Grand County High School junior Kortney Backus will compete for the title of Utah High School Rodeo Queen on Monday, May 30, and Tuesday, May 31, at the Wasatch County Events Center in Heber City.
The winner is scheduled to be crowned during the rodeo finals on Wednesday, June 1. The state winner will go on to compete at the national high school rodeo queen competition in Gillette, Wyoming, in July. Backus, 17, competes with Carbon High School’s rodeo team, since Grand doesn’t have one. She also takes classes through the online charter school Mountain Heights Academy.
This is her third year of competing in high school rodeo. After winning multiple queen competitions last fall, Backus is currently leading the state in overall points heading into the state finals competition.
In addition to rodeo queen competitions, Backus has also competed in barrel racing, goat tying and breakaway roping. She said she plans to add a few more events to the list during next year’s competitions. She is the daughter of Brian and Kelsie Backus of Moab.
