Calling all cowboys and cowgirls, or aspiring cowboy poets! The 2021 Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest is taking place online, and poets are invited to enter the contest and post videos of themselves showcasing their self-written cowboy poems. Competitors from any state are welcome. Original western-themed poems can be entered into the humorous or serious category. Winners in each category will receive the coveted Governor’s Trophy Buckle and award certificates signed by the Governor of Kansas.
Entries must be submitted online by July 23, 2021. For more information, visit www.cowboypoetrycontest.com.
Additionally, a Youth Roundup competition is also offered online. This contest is open to Kansas youth 18 years of age or younger. Registration for the Youth Roundup is free. Applicants will be asked to write an original western-themed poem and post a video of their presentation online. The top three winners will receive scholarships of $500, $300 and $200, in addition to gift cards from major Western clothing stores and Governor-signed award certificates.
Youth Roundup entries must go live by August 6, 2021. For more information, go to www.cowboypoetryyouthroundup.com.
“We are so grateful to the sponsors who make these awards possible,” said contest chair Ron Wilson of the Manhattan campaign. “Many thanks to the Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation, the Kansas Farm Bureau, and the Kansas and Western Wordsmiths chapters of the International Western Music Association,” Wilson said.
Other contest committee members are Jeff Davidson from Eureka, Martha Farrell from Towanda, Orin Friesen from Benton and Brad Hamilton from Hoyt.
