JOHN DAY – Declining participation and the lack of an adviser have prompted the Grant County Fair Board to put next year’s Fair and Rodeo Court on hold.

The Board said the hiatus will allow time to study the future of the fair court, which has been a fixture of the fair.

The new Fair and Rodeo Court is typically announced during the annual county fair.

The board decided at its recent monthly meeting to evaluate the role of the Rodeo Court as part of the board’s detailed planning for the future of the Grant County Fair and the fairgrounds.

That review will consider all options, from continuing the program with stronger community support to moving to another form of youth ambassadors to represent Grant County across Oregon.

The Fair and Rodeo Court has struggled with participation in recent years. The current queen, Sierra Burton, is the sole member of this year’s court, and next year’s court also drew just one applicant.

Meanwhile, no volunteers have stepped forward to serve as a fair court advisor, to replace the retiring Larry Pierce.

“The commitment of both the court and the advisor is significant,” said Fair Board President Les Zaitz. “While the fairgrounds provides some funding, court members and their advisors usually incur considerable additional personal expense for the travel required to area rodeos and other events. The Fair Board wants to assess that burden and determine how best to proceed.”

The Fair Board will seek public input as part of the review, which will be completed by the end of 2011.

Fair Board members include Zaitz, Carolyn Mullin, Austene Hendrix, Clayton Wise, Stacey DeFord, Jackie Osborne, and Robert Lewis.