By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The decision to require that the Ute Stampede queen contest be insured might not be wise according to the thinking of two Stampede Committee members.
Tara Sperry and Chris Memmott, representing the Ute Stampede Committee, met with the Juab County Commission to discuss the need to provide insurance for the Ute Stampede royalty contest to be held.
"The contest is on April 28," said Sperry.
The scheduled event was so close to happening that it came as a surprise when she was notified that the queen contest would need to have liability insurance on the contest in order for the competition to take place.
Garrett asked if the insurance requirement could be waived for the event.
Byron Woodland, commission chairman, said he was not comfortable with waiving the insurance requirement because it would mean that others would come to the commission also wanting to be excused from obtaining insurance for their events.
"The risk may be small, but it's still a risk," said Jared Eldridge, county attorney.
At the end of the discussion commissioners worked to find a way to allow the contest to be held and still have the county indemnified.
"Lets try to find a way for the queen contest to go forward," said Clinton Painter, commissioner.
Even if one person were to take a serious crash, asked Woodland, how could the county be protected?
Memmott suggested that a hold harmless clause be inserted in the agreement the Ute Stampede Committee and the county would sign. The two entities sign an agreement each year and this could be included in this one.
The Stampede Committee would agree to step up to the plate and cover any expenses.
That wording could be included in the lease agreement for the leasing of this event only, said Eldridge. It would not need to be in the larger agreement but would be in this agreement only.
"This year we could have the hold harmless clause," said Woodland. "Going forward, I would like to find some way to include liability insurance."
Sperry had looked at the printout of allowed activities if the event were to purchase insurance through the Utah Counties Indemnity Pool (UCIP) which is the insurance pool the county belongs to.
As she was looking through the information from UCIP, she came across events that were excluded. Among those exclusions were saddle back events.
She said that the queen contest had gone on for many years and this was the first year that insurance had been required before the contest was held.
Of course, said Sperry, the rodeo was covered through Cotton Rosser, the rodeo producer, at a much higher rate. That insurance was paid for by the Ute Stampede Committee.
Every event that has spectators will require insurance according to the new policy of the commission.
"There will be less than 50 spectators and we do not charge an admission fee," said Sperry. "So we do not have revenue to pay for insurance. We do contribute."
Each year the committee pays the county $10,000 to help pay for the bleachers at the rodeo arena.
Jamie Garrett, county fair and special event director, said that there was a Class C list of events that was covered and she thought that the queen contest would fit under that heading.
If the county were to waive the insurance requirement, said Woodland, they would be liable if anything bad happened.
Not requiring insurance, said Eldridge, would open the door for problems. Even if the girls, who are minors, waived their rights (or had their guardians agree to do so) it would not work.
"You can't waive rights that haven't accrued," he said.
People would sue if something happened to one of the young women would include both the county and the Ute Stampede Committee, he said. They would go for the "deep pockets" and both would find themselves in trouble.
"We have held the queen contest for years with no problems," said Sperry.
For at least 50 years, and more likely 60 years, the Ute Stampede has held a queen contest where the contestants rode horses as part of the competition, said Memmott. He asked what had changed. Had there always been a policy and was the commission now trying to enforce that policy?
"There has been a policy for a long time," said Eldridge.
It may not have been always enforced but, in today's world, the county did not want to face the possibility of being sued if something did happen.
Memmott said that there had been an incident at the Stampede last year where a firework, part of the show, ended up going into the stands. The incident had been covered by the vendor.
"That was a wake up call for me," said Woodland.
It was not fair to have the county taxpayer pay for lawsuits, if they should occur.
He said he had been around horses all of his life but one incident he had suffered caused him to have to give up his dental practice.
Did the need for insurance really relate to the queen contest? asked Memmott.
He asked what would happen if the committee asked participants to sign waivers and not hold the county responsible. He did not want to pay for a policy for 30 spectators and three contestants.
If the queen contest was uninsured and if there was an accident, asked Eldridge, and if the county was sued, who would cover the county?
At this point, said Memmott, the committee was trying to scare up three contestants and have 25 people show up to watch.
"There could be hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills from one accident," said Eldridge.
The Ute Stampede Committee could probably cover the county with their funds.
"We may not make our $10,000 bleacher payment that year," she said.
"The facilities are covered," said Eldridge.
If someone were to hit the edge of a bleacher and cut themselves, that would be covered but other accidents may occur if a contestant is involved. Perhaps they would be tossed from their horse and break their back.
"Those who sue would always look for the deep pocket," said Eldridge.
He said, he supposed, if the Ute Stampede Committee were to stand up and agree to handle any problems that may happen, the insurance requirement could be waived.
What about riding events that occurred all of the time at the fairgrounds? asked Memmott. For example, those who came in and rode their horse in the arena or those who did roping, were they required to carry insurance?
"They pay a user fee," said Clint Painter, commissioner.
Jamie Garrett said that was considered "open riding" and a fee was paid.
Memmott asked if the difference was in being organized as opposed to being an individual.
