The Royal Court for the 2010 St. Paul Rodeo was selected from a field of nine contenders for these honored seats for the rodeo’s special 75th anniversary celebration. After a day of personal interviews, public speaking and horsemanship demonstrations by nine talented young women, Kylie Phillips, Kelsey Schmunk, and Kelsey Coleman were chosen to represent the rodeo throughout the year.

Queen Kylie Phillips, of West Linn is the daughter of Tim Phillips and graduated from West Linn High School in 2007. She enrolled in Oregon State University to study pre-veterinary courses and subsequently changed her major to nursing. She is now completing prerequisites at Portland State University planning to transfer to the physician’s assistant program at OHSU. Her goal is to work in the pediatric health field.

Queen Kylie worked at the OSU horse center and participated in the OSU football cheer squad while a student there. She’s a member of the national Society of Collegiate Scholars, the Honor Roll and the Dean’s List and is involved in Rangeland Ecology, Biology, and Leadership Clubs.

She began riding at the age of six on a small ranch in Newberg. She was active throughout high school with dance, volleyball, and softball teams. An avid outdoors woman, she spends time fishing, shooting, traveling, and competing with “Cash” (so named because of his “$” brand), a bay quarter horse gelding and her equine partner for this year’s official rodeo functions.

Princess Kelsey Coleman is the daughter of Fred and Birch Coleman of St. Paul and Candace and Mark Reynolds of Newberg. Rodeo and horses are deeply embedded in Kelsey’s family, and she has grown up involved with and surrounded by horses and cowboys.  She is a 2009 graduate of Newberg High School, where she competed in volleyball, basketball, swimming and track, and is now attending Portland State University pursuing a degree in biology, with aspirations of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Kelsey’s love of people and desire to help them is driving her to participate in a medical mission abroad which she hopes to complete while at PSU.

Coleman enjoys spending time with her family, wakeboarding, snowboarding and riding her palomino quarter horse, Smooth. She has competed as a barrel racer and is now competing at team penning. While she finds the thrill of competition stimulating, she is welcoming the change of pace that comes with being a part of the rodeo court.

Princess Kelsey Schmunk is the daughter of Richard and Carol Schmunk of Hillsboro and a 2007 graduate of Liberty High School, where she was an active member of the equestrian, swim, cross country teams and involved in 4-H as well as the National Honor Society and student government. She is currently a junior at PSU, working toward a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing.

She enjoys spending time with family and friends and her black and white paint horse gelding, Blue, and attending rodeos and snowboarding. Her equine experience is broad based because of her activities in everything from jumping and barrel racing to English dressage.  She wants to “live life to the fullest, take every opportunity that comes my way and take time out of each day to help people who need a little help.”

The 2010 St. Paul Rodeo court will be officially crowned in spring, 2010 to honor the rodeo’s 75th anniversary of the traditional July 4 celebration that begins July 1.