Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Longtime friends Larissa Bjornsen and Cera Kem will represent the Sweet Home Rodeo together this year.
Bjornsen was named 2007 Sweet Home Rodeo Queen Saturday night at a dinner held at the Elks Lodge.
Cera Kem (pronounced with an “s” sound) was named first princess.
They were two of five candidates for the court, including Brandy Young, Ecaterina Rodriguez and Jessica Eli.
Bjornsen also received the Miss Horsemanship award. Kem was naned Miss Photogenic and Miss Appearance. Young received the Miss Congeniality award.
“Both of them worked just equally hard as the other,” court coordinator Elizabeth Fitzsimons said. “Basically, it came down to fractions of points.”
She said all the candidates, “in my eyes, they’re all queens.”
“I was ecstatic,” Bjornsen said of being named queen. Waiting for Rodeo Committee President Dick Coffin to read the name of the winner, “I was shaking.”
She complimented her fellow candidates, calling them fine girls and probably one of the best groups of friends she has been around.
“Cera and I were probably closest,” Bjornsen said. They have been friends for about 11 years.
Both were stick-horse champions, as youngsters, during the annual Sportsman’s Holiday event.
But now, Bjornsen said, she counts three more among her friends.
“I think it means a whole bunch,” Bjornsen said. “I went into this not looking for the title but doing better than last year.”
Bjornsen said she “choked” on her speech last year and just wanted to do better this year.
“It went a hundred times better than last year,” she said.
Bjornsen said she is looking forward to helping get more people to the rodeo, helping advertise it more and helping get more support for it.
She enjoys the way the rodeo brings everybody together, she said. Families can enjoy it together, and “bringing family together is one of the most important things.”
“She’s a great person,” Bjornsen said of Kem. “Her and I look at it as coming out of this as friends. She’s a good person, a blast to be with. I’m so happy for her that we’re on the court together.
“I’m hoping to have a great year and hope to have a lot of fun, and I love Cera Kem.”
Kem said she was happy to be a princess after a challenging competition.
“I knew that no matter what, I was going to be happy for whoever won,” she said.
“I’m a very shy person,” Kem said. It was difficult for her to get up in front of a hundred people and give a speech. For her, doing that was an achievement she is proud of.
“I am happy that I won,” she said. “But these girls deserve princess too. They’re all queens in my eyes.”
She was happy for Bjornsen also, she said. “We’ve been friends for 11 years. She deserved every bit of it. I’m very proud of her.”
Bjornsen is a junior at Sweet Home High School. She hopes to attend Oregon State University and learn massage therapy. She would like to train horses on the side.
She is the daughter of Billie Bjornsen and Ken Streeter. She has one sister, Amanda Hilburn, who was twice a rodeo court princess. She also has a stepbrother, Travis Streeter, and a stepsister, Bailey Streeter.
She has enjoyed horses all her life, she said. They’ve always been at the center of family activities. She rode with her dad, hunting, camping or riding trails.
She was 5 years old when she got her first pony, Tuffy. Now she rides Prairie, a mare she purchased from her sister last summer.
Kem is the daughter of David and Kellie Kem. She has one sister, Heather.
She also is a junior at Sweet Home High School. She plans to attend Linn-Benton Community College for two years and then transfer to OSU. She wants to become a massage therapist and nutritionist for horses.
“I have always been really good with my hands,” she said. “I have seen how people can help horses’ movements, and I just want to help do this.”
She rides two horses, April, a mare, and Moon, a gelding. She will ride both in the rodeo. She has had April about two years and has been riding Moon for about five years. She purchased Moon from Fitzsimons last Christmas.
Kem offered her thanks to her parents, Fitzsimons and former queen Teri Rush for their help during the contest.