Candidates Jerian Ashley (left) and Cortney Ingle
TONASKET – The coronation ceremony for the 2011 Tonasket Rodeo Queen will be on Saturday, Oct. 23 beginning at 7 p.m.
This year’s candidates are Tonasket High School seniors Jerian Ashley and Cortney Ingle. Both girls are 5’10” with green eyes, though Ashley has brown hair and Ingle has red hair. Ashley is a member of the Tonasket Comancheros Rodeo Club, 4-H, Boots and Saddles Barrel Racing Club, T-Club and the Loomis Community Club. Ingle is a member of the Caribou Trail Junior Rodeo Association, American Quarter Horse Association and the Boots and Saddle Barrel Racing Club.
While Ingle did not list any school activities, Ashley said she has been part of the THS pep band, has played on the varsity softball team from 2008-2009, on the junior varsity basketball team from 2007-2008, has been a varsity football cheerleader for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, played varsity basketball in 2009, has been a part of the T-Club from 2008 to 2010, was on the prom committee in 2009 and was a part of FFA in 2009.
“I enjoy riding my horse Ace everyday, volunteering in the community, helping with family celebrations and helping on the farm,” Ingle said. “After I graduate, I plan on attending the Wenatchee Valley Community College to become a lab tech.”
Ashley said she has been a 4-H member for nine years, enjoys snowmobiling, music, horseback riding and traveling. Ashley has also been a flag carrier at Comancheros events and at the Omak Stampede. She also enjoys swimming, flag football and watching college basketball and football.
“Next fall, I am planning to attend Eastern Washington University and major in sports therapy,” she said. “As far as the rodeo world, I want to hold the title as Miss Pro-West Rodeo and continue competing in our local and regional rodeos.”
Ingle, whose parents are Lewis and Darla Bedard, said she has volunteered many hours at the local American Red Cross, helping with events from Hero Dinners to babysitting boot camps. She said she was also an active member in the THS FFA program her junior year.
“For the past three years, I have carried the Omak Home Depot flag in the stampede parade of flags as well as the Tonasket Founders Day Parade,” she said. “Also, I have carried the Pro-West Rodeo flag and the Wrangler flag in the Okanogan County Fair Rodeo. I feel I would make an excellent representative of Tonasket because I love the sport of rodeo and I’m a real people person. I’m very proud to be able to call Tonasket my home and it would mean everything to me to represent my home town rodeo.”
Ashley, whose parents are Susan Cooksey of Loomis and Larry Ashley of Loon Lake, holds a part-time job as a waitress at FB’s Family Grill in Oroville.
“I have competed in 4-H at the county and state level in Western Games for 10 years,” Ashley said. “Growing up around horses, rodeos and the western life style has brought me to my next goal in life, to be the next Tonasket Founders’ Day Rodeo Queen. Representing my hometown as the 2011 Tonasket Founders’ Day Rodeo Queen is a big responsibility and special honor I am ready and willing to accept. Being a rodeo queen isn’t just riding a horse and wearing a crown. A queen must be confident, poised and have good public speaking skills. Along with those, she must have a great personality. I believe that I have all of these qualities, making me an excellent selection for the next Tonasket Founders’ Day Rodeo Queen.”
