OQHA

The All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen serves as an ambassador of the show, welcoming spectators and exhibitors alike. In fact, the Congress Queen does so much during the show that she becomes one of the most memorable faces each year. The Queen’s reign, however, does not end after the Congress is over. She makes appearances at many national events, including the AQHA Convention, AQHA World Shows and other major horse shows throughout the entire year. For every event the Congress Queen attends, she writes a journal entry, which she shares here.

April 7, 2012 - Virginia Classic Horse Show

   I had the pleasure of traveling home to Virginia to make an official Congress Queen appearance at the Virginia Classic Horse Show in Lexington, Virginia. The level of competition at this show was extremely high, as were the class numbers.
   The Hylton Maiden Class was the premiere class of the show on Saturday night. I had the honor of being introduced at the event alongside the one of the best escorts in our industry, Mr. Gordon Downey of the Equine Chronicle.
   There were a total of 28 horses that competed in this class for the coveted prize of a $50,000 check donated by Miss Cecilia Hylton. The class had two splits with 14 horses each and 17 were brought back for the finals.
   Along with Cecilia Hylton and Gordon Downey, I had the honor of presenting the check and prizes to the winner, Kristy Starnes and Zippin Hot Machine.
   I would like to sincerely thank Mark Harrell Horse Shows, VQHA and Cecilia Hylton for all of the hospitality during my trip to Lexington. As most of you know, Virginia is “home” and will forever have a dear place in my heart.
   With the support of the Virginia Quarter Horse Association, I ultimately had the opportunity to represent them in the Congress Queen Contest. I am eternally grateful for all that this association has done for me. Without their support, I would not have had the amazing opportunity to become the 2011 Congress Queen and travel representing OQHA.

God Bless,
Courtney Sturgill 

February 13-19, 2012 - Dixie National Quarter Horse Show in Jackson, Mississippi

   As Congress Queen, I had the absolute pleasure of traveling to the Dixie National Quarter Horse Show held February 13th through the 19th at the State Fairgrounds in Jackson, Mississippi. This truly was such an amazing experience for me and I thoroughly enjoyed ALL of the southern hospitality…and the amazing sweet tea and peach cobbler! As a southern girl at heart, these people really had me at hello!
   Throughout the show, I had the pleasure of presenting awards, participating in the grand entry of the Freestyle Reining, shopping at the trade show and attending the Annual Dixie Nationals Horse Auction. I even had the opportunity to do a LIVE radio interview with MISS 103, Jackson's Premier Country Station.
   I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Tommy Andrus, Show Manager of the Dixie National, and everyone with the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association for all of the hospitality during my stay in Jackson.
   I truly cannot express enough just how much FUN I had at this show and enjoyed meeting everyone who made this very special event possible.
   Also, I wrote an article for GoHorseShow.com during my stay in Jackson about what is “hot” for spring. I interviewed several vendors including Harris, LaGrange Leather, Kendalls and Show Diva to name a few. Check out the article at www.gohorseshow.com.
   Looking ahead, I can say that I will definitely be planning to attend the Dixie Nationals again next year, except I will be competing as an exhibitor. This was such an amazing event and again, I would like to thank the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association and the Dixie Nationals Show Committee for all of their care and support throughout my stay.
   What is next for the Congress Queen you might ask?
   I will be heading back to my HOME state of Virginia in just a few short weeks for the Virginia Classic held in Lexington, Virginia in April.
   Also in April, I will be graduating from Florida Southern College with my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications. It is going to be one exciting month for me. Make sure to stay tuned for all of my blog updates about all of the exciting travels I will be making.

God Bless,
Courtney Sturgill

February 7, 2012 - Virginia Quarter Horse Association Banquet

   This past weekend, I was thrilled to return home to Virginia for the Annual VQHA Awards Banquet.
   It was wonderful to see the many familiar faces that have supported me throughout this entire journey as Congress Queen. Saturday's festivities began at 10 am with the VQHA Board Meeting, in which I gave an overview of my year thus far as Congress Queen and crowned the new incoming VQHA Queen.
   Congratulations to Miss Margaret Moore, who will be representing VQHA at the All American Quarter Horse Congress this year.
   I owe a huge thanks to VQHA for all of their support as I ran for the title of Congress Queen. And of course, thank you to OQHA for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity!!!
   Stay tuned for updates to come! I am looking forward to traveling to Jackson, Mississippi next for the Dixie Nationals!

January 27-29, 2012 - Clemson University Horsemanship Clinic

by 2011 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Courtney Sturgill of Virginia  

   I had the privilege of traveling to Clemson University in South Carolina this past week to give a horsemanship clinic to their Western Equestrian Team. I was so thrilled to have this opportunity and to share my horsemanship knowledge with this great group of girls.
   The team captain, Leona Parr, contacted me earlier in the year about traveling to Clemson for the clinic. I was eager to accept and looked forward to sharing my show experience and knowledge with them.
   There were a total of 14 girls that participated in the clinic, all of which were Clemson University students. We held the clinic over a two-day period and worked on all aspects of a horsemanship class, including both pattern and railwork.
   I was so pleased with this group of amazing and talented riders. They came willing to learn and were so much fun to work with. I look forward to having the opportunity to possibly return to Clemson later in the spring semester for another clinic.

BEST OF LUCK TO THE CLEMSON EQUESTRIAN TEAM IN THEIR UPCOMING SHOW SEASON!

January 13, 2012 - Lakeland Pro Rodeo

by 2011 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Courtney Sturgill of Virginia  

I was thrilled to have the honor of appearing at the Lakeland Pro Rodeo this weekend in Lakeland, FL. For the past four years, I have been living in Lakeland while attending Florida Southern College. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to be a part of this PRCA Sanctioned Event and I was excited to have the opportunity to do so.
   As Congress Queen, I appeared in the opening ceremonies of the rodeo waving American flags with several other rodeo queens including Miss Rodeo Florida, Amanda Spence and Miss Teen Rodeo Florida, Dariann Smith. It was a great opportunity to share our various experiences between the rodeo aspect and showing aspect, but ultimately come together to relate to each other for our love of horses in general.
   I also had the amazing opportunity of meeting "one of the most recognized voices in the PRCA," Rodeo Announcer Chad Nicholson.
   I truly had a wonderful time appearing at this PRCA Event and enjoyed seeing this high level of skill and competition within the sport of rodeo, and of course continuing to promote our beloved Quarter Horse and the All American Quarter Horse Congress.
   Be looking for many new blog updates soon, as I will be traveling to Clemson University for a Horsemanship Clinic with their equestrian team and the Dixie Nationals in February.

December 27, 2011 - The Gold Coast

by 2011 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Courtney Sturgill of Virginia  

After spending the holidays at home with my family in Virginia, I quickly flew to the Sunshine State to continue my queenly duties and appear at the Gold Coast Show in Tampa, FL.
   As many of you may now know, Virginia is "home" and where I was raised, however I have spent the last 4 years of my life in Lakeland, FL going to school at Florida Southern College. This is a very short drive to the Florida State Fairgrounds where the Gold Coast Show is held.
   I was eager to return to the Sunshine State to see my horse show family and friends. While at the Gold Coast, I was able to catch up with many people (including several vendors) that I had not seen since Congress. This was an extremely exciting time for me, as it was my very first official appearance as Congress Queen at a large show.
   At the Gold Coast, along with the help of FQHA Princess Cheyenne Augsburger (pictured above), I handed out awards and ribbons in the Hunter Under Saddle Stakes Class and the Small Fry Events.
   Thank you so very much to the Florida Quarter Horse Association for having me and allowing me to appear at this year's Gold Coast Show. It was so exciting to be back in Tampa and see many familiar faces.
   Keep checking my blog regularly, as I have MANY excited new appearances coming up shortly!

December 15, 2011 - Visiting Sabal Elementary

by 2011 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Courtney Sturgill of Virginia  

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at Sabal Elementary School in Melbourne, Florida. I was asked to make an appearance at the school in my sash and crown, to speak to young 6th grade girls about my role as Congress Queen and how I achieved the title.

When initially being offered this opportunity, I jumped right on it, looking forward to telling these girls about our beloved quarter horse, OQHA and AQHA. I also passed along to them the qualities that I felt were most essential and useful to helping me achieve this coveted title. Those being the values of hard work, dedication, and setting goal for myself, which are all qualities that I have acquired through showing horses. Much to my surprise, there were several avid horseback riders in the room that were already very knowledgable and familiar with the quarter horse breed.

This made my job even more exciting, as the whole classroom was engaged and eager to learn about how I showed horses and how it ultimately lead to me wearing around the prestigious "Congress Queen" crown.

I absolutely loved having the opportunity to speak with this young group of girls and hope to continue to have the opportunity to make many more appearances like this. It was such a rewarding experience to see how eager these girls were to learn about the All American Quarter Horse Congress and the horse industry.

December 4, 2011 - Wise, VA Christmas Parade

by 2011 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Courtney Sturgill of Virginia 

I was recently had the honor of being Grand Marshall of my hometown Christmas Parade in Wise, Virginia. It was truly such an honor being asked to do this and participate in the parade and ride in the "lead" car.