{"id":299111,"date":"2026-07-17T23:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/299111\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T23:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:29:10","slug":"queens-brunch-brings-rodeo-royalty-together-introduces-year-of-the-american-indian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/299111\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen’s Brunch brings rodeo royalty together, introduces Year of the American Indian"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHEYENNE, Wyo. \u2014 Cheyenne Frontier Days is an event filled with traditions, symbolism and selfless volunteers, and one of the unique aspects of the celebration is the crowning of a Miss Frontier and a Lady-in-Waiting.<\/p>\n

The Queen\u2019s Brunch took place on July 16 and featured a reception with this year\u2019s royalty, Miss Frontier Katherine Olson<\/a> and her Lady-in-Waiting, MeadowAnn King<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olson, 21, of Burns, is a senior at the University of Wyoming studying pre-veterinary medicine with an emphasis on production. An active member of her high school\u2019s FFA, she served three years as an officer and ended as chapter president, even earning the American FFA degree.<\/p>\n

A first-generation Cheyenne Frontier Days volunteer, Oslon currently serves as assistant director of the Dandies. She said she is ready to champion Western heritage and the volunteer spirit of the event.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Cheyenne Frontier Days royalty\u2019s trucks. (Halle Sheppard, Cap City News)<\/p>\n

King, 20, of Cheyenne, will be Olson\u2019s Lady-in-Waiting and will serve next year as the new Miss Frontier. A former wrestling state champion, King is currently studying elementary education and kinesiology at Laramie County Community College.<\/p>\n

However, they are just the latest in a long line of Frontier Days royalty. The first Miss Frontier, Jean Nimmo Dubois, was crowned in 1931 through a sponsored contest from the CFD committee.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until 1934 that the CFD committee began selecting Miss Frontier and her Lady-in-Waiting, a tradition that is still followed to this day.<\/p>\n

Other important traditions are also rooted in the history of the program. In 1936 during the reign of Mary Helen Warren Welborn, Miss Frontier acquired her traditional garb of the \u201cWhite Bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Helen had seen fan dancer Sally Rand wearing an outfit of leather consisting of a divided skirt and vest trimmed in fringe and silver conchos. She fell in love with the outfit, leading to it become the official clothing of Miss Frontier.<\/p>\n

While the role of Miss Frontier has evolved over the years, she still serves as a representative of CFD. She attends all of the events of the show and appears at rodeos, press conferences and special events to promote the celebration of Cheyenne as a goodwill ambassador.<\/p>\n

To become Miss Frontier, hopefuls must first apply and try out for the role of Lady-in-Waiting. After serving a year, the selected lady then becomes Miss Frontier the following year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Queen\u2019s Brunch on July 16 consisted of opening remarks from the royalty with an anthem and invocation.<\/p>\n

After a brunch of donuts, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, eggs, ham and more, Olson and King took to the stage to recognize those who supported them and explain their roles.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Queen\u2019s Brunch before Cheyenne Frontier Days. (Halle Sheppard, Cap City News)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact of your service reaches far beyond rodeos and parades,\u201d Olson said, explaining how they hope to inspire and continue the legacy and traditions of the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditions don\u2019t come on their own,\u201d King stated, thanking the supporters who helped carry forward the western way of life.<\/p>\n

They then gave gifts to individuals who made their role possible, including their mothers and each other.<\/p>\n

After the presentation of gifts, Affie Ellis, former Wyoming state senator, took to the stage. She said the 130th Annual Cheyenne Frontier Days would honor the American Indian, and emphasized her own heritage as a member of the Navajo Nation.<\/p>\n

Ellis, the first Native American to serve in the Wyoming Senate, told her story of fighting for Native American rights and serving as a voice for native issues. She was instrumental in making the Morning Star Indian Village possible and turning the idea into a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cChase your dreams and don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help,\u201d Ellis said. Despite the at-times disheartening nature of her work, she emphasized getting back into the fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnjoy the Indian Village\u201d Ellis said, \u201cit\u2019s going to be a really really special place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Olson and King explained the duck socks and small duck figurine provided as a gift for guests at each table.<\/p>\n

With the theme of \u201calways keep paddling,\u201d it honored those who helped them stay afloat throughout their time in the program as they continue their reign.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gifts of Cheyenne Frontier Days duck socks and figurine. (Halle Sheppard, Cap City News)<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHEYENNE, Wyo. \u2014 Cheyenne Frontier Days is an event filled with traditions, symbolism and selfless volunteers, and one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-299111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}