I have been the 2014 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen for 56 days today. I spent the entire weekend in Columbus, Ohio and it was truly a few days that I will never forget! On Saturday, I tossed my boots and hat aside and put on my hot pink running shoes for the Nellie’s Catwalk for Kids (NC4K) Reindeer 5K run. All the money raised from the race was used toward providing Christmas to the families battling pediatric cancer. The race was a blast and my mom won the costume contest dressed as Mrs. Claus!
NC4K is non-profit organization that helps better the lives of children with cancer and their families. This is a very special organization to me because not only have the Congress Queen Contestants raised money for NC4K for the past several years, but I also have volunteered at many NC4K events. As the Ohio Quarter Horse Queen, I walked the runway with a cancer survivor during the NC4K annual fashion show. I was blessed to be a part of Nellie’s Christmas Party held at Magic Mountain. There were 100 families at the party, all of which Nellie was providing Christmas for! I was fortunate enough to be able to adopt one of the families and upon returning home from Congress, I started shopping for my family! Earlier in the week I went to the NC4K office to drop off the gifts I had bought and spent many hours helping to box up the presents for all the families. After the Christmas party each family was able to pick up their Christmas box completely packed with presents for each family member.
There is no other way to describe today than magical! The kids had an absolute blast. The joy I saw on their faces was priceless. Magic Mountain was rented strictly for the NC4K party and the kids enjoyed the games, play area, arts and crafts, as well as getting their picture with Santa! I spent a lot of time in the arts and crafts area talking with many children as they painted and made Christmas ornaments. I also got to see Princess Maggie and her family, which always warms my heart. I initially met Princess Maggie at Congress 2013 when she walked in the Queen Fashion Show. I always love getting to talk to Maggie! She is such a sweetheart! I also had the pleasure of meeting a little girl named Faith and her mother. Faith and I share a love of horses. Faith is a member of 4-H, but unfortunately due to her cancer treatments she has not been allowed to ride a horse in quite some time. It was so special to get to talk to Faith about her horse and tell her about my horses. I also talked to several other horse loving children! All of the children and families I met and talked with were so grateful for all that Nellie is doing to help their family during this difficult time and it was magical to be a part of a day when all the kids and families were able to relax some and have fun. It was also a thrill to see Polly from the Berry Fit Company and meet her two kids! Of course, I was wearing one of the very beautiful queen outfits designed by Polly. All the children in attendance were drawn to all the sparkles on my outfit and even a couple of them asked me if I had made the outfit! It was perfect that Polly was there to meet the kids and hear all of their excitement about her design.
My sincere gratitude to Nellie Krumlauf for inviting me to the party as Congress Queen! I look forward to being a part of other NC4K events in the coming year.
