Oklahoma cowboy Pete King won both the serious and humorous divisions of the 2025 Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest—the fifth time in the 15-year history of the contest that the same person won both.
“Congratulations to Pete on an outstanding showing,” said poetry contest chair Ron Wilson of the Lazy T Ranch near Manhattan. “This year we had 27 entries, which is our most ever, and the largest attendance ever at the finals,” he said. The finals of the Kansas contest were held on July 25 at the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan.
Placings were as follows: Serious – 1st, Pete King, Marietta, Oklahoma; 2nd, Hank Letourneau, Concordia; 3rd, Jerry Jones, Salina. Humorous: 1st – Pete King, Marietta, Oklahoma; 2nd – Scott Wiswell, Valley Center; 3rd – John Marks, Gypsum. They advanced to the finals by qualifying at the previous regional contests in Hays and Cottonwood Falls.
State champions receive the Saddlejack Bradrick Award, the coveted Governor’s Buckle, gift certificates from leading western wear stores, free membership in the International Western Music Association-Kansas and Western Wordsmiths chapters, and the opportunity to open the National Day of the Cowboy celebration at the Flint Hills Discovery Center.
The cowboy poets were evaluated by a panel of celebrity judges, including former Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss; State Sen. Brad Starnes; Manhattan City Manager Danielle Dulin; K-State Executive Vice President for External Engagement and Chief of Staff Marshall Stewart; and Wyatt Thompson, Voice of the Wildcats. Musical entertainment was provided by Jeff Davidson and Brad Hamilton.
“We’re grateful for our sponsors who make this possible,” Wilson said. “Many thanks to the Flint Hills Discovery Center, the FHDC Foundation, the Kansas Farm Bureau, the Western Wordsmiths and Kansas chapters of the International Western Music Association, the Hays Public Library, and our locally owned western wear donors: Vanderbilts of Wamego, Roberts Cowboy Outfitters of Salina, R Bar B of Topeka, Rittel’s Western Wear of Abilene, and Outpost Western Store of Manhattan, plus refreshment sponsors KanEquip of Wamego.”
State contest committee members include IWMA-Kansas President Martha Farrell, Andover; Orin Friesen, Benton; Jeff Davidson, Eureka; Brad Hamilton, Hoyt; Sharon Roberts-Meyer, Carlton; and Ron Wilson, Manhattan.
For more information, visit www.cowboypoetrycontest.com.
