{"id":368270,"date":"2026-10-08T22:12:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/368270\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T22:12:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:12:49","slug":"four-crowned-to-queens-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/368270\/","title":{"rendered":"Four crowned to Queen\u2019s Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

BANDERA COUNTY FAIR<\/p>\n

Vianet Benavidez, Alana Matakya, Saylor Schmidt and Fairy McKay named winners in inaugural pageant<\/p>\n

The Bandera County Fair Association crowned four young girls to its 2026-27 Queen\u2019s Court on Saturday at Bandera Middle School.<\/p>\n

Each category \u2014 Little Miss, Junior Miss, Miss Teen and Miss Bandera County Queen \u2014 featured two competitors vying for the title.<\/p>\n

The winners were Vianet Benavidez as Miss Bandera County Queen, Alana Matakya as Miss Teen, Saylor Schmidt as Junior Miss and Fairy McKay as Little Miss.<\/p>\n

Benavidez, who sang Disney\u2019s \u201cAlmost There\u201d from The Princess and the Frog during the talent portion of the competition, said she looks forward to using her title to encourage local youth to become involved in volunteer work.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe also wants to use her musical performances to encourage other girls to find their voice and develop confidence and grow through musical and dance performances in town,\u201d her father, David Benavidez, said.<\/p>\n

Benavidez\u2019s fellow court member Schmidt shared a similar goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first year doing this,\u201d said Schmidt, who performed a gymnastics routine during the talent competition. \u201cI want to support others that may be less fortunate than me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judges Lisa Coleman, Ashley Rodriguez and Carla Messer oversaw the competition, which included an opening number, fashion wear, talent, evening wear and onstage questions.<\/p>\n

Contestants were scored across multiple categories. Ten percent of the overall score came from the opening number, 20% from fashion wear, 30% from evening wear and 40% from a private interview with the judges.<\/p>\n

During the fashion wear portion, Schmidt took the stage in a white leather cowgirl-themed outfit, while Benavidez wore a silk red gown for the evening wear competition.<\/p>\n

Talent performances showcased a variety of skills, including Matakya\u2019s karate demonstration and McKay\u2019s gymnastics routine.<\/p>\n

Pageant Director Jennifer D\u2019Spain praised the Bandera County Fair Association\u2019s efforts in hosting the event during its inaugural year.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollaborating with the Bandera County Fair Association was an incredibly ambitious undertaking for our first year. While we\u2019ve learned that building a sustainable, long-term pageant requires a more dedicated committee to manage the intricate logistics and regulations, I am proud of the foundation we laid,\u201d D\u2019Spain said. \u201cThis year, we successfully honored Bandera\u2019s Western heritage. My favorite moment was seeing our contestants escorted by local \u2018Little Cowboys\u2019 during the evening wear competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Little Miss Fairy McKay celebrates her win in her pink evening gown.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Spain said she hopes the pageant will continue to provide local youth with opportunities that extend beyond Bandera County.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, my goal is to provide a preliminary experience that prepares these young women for national opportunities while preserving our town\u2019s historical traditions,\u201d D\u2019Spain said. \u201cI feel a true calling to help our local youth look beyond our county limits, dream big and realize that the confidence they gain here can shape their futures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outgoing 2025-26 Queen Gabriela Cabrera delivered an emotional farewell, thanking those who supported her throughout her reign and sharing that she had received an autism diagnosis shortly before competing in the 2025 pageant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis scholarship pageant pushed me past every boundary I had built around myself,\u201d Cabrera said. \u201cBut it was all of you who taught me the greatest lesson of my life: anyone can belong in any space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sponsors for the event included Hyo Silver, Civil Logistics, Riding on Faith, Lowe\u2019s, the Dion family, Trail Life Troop TX 9112, American Heritage Girls Troop TX4567, Dixie Dude Ranch, Monte Alteza, Texas Salt Co., The Dusty Halo, First National Ice Haus, Mayan Ranch, Phil\u2019s Automotive and Towing, Granny\u2019s Tree House and Baked Good, Metal Art, Oasis Family Church, H-E-B, JAM Broadcasting and Miss America.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

In addition to her title, Junior Miss Saylor Schmidt won the People\u2019s Choice Award. BULLETIN PHOTOS\/ Veronica Rector<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Vianet Benavidez showcases her vocal skills during the talent portion of the competition.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Alana Matakya demonstrates her karate abilities during the talent portion of the competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BANDERA COUNTY FAIR Vianet Benavidez, Alana Matakya, Saylor Schmidt and Fairy McKay named winners in inaugural pageant The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-368270","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\/368270","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=368270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}