It’s Good to Be Queen! Congress Queen That is…
Our very own Gordon Downey with 2014 Congress Queen Carly Kidner and Chris Cecil-Darnell of OQHA.
“She exemplifies beauty, grace, intelligence, and horsemanship,
all while living and promoting the western way of life!”
– All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Competition
By: Brittany Bevis
It’s good to be queen! Especially when you’re queen of the largest single-breed horse show in the world, the All American Quarter Horse Congress. 2014 Congress Queen Carly Kidner of Ohio knows the feeling all too well as she’s spent the past year traveling cross country making appearances at horse shows like the Dixie Nationals in Mississippi, Tar Heel Triple Classic in North Carolina, Tom Powers Futurity in Michigan, Stars N Stripes and Big A in Georgia, Buckeye Classic in Ohio and many more.
In celebration of this long-standing tradition, a new website was just unveiled celebrating everything that goes along with the coveted sparkly crown: www.CongressQueen.com. On the site you can view past Congress Queen royalty, such as the very first Queen Kim Serbin of Minnesota in 1968, Stephanie Cline of Michigan in 2003, and Brittany Barker of Indiana in 2010. You can learn about this year’s schedule of events like the Congress Catwalk For Kids and Couture For The Cure Boot. Also, be sure to check out Kidner’s Travel Blog, read up on Congress Queen How-To Tips, and view all the fabulous fashion!
Not familiar with the process the ladies must go through in order to be named the Official First Lady and spokesperson of the Quarter Horse Congress? The competition consists of three components. Judging will be based 40% on oral interview, 40% on a written test, and 20% on Horsemanship. In order to compete, each candidate must be between the ages of 18-25, not be married, divorced, or a parent.
40% ORAL INTERVIEW- Candidates will be judged on appearance, poise, and personality during an interview based on a impromptu question and a one-minute speech during the Welcome Reception.
40% WRITTEN TEST- Candidates will answer questions from the current AQHA Official Handbook of Rules and Regulations, which has 288 pages!
20% HORSEMANSHIP- Each horse and rider team will be judged based on pattern work and rail work.
Overall results are based on an accumulation of points earned during the entire competition. Extra awards are given to Top Ten, Miss Congeniality, and Miss Photogenic. Currently, the competition is making use of the power of social media in order to select Miss Photogenic. All you have to do is visit The All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Facebook album- Miss Photogenic CG 2015 and click on your favorite headshot to cast your vote. Voting began yesterday, October 1st and will continue through October 17th. The lady with the most likes on her photo will be crowned Miss Photogenic 2015.
This year’s Congress Queen candidates will be competing for some exciting new prizes this year. $6,000 in scholarship money is set to be given away with $4,500 awarded to the winner, $1,000 to the runner-up, and $500 to the first runner-up. Some of the generous scholarship supporters include Charles W. Herbster, Headley Quarter Horses, Keith and Rose Bode, Discount Boots and Tack/Main Trailer Sales (Roberta Wischmeier-Main Kevin Main), and Andy and Ginny Veith Tauer.
Also, perhaps the most exciting news is that Coughlin Automotive of Ohio will be presenting the 2015 Congress Queen with a two-year lease of a beautiful, black, 2016 Chevy Cruze! The Congress Queen will definitely enjoy the Chevrolet MyLink feature with a customizable touch-screen, available phone integration, and built-in LTE Wi-fi. She’ll be able to travel cross country to horse shows thanks to the all-new standard 1.4L turbo engine and mileage of up to 40 miles per gallon. She will stay safe thanks to state-of-the-art technology like Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Keep Assist, and Forward Collision Alert.
We would like to wish all of these ladies the best of luck in the competition!
- Katherine Provaznik- Buckeye Southern QHA
- Brittany Pritchett- Georgia QHA
- Katie Allen- Great Lakes QHA
- Kelsey Hughes- Illinois QHA
- Amber Papp- Indiana QHA
- Miranda Richardson- Kentucky QHA
- Jocelyn Tanner- Massachusetts QHA
- Andrea Armbruster- Michigan QHA
- Taylor Gumz- Mid-East Kentucky QHA
- Alyssa Tacinelli- New York Southern Tier QHA
- Brianna Tamulewicz- North Carolina QHA
- Tyler Weigel- Northern Ohio QHA
- Chelsea Bollenbacher- Ohio/Michigan/Indiana QHA
- Megan Perry- Ohio QHA
- Mallory McKewen- Ontario QHA
- Sara Keas- Pennsylvania QHA
- Anne Charlie Riviere- Quebec QHA
- Amy Brown- South Carolina QHA
- Sara Laughlin- Southern Ohio QHA
- Ashley Ball- Tri-State QHA
- Lauren Harrington- Western Pennsylvania QHA
Who’s your pick for Congress Queen 2015?
Click here to view the 2015 Congress Queen contestants!
Click here to visit The All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Facebook page.
