It was 27 days ago today that I was crowned the 2014 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen. Today was a very special day for me as I made my very first Congress Queen appearance since October 26th when I presented the last bronze of the 2014 Congress. And where better to make my first appearance than in my home state, as well as the host state of the Congress, OHIO! With great excitement I attended the Rough Rider’s 4-H banquet in Lancaster, Ohio. The night started out with a delicious dinner and a huge table of desserts. During dinner one of the Cloverbud members brought me a chocolate chip cookie to thank me for coming to their banquet. I cannot say enough great things about all of the members of the Rough Rider’s Club. They were an absolute joy to spend time with. After dinner I gave a speech to the group about my experiences as the Ohio Quarter Horse Queen and also spoke about the Congress and the Congress Queen Contest. I told them about how I became involved with horses and congratulated them for all they had accomplished in their year with 4-H. It was a thrill to speak to a room full of youth horse enthusiasts- the future of the Quarter Horse industry was sitting right in front of me! It was an honor to be a special guest at the banquet and to help in the awards presentation. I have to say my favorite part of the night was being able to talk to each member individually about their horse as I signed an autograph and took a picture. I had great conversations with many of the children and it was so nice to hear their excitement about horses and their dreams of showing at the Quarter Horse Congress! Thank you to Jaymie Drury for introducing me to Jane Fowler during the Congress. I express sincere gratitude to Jane and Sean Fowler for inviting me to this special event and to the entire Rough Rider’s 4-H Club for your hospitality!
