By AVA NORTH

Special to The Hays Daily News

The Wild West Festival's Cutest Cowboy and Cowgirl Contest was Saturday following the parade down Main Street.

The contest was organized by Ava North and took place at Union Pacific Park for both boys and girls ages 1 to 10.

North said they couldn't have asked for a better group of kids for the first year.

The contest had 10 contestants, with Carly Evans from Eagle Radio as the host. North said all children left with an award, and no one was bashful. Everything ran smoothly once the event got started.

There were five age groups for little cowboys and cowgirls. The first age group, 1- to 2-year-old cowboys, had two contestants -- Zachary Love and Lincoln Stramel, with Stramel winning the age group.

The 3- to 4-year-old cowgirls had four contestants, Kimberly Sack, Peyton Mai, Glida Torres-Allen and Melanie Custer. Sack was the age group winner.

The only contestant in the 3- to 4-year-old group was Kade Wenta.

The 5-to 6-year-old cowgirls had one contestant, and the winner was Regan Stramel.

Next was the 7- to 8-year-old cowboys with two contestants, Sam Allen and Colton Mai, with Mai winning the age group.

The last group of the day was the 7- to 8-year-old cowgirls with one contestant. Ainsley Vander-Gaieseu won the age group.

Ava North was the coordinator for the Wild West Festival Cutest Cowboy and Cowgirl Contest.