There was a full house at the Gibraltar Room in the Cariboo Memorial Complex Saturday evening for the 2012 Williams Lake Stampede Queen Coronation.
Masters of ceremonies were Lorne Doerkson and 2008 Stampede Queen Britnie McKnight, but numerous sponsors and representatives from the community stepped in to present the various awards and talk about various aspects of the competition.
The contestants were judged in several categories by a wide selection of judges who are often not known to one another. The totals from each judging category are tabulated and added together to produce the winner. Awards were presented for Miss Congeniality (voted on by the contestants themselves); horsemanship overall, practical riding, horsemanship theory and most improved horsemanship; overall winner and most improved public speaking; written exam about rodeo and the Williams Lake area, personal interview, and fashion show.
The evening included slide shows about the outgoing royalty and this year’s contestants, as well as personal explanations on the various judging categories by organizers.
At the end of the suspense-filled evening outgoing 2011 Stampede Queen Davana Mahon turned over her crown to incoming 2012 Stampede Queen Alexis Forseille.
And outgoing 2011 Stampede Princess Bobi Bracewell crowned her successor Terris Billyboy.