Chelan County Rodeo Queen coronation and fundraiser set for Feb. 10

CASHMERE – The Chelan County Fair and Rodeo will host a Rodeo Queen Fundraiser and Coronation Kickoff Party on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Mission Creek Community Club Building at 4724 Mission Creek Rd. in Cashmere.

The event will honor Chelan County Rodeo Queen Austyn Robinson. Robinson was crowned the first-ever Chelan County Rodeo Queen in November.  

Since November, Robinson has been busy meeting community leaders, supporting other rodeo queens, and representing the Chelan County Fair and Rodeo, fair board member Kristen Mattson said. 

"She's doing great," Mattson said. "She's taking the lead on this, and she's just making the most of every single moment."

"It's been going really good," Robinson said. "I've had a couple appearances. I've gone to a couple other coronations. I have my first rodeo coming up. So I've been staying busy just getting everything prepared for this upcoming year."

Robinson said her favorite part of being queen so far is meeting people.

"I'm just getting to meet everyone because every year, at the beginning of every year, there's new queens," she said. "I'm excited. It's really nice to get to know everyone I'm gonna be traveling with this year."

The coronation ceremony will give Robinson a chance to publicly step into her role as queen.

"It's just kind of giving Austin her moment to officially be named Chelan County Fair Rodeo Queen, even though she has already been given the crown and has been doing public events," Mattson said. "So it's just kind of a time to recognize her."

Robinson is a 2022 Cashmere High School graduate and the daughter of Nick and Casey Hollenbeck and Ryan and Leslie Robinson. 

Robinson, who grew up on a small family farm in Prosser, often rides her two horses Roany and Cookie. She plans to pursue a degree in Equine Dentistry. 

At CHS Robinson was active in the volleyball program, 4-H and FFA. She has been riding horses for as long as she can remember and has competed in barrel racing. She even competed in barrel racing in the Washington State High School Rodeo Association. 

The Kickoff party starts with happy hour at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m.

There will be a 50/50 raffle, silent auction, live auction and a dessert dash.

Tickets are $25 each. A table is $250 and seats six.

Tickets may be purchased at the door or online at ticketleap. The link for ticketleap can be found on the Chelan County Fair Facebook event page.

Robinson was crowned at the Nov. 12 pageant, where prospective queens competed in several segments, including personal interviews, horsemanship skills, modeling presentations, speech delivery, and impromptu questions.

Organizers hope to make the pageant an annual event, showcasing and honoring local young women with an enthusiasm to compete for the title.

"Our rodeo is now sanctioned with the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association or PRCA, so we are hopeful that having a rodeo queen out promoting our rodeo at other events will draw more attention to the Chelan County Fair and Rodeo," Mattson said. 

The 2024 Chelan County Fair is scheduled for Sept. 5-8.

Quinn Propst: 509-731-3590 or quinn@ward.media.