tonka. After a recent injury and trip to the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine’s equine hospital at Oregon State University, Anderson said her horse is healing nicely.

Anderson hopes to attend OSU after she graduates from high school to study animal science. Her ultimate goal is to become a large animal veterinarian.

However, she’s currently focused on representing Morrow County during her reign as queen. In addition, Anderson expressed appreciation for the support from her parents, Terry Gentry, a rodeo board member and substitute teacher, and the community, who are cheering her on as she continues her “incredible journey.”

“KC has done an outstanding job as queen,” Gibbs said. “We look forward to her grand finale during the Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo Aug. 13-16 in Heppner.”