SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A deadly strain of a fast-spreading horse virus that's shown up in nine Western states — where cases have doubled in the last week — has forced contestants vying for the title of "posse junior queen" in one Utah county to ride stick horses to demonstrate their cowgirl skills.

Use of the pretend horses, made of straight sticks and fabric horse heads, comes as some other horse events scheduled for the Memorial Day weekend in Utah have been cancelled. The outbreak of the equine herpes virus, which is highly contagious among horses, started at an Ogden, Utah, horse...