Two Cortez rodeo enthusiasts have spent the weeks leading up to the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo promoting their favorite sport among younger children.

Tegan Duncan and Cassie Finley are this year’s rodeo queen and queen attendant.

Both have spent many years competing in rodeo across the state, and they will appear at several events the week of the Ute Mountain rodeo to encourage kids to become involved in the sport themselves. It will also be their job to recognize the event’s sponsors by riding with their flags before the rodeo opens on Thursday.

Each year, a group of judges chooses a new group of young women to be the faces of the Ute Mountain rodeo, and to promote it in various ways leading up to the main event. In the past, the rodeo royalty has included a queen, a junior queen, their attendants and a princess, but this year the team was narrowed down to two. Duncan and Finley were crowned on March 4, after a competition organized by longtime royalty director Paulette Porter. Their main duties started on May 31, when they participated in the first of two “Rodeo Days” at the Cortez Public Library. They helped to teach a large group of Cortez kids about the rodeo, and even helped them practice roping and tying on a model steer. On Saturday they also appeared at the official sign-up for the rodeo’s mutton busting competition.

Finley said her favorite part of the first library day was when a little girl ran up to her and Duncan and gave them a hug.

“It’s so much fun to see (kids’) faces light up just because you’re wearing that crown and sash and representing the rodeo,” she said.

She said she’s looking forward to interacting with kids more during the rodeo itself, when she and Duncan will award prizes to the winners of the mutton busting contests, as well as helping with several roping events. As someone who has been riding since she was 3 years old, Finley said she hopes to inspire other young athletes this year.

“It’s a great opportunity to get the younger generation involved in rodeo,” she said.