Two queens of the rodeo are in southwest Iowa for the 60th annual Lenox Rodeo. Miss Rodeo Iowa 2005 Kristin Haase of Denison graduated last spring from Iowa State University, where she was a member of the equestrian team, and she describes herself as a relative newcomer to the rodeo. “Being Miss Rodeo Iowa is one of my first titles, actually,” she says. Haase won it last fall in Fort Madison at the Tri-State Rodeo. “I have been very busy since I won,” Haase says. She’ll represent Iowa in the national Miss Rodeo pageant this December in Las Vegas and has been traveling extensively. She’s been traveling “full gear” to most of the professional rodeos in Iowa. She’s also traveled to rodeos in Texas, Colorado, South Dakota and Idaho to gain experience and be an ambassador for the sport. Kellie Jo Kalton of Lenox, the 2005 United Rodeo Association Queen, is at the Lenox Rodeo, too, as she was crowned Lenox Rodeo Queen last year. Kalton won her regional title in Topeka, Kansas and started traveling the mid-section of the country this spring. “I’m very involved in rodeo,” Kalton says. She competes in barrel racing, goat tying and break-away roping. She’s a student at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge and is a member of the school’s rodeo team. Kalton hopes to get a scholarship to the University of Tennessee at Martin to earn a degree in rodeoing, with the goal of owning a trailer dealership and tack store. The Lenox Stock and Saddle Club Rodeo has been the United Rodeo Association’s “Rodeo of the Year” for the past four years. Rodeo action began last (Thursday) night and continues tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) at eight o’clock. There’ll be a youth rodeo on Sunday starting at one o’clock.
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