The Premier

Oh, the journey to my old Kentucky home! I did not expect to have slept on the floor of an airport or turned into the Congress Queen in an airport bathroom on my bingo card for this year! My flight from Philadelphia to Kentucky ended up getting overnight delayed so my Brinks hat can turned into my pillow for the night. I feel bad for those around me that probably heard my snoring. Before my flight I did my hair and makeup then turned into the Congress Queen once I landed in Lexington, Kentucky. Just the area around the airport was so miraculous that I couldn’t wait to see more of Kentucky. When I got to the show, I met Lou and Peyton who would be handling the awards for the week. I also reconnected with some familiar faces such as Miranda Taylor who was managing Premier Sires photography and videography for social media, the photography team with Shane Rux, and announcer Pete Cannizzaro. Huge thank you to the Patterson Family that brought my electric scooter from PA, so I was able to take some time to explore the beautiful cross-country fields, Rolex Stadium, and the educational exhibits at the Kentucky Horse Park. One thing that I loved about the Stonelea ring was that it was the perfect place for people to pull up in their golf carts or lots of benches where people were sitting and watching the classes. Futurity classes are always exciting to see who the future superstar show horses are for our industry and I love passing out so many great prizes. The horse park was so beautiful that the background for my backdrop photo was the stunning green grass and hills. Julian Harris made sure to keep the horse show fun by playing games such as dizzy bat, granny panties, and music trivia. I was super excited to be included in the Premier Sires team video to the friends theme song. I always love vendor row to not only connect with Congress Queen Contest Sponsors but who doesn’t love to shop at horse shows! Thank you to Brinks Hattery for keeping my hat they donated always perfectly shaped! One night I had some time to go to dinner with my friend Morgan Askins who was SC Queen in 2023, the first year I ran for Congress Queen. Fun Fact: She also was Miss Rodeo Kentucky and first runner up in Miss Rodeo USA! Morgan has been such a great friend throughout my queening years and runs an embroidery business called Wild Card Customs where I have worked with her to design gifts and horse clothing. There is so much opportunity for education at the Kentucky Horse Park from their Big Breed Barn, Hall of Champions, Museum of the Horse, Mounted Police, and much more! We got very lucky that the weather was absolutely stunning except for my last day when it rained all day. On my flight home I enjoyed watching the final episodes of Yellowstone. Thank you to Claire Binkowski, Michelle Forness, and the team at Premier Sires for having me!

Next Stop: Region 5 Championship Show

Much love, Madison

All American Youth Horse Show in Columbus, Ohio

As the Congress Queen, getting off the exit for 17th Avenue will always give me butterflies. I was so excited to see the progress being made to the Expo 2050 project! I was visiting to attend the All-American Youth Show which was founded in 1968, just 1 year after the start of the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. 1968 was also the year of the first Congress Queen. They sold over 1,000 stalls for almost 700 youths to get to experience the years of memories built into showing in the Coliseum, Cooper, and Denny Hales Arenas. This show is not restricted to Quarter Horses or other stock breeds, I saw Miniature horses, Mules, Gypsy Vanners. They have a unique program where if you raise enough money in sponsorships then you are returned your entries and stall costs. This is a fantastic opportunity for youth to work on communication, teamwork, and fundraising skills! As a non-profit this show is run entirely by volunteers. I got to work with volunteers from Stockhands, a riding program for therapeutic and veteran riders. They were so sweet and excited to see youth be successful. Since there were 4 rings going on at 1 time, I was grateful to have OMI Queen, Leah and NOQHA Queen, Addison there to help me present awards. It was so special to be back on the grounds and return to the Congress before we know it!

Next Stop: The Premier

Much Love, Madison

AQHA Level 1 East Championships Wilmington, Ohio

The Level 1 East Championship Show at the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, Ohio was a weeklong of watching many exhibitors’ dreams come true! For some it was getting to show at a world-class facility, riding your horse up to the Starbucks ride through, or leaving the pen with the championship neck ribbon. It certainly gave me a large dose of inspiration to prepare for me to enter the show pen next year at this show with my mare. This show featured the debut of my electric scooter, and my feet were thankful! The facility is massive but has the horse in mind with padded walkways, high quality footing, and more riding arenas than I can count! I say this after every show but reuniting with show staff that work at the Congress is extra special and are truly some of the kindest individuals I know as they are the biggest cheerleaders for the exhibitors. My favorite part of the show was getting to present awards with fellow association queens, both returning and new. We had so much fun together filming outfits of the days, TikToks, and Congress Queen Contest sponsor visits. Thank you to Riley, Ashton, Gabrielle, Emma, Paige, Leah, Morgan, Addison, Marisa, and Mateer for making sure each exhibitor feel recognized and special about their achievements! We also got a visit from Jaymie Drury, the director of the Congress Queen Contest! While awarding I got to meet future queen contests and am so happy to see how much excitement for the contest is growing! One thing about me is that I love backdrop photos, I think it is such a beautiful way to capture a memory. I have decided I am going to get a backdrop photo at each show I attend. All the equine media outlets did such a great job capturing winning and candid moments. I was featured in a reel on AQHA’s social media for high fiving each exhibitor in the small fry western pleasure. This was a super cute moment to remember to encourage the future of our industry. The funniest moment has to be when we were presenting awards for the reining in the outdoor on quite a windy day that my hat and crown flew off my head! Thank you to AQHA for having me at this show and giving me another inside glimpse at all that it takes to put on a high-quality show! Of course, I had to visit the AQHA store to buy a Level 1 T-Shirt and beautiful Montana Silversmith concho necklace. Time truly does fly when your having fun, I enjoyed all the exhibitor parties including seeing my OQHA family, and evening scooter rides around the grounds.

Next Stop: All American Youth Show!

Much Love, Madison.

The Virginia Maiden

There is no better way to spend your birthday weekend than at a horse show! That is how I celebrated my 26th birthday, at the Virginia Maiden in Lexington, Virginia. The weather could not have been any better to get to enjoy the beautiful outdoor arena. One of the many things I have enjoyed throughout my year as Congress Queen is getting to create great friendship with show staff. From the announcer, scribes, photographers, and show management every time I get to see their smiling faces it’s like a family reunion. The Virginia Maiden has so much history in offering competitive futurity classes to start the show season. Each class from western pleasure, hunter under saddle, and working western rail had a large audience and was truly able to demonstrate the beauty of the American Quarter Horse. Ali Board and John Boxell from A&B Show Management and Cameryn Van Sickle who ran the futurity classes were all so great to work. Fun Fact: John was one of the judges in the 2024 Queens Horsemanship. Many of the classes I presented were maiden, as in never shown, or green, young or inexperienced horses. Therefore, in my beautiful queen outfits made by Berry Fit and CRS Custom Creations, I was very scary to some of the horses getting some comical side eyes. At each show I try to visit all the vendors, especially those that are Congress Queen Contest sponsors. Leanne from D Designs was there and we chatted about any predictions for this season’s fashion trends. We both agreed what matters most is what makes you feel the most confident. Another fun fact is that 2016 Congress Queen Amy Brown, is obsessed with Cheerwine. I stopped at a Cookout on my drive home and thought of her as I enjoyed this soda. From here, I headed to the Level 1 East Championship Show and I can’t wait to tell you about all the fun I had for the week!

Much Love, Madison

Horse World Expo

The Horse World Expo in Harrisburg, PA is an event I have been attending since I was 12 years old. I remember going with my best friends (who are still my best friends today), listening to demos and filling the car full of great shopping finds! I gave a presentation titled “The Greatest Horse Show on Earth + The World’s Most Versatile Breed = The All-American Quarter Horse Congress”. I made sure to highlight the history of the Congress, special events, shopping, youth activities, the Queen contest, and much more! Next, I was so surprised to see that there were 13 Congress Queen Contest sponsors at the event! Many of them I haven’t seen since the Congress, so it was so great to catch up and hear about their plans headed into summer. This trip was the first time my mom got to see me as Congress Queen which was special and glad to have my Queen mom there to introduce to meet my wonderful sponsors and be my photographer! Friday night we attended Theatre Equus, an equine show with a variety of acts from Roman Riding, Trick Riding, Bridleless Jumping, and even a Congress Freestyle Reining Champion! The next day, I had partnered with Pennsylvania 4H Equine Program to host a meet & greet event. Without my involvement in 4H I would have never gotten to go to the Congress for the first time. I took pictures with youth, handed out autograph cards, and inspired families to get in contact with 4H clubs in their county.

The wonderful, extremely generous Congress Queen Contest sponsors I visited with:

Essential Bodywear with Bonnie the Bra Lady

Wooden Sunflower

Cheap and Chic Boutique

Kelly Herd Jewelry

Fair Hill Saddlery

Glowing Results / Rodeo Drive

That’s Invintage

By Field and Flower Hats

Tribute Feed

Dac

The Healing Cowgirl

BEMER

Australian Saddle Company

Next I am headed to the state that is for lovers, Virginia, to attend the Virginia Maiden! Looking forward to seeing wonderful futurity horses!

Much Love, Madison Heilveil

Banquet Season Recap

Over the last few weeks, I have been very busy traveling to multiple association year-end banquets. It was wonderful to reconnect with everyone, out of show clothes, and celebrate all their accomplishments in 2024! I also had the honor of crowning multiple 2025 association queens!

I attended the Pennsylvania, Tri-State, and Ohio Quarter Horse banquets. At each, I attended their general membership meeting where I got to thank all who supported me in my efforts to crown. It is amazing how caring the Quarter Horse community is! I felt so much love and happiness getting to be with people who enjoy the beauty that is the Quarter Horse as much as I do. From crowning new queens, announcing awards, and celebratory dancing each banquet was so much fun!

Welcome to the sisterhood to the following queens I had the honor of crowning!

Pennsylvania – Marisa Lynch

Keystone – Samantha Harvey

Tri-State – Riley Miller

Ohio – Morgan Adkins

Northern Ohio – Addison Schliesser

Many other association queens were crowned or will be crowned that I cannot wait to see throughout the year!

A special moment at each of the banquets was getting to take pictures with former Congress Queens posing with our gorgeous Congress Queen Ring sponsored by Fritz Leeman in honor of Carol Leeman. Throughout my years as an association queen, I’ve made many new friends in the sash sisterhood, but the Congress Queen sisterhood is extra special.

2022 – Kylie Good

2019 – Mariah Sherer

2007 – Shelly Boyle

What’s next for the 2024 All-American Quarter Horse Congress Queen? The Pennsylvania Horse World Expo and the Virginia Maiden! There are so many pictures from the banquets I hope you enjoy all seen below! Much Love, Madison

AQHYA Region 5 Leadership Conference

In January, I attended the AQHYA Region 5 Youth Leadership Conference in State College, Pennsylvania. I am so proud of all the youth attendees for taking the time to meet, collaborate, and network with other horse crazy youth within the region. Attendees did not have to be an AQHYA members or even own a horse just be a passionate equestrian from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland. The 3 AQHYA Region 5 Directors: Lauren Goolsby, Caroline Wisniewski, and Addison Kimble, along with AQHYA Executive Committee Member Adrianna Goolsby created such a welcoming and educational event.

I got to interact with the youth members wearing two different hats, as an Academic Advisor for the Department of Animal Science and as Congress Queen wearing my gorgeous crown crafted by Miguel Aguilar. I gave a presentation on equine based educational opportunities at Penn State along with a form to function discussion where I encouraged youth to consider how the conformation of their horse affected their performance ability along with the benefits of competitive horse judging.

I have a strong passion for the youth educational contests, without them I would have never gone to the Congress for the first time in 2015. The next day, I reconnected with the youth to talk about opportunities both in and out of the saddle available to them at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. These included youth classes across all disciplines, NYATT, Horse Bowl, Horse Judging, Hippology, and Communications. I also talked about all I had to do to prepare for the Congress Queen Contest, where I will be travelling to, and all the incredible leadership and life skills I have gained through my years of being a Queen. I am proud to be from Pennsylvania and I am just amazed at how incredibility talented young horseman reign from Region 5. I hope to see many of them throughout my travels including the Region 5 Championship show I will attend in June.

Much love, Madison.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show

Inevitably each year when the Pennsylvania Farm Show comes around it snows with frigid temperatures. I have attended the Farm Show for many years prior but was excited for a day filled with celebrating agriculture in a new role. I started my day by visiting with the Pennsylvania Equine Council which supports education, programming, and legislature for Pennsylvania equestrians. They have a real horse that the public can pet which as I saw so many kids eyes light up, it made me even more grateful and appreciative to have horses in my daily life. There are so many exhibits, shops, species, and food options that I am sure I did not see it all as I explored the many halls. Throughout the day I filmed a “day in the life” video for social media which was fun to capture short clips. I love watching day in the life videos so if you haven’t already be sure to check it out on my 2024 All American Quarter Horse Congress Queen socials on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. While waiting for the Celebrity Feed Scurry that I would be participating in I got to meet Pennsylvania royalty such as the State Fair Queen and State Dairy Princesses. It was fun to compare components of our contests and congratulated each other on making it to these prestigious roles.

The time had come for the Celebrity Feed Scurry where there were 32 competitors from royalty, sponsors, and public officials. They brought in teams of draft horses and harnessed them to the feed scurry which looks like a large flatbed. When the race started the driver, which was one of the competitors, would drive the team to a pallet of straw, then the “mucker” who was usually an FFA member would load 4 straw bales onto the scurry then the driver would drive around a cone to then unload the straw. This was a timed event that had its fair share of good laughs. Finally in the last heat it was my turn against a Pennsylvania Representative. I had only ever driven a miniature horse in a cart once but I thought I'd been around horses for 20 years. How hard could it be? The team’s owner reminded me ironically that draft horses do not neck rein. I held the reins the same way you would for Hunt Seat but I later learned that was not ideal. My team was quite excited and when we could start they went left hard, and I pulled with all my might. It was an interesting feeling to say the least, as if I couldn’t stop this team. The owner took the reins and told the team HAW which means go right. After we straightened out I took the reins and had a much smoother drive. It was neat that regardless of the discipline nothing beats a strong WOAH command.

Fun Fact! Driving vocal commands:

Gee = Left

Haw = Right

I would like to thank the Friends of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Foundation, Pennsylvania Equine Council, and Pennsylvania Draft Horse Association for hosting and allowing me to participate in such a fun event!

Next Up: Banquet Season!