Dayton Chronicle - Your Hometown News Source

PENDLETON–As the 2021 Pendleton Round Up gets underway this week, its mounted royalty–Queen Josilyn Fullerton and Princesses Kaleigh White, Kayla Fossek, Lyla Lindquist and Lauren Makin–are finally realizing their life-long dreams of representing the foremost, world-famous rodeo of them all.

The community of Dayton and Columbia County can especially take pride as two on the court-Queen Josilyn and Princess Kaleigh-are from this neck o' the woods.

This Wednesday's kick off of the Pendleton Round Up has been a long time comin' for not only Queen Josilyn and her Round Up Court, but for the region surrounding Pendleton and rodeo fans everywhere.

Queen Josilyn and her Court were named to represent the 2020 Pendleton Round Up in late 2019, just as a tiny virus was making its way onto the world stage. In the uncertainty as September, 2020, drew near, Round Up officials made the momentous decision to cancel that year's Round Up.

All of the royalty signed up to pick up where they left off the next year, and here it is–Pendleton Round Up time.

"Two years is really a long time but it flew by so fast," commented Queen Josilyn Fullerton to the Dayton Chronicle. "I can't believe we jump the fence tomorrow for the first performance! I'm so glad our time has come!"

Princess Kaleigh White is just as enthusiastic. "It's been a busy week so far, but after two years I feel like the anticipation of those bombs going off at 1:15 is so much stronger," Princess Kaleigh told the Chronicle. "I have pictured this moment in my life for so long and its an indescribable feeling to be seeing my dreams come to fruition. All of us girls have worked so hard these past two years and I'm so excited for us to finally have our moment!"

Fullerton, 22, is well acquainted with the limelight. She was a Pendleton Round-Up Princess in 2018 and the Queen of the Walla Walla Frontier Days during its 150th Sesquicentennial Anniversary in 2016.

She graduated from Dayton High School in 2017 where she earned multiple honors while participating on the varsity volleyball and basketball teams. She was a 2016 All-State Selection and she earned the Most-Inspirational honor for her efforts on the volleyball court. In addition to the volleyball and basketball honors, she was the FFA Chapter President from 2015-2017.

The daughter of Greg and Nikki Fullerton of Dayton, she recently graduated with Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Systems with concentration in Agriculture Business, from Walla Walla Community College.

Fullerton's grandparents are Barbara Fullerton of Dayton and the late Dwight Fullerton, and Joe and Jane (Lembke) Kassuba of Kennewick.

Princess Kaleigh, 20, graduated from Dayton High School in 2019, where she earned numerous awards and recognition for her academic and athletic efforts including: High Honors (4.0 GPA for two-semesters), Principal's List (four semesters), Honor Roll (two semesters), four-year varsity letter in volleyball, three-year varsity letter in softball, Washington Junior Rodeo Queen, FBLA Regional Champion – Public Speaking, and numerous FFA awards. In addition to her various accolades, she was the recipient of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce Youth of the Year in 2018.

-Chronicle photo by Charlotte Baker

Princess Kaleigh White clip-clopped along the Dayton Days Parade route last May, representing this corner of the region on the Pendleton Round Up Court, along with Queen Josilyn Fullerton and other Court Princesses, Kayla Fossek, Lyla Lindquist, and Lauren Makin (not pictured).

She is the daughter of Fred and Kelly White of Dayton, and sister to Braedyn, who reside on the Tucannon-area ranch. White's grandparents are Ruth Shearer of Starbuck and Tim Snyder of Dayton, and Rebecca Martin of Walla Walla and Pepper White of Lewistown, Mont.

White is pursuing a degree in political science at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

She has a rich family history of involvement in the Round-Up, beginning with her great-great-great uncles Roy and Chauncey Bishop, who were Round Up directors. Her great aunt Melinda Bishop MacColl and her grandmother Becky Bishop Martin were princesses, and her aunt, Whitney White Hunt was a princess in 2005 and queen in 2007.

Other princesses are Princess Makayla "Kayla" Jean Ann Fossek, of Pendleton, Ore., the daughter of Robert and Jennifer Fossek of Pendleton; Princess Lyla Lindquist, of Pendleton, the daughter of Jennifer Keeton; andPrincess Lauren Makin, of Wallowa, Ore., the daughter of Bryan and Kit Makin of Wallowa.

The Pendleton Round-Up began in 1910 as an exhibition of frontier lifestyle and will celebrate its 111th year in 2021.