The ballots for the 2025 Ms Ky Celebration were enclosed along with other Ky Celebration and KWHA info that was mailed to eligible KWHA Members. Please mail your 2025 Miss Kentucky Celebration ballots to Tish Cole, Kentucky Ladies Auxiliary President at 940 Gabbardtown Road Berea, KY 40403. Please note this is a different address than the other KWHA info! We will share bios on this post for each candidate
- 2025 Candidate Brentnee Adams
- I am super excited to announce that I will be running for the 2025 Miss Kentucky Celebration Queen again! My name is Brentnee Adams, I am the daughter of Jeff and Christy Adams and I am the Granddaughter of Jimmy Norris and the great granddaughter of the late Andrew Boyd. I am currently a sophomore at Rowan County Senior High school. I am very active in the Rocky Mountain, and the Kentucky Mountain Association. Some of my favorite things to do are going to the beach, spending time with family/friends, going to horse shows. After High school I plan on going to college to be a veterinarian. Horses have been a big part of my family for many years. I first got into horses around 3 years ago. I got introduced to the Walking Horse industry around 2 years ago, when my Grandfather Jimmy Norris gave me the opportunity to ride ” Hello I’m Johnny Cash” , and ever since then I have been hooked in the Walking Horse industry. Alongside riding Walking Horses, I help my Mom and My uncle at home with around 15 Rocky Mountain horses. Ever since I started riding horses I have always felt like I’ve had a second home to go to no matter what. If it wasn’t for my Grandfather offering me to ride ” Hello I’m Johnny Cash” I would’ve never gotten into the Walking horse industry. I’ve had a blast meeting new people, to all the laughs and giggles at banquets, and all the fun memories I have from shows and being around the people I love most! Jimmy Norris and my Uncle James Wayne Norris have had a huge impact on my life in the horse industry. Both of their hard work and dedication makes me want to strive to do better and go even further with my career in the horse industry. Every time I hear my name called by the announcer it’s like a dream come true, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without either one of them. The opportunities and the help that they have given, has made me more confident with my riding and myself in general. I couldn’t ever thank either one of them enough for what they have done for me! Our Tennessee Walking horse industry is a wonderful industry and I am honored to be a part of it. I look forward to all of the upcoming shows and meeting new people and making so many more fun memories! I hope to have an impact on the youth riders and support them just like I got supported! I would appreciate your support and votes for me, as I would be honored to be your next Miss Kentucky Celebration 2025
- 2025 Candidate Macy James
- My name is Macy James and I am the daughter of Johnny James and Tiffany Waller. I attended Franklin Simpson High School before graduating through a homeschool program called Penn Foster in 2023. My future plans are to attend Western Kentucky University and become a Veterinary Technician. I have a love for all animals and they are a big part of my everyday life. In 2020, I decided to start taking riding lessons from Leigh Anne Gregory. This is one of the best decisions I’ve made. I was able to ride a little black gelding named Jose’s Unfinished Business who taught me to love horses. I began to learn what all it took to have a horse. I then was able to lease out Bohemian Rhapsody in 2022. He had an injury during the middle of the show season which took months to heal. Riley Gregory allowed me to borrow her horse, Poppy Cat, for the internationals where I was able to win my first floral horseshoe and I earned a scholarship in the Academy division. It was one of the best memories for me. In 2023, Exeter came along, and that was a big step for me. Exeter taught me patience, responsibility, and most importantly determination. I was honored to receive my first ever belt buckle in 4-H aboard Exeter. I was fortunate enough to be able to show a little red filly Real Fancy Deal. She won me my second floral in 2024. My biggest motto is that you should always work for what you want and appreciate what you get. I spend hours at the barn, and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. This is my first year competing in Miss Kentucky and I am so excited to be running and making new friends. Consider voting for me for your Miss Kentucky Celebration.
- 2025 Candidate
- Brooklyn Jones
- I am excited to announce I will be running for the 2025 Miss Kentucky Celebration Queen! Hello all KWHA members! My name is Brooklyn Jones. I am the 16 year old granddaughter of Robert and Loretta Jones. I am a sophomore at Southwestern High School in Pulaski County Kentucky. I currently play volleyball at Southwestern and in the off-season I play travel ball with Danville Elite Volleyball Academy. I am a current member of FCA at Southwestern and attend Flat Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Whitley City, Kentucky. Some of my favorite things to do in my free time are hanging out with friends and family, going golfing with my dad, being on the farm, spending time with the barn family, and riding and showing my Tennessee Walking Horses! After high school, I plan to attend the University of Kentucky to one day become an Ultrasound Technician. Horses have always been a part of my life since before I could walk, and I am the second generation of the Jones family to be involved with the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. I was first introduced to the Tennessee Walking Horse when I was 2 years old and my papaw, Robert Jones put me on the back of his show horse Absolute Challenge who was the son of Major General in our driveway and walked us around. When I was 8 years old I started riding in the barn just for fun to see if I would ever like it. In February of 2018 I turned 9 years old and decided I was going to start showing horses. May 5, 2018 I showed in my first show ever with Dixie Lined Sky in Harrodsburg Kentucky. I showed Dixie for 2 years and loved every second of it! Later I decided I was ready for another show horse. We purchased Bakersfield in 2018 from SBS and put him in training hoping for a future for him with me in the saddle. On June 13, 2020, I showed him for the first time at Walking For Hope in Stanford Kentucky and knew from there I was set. I’ve now shown Baker for 5 years all over Kentucky and this past year we took him to Shelbyville Tennessee to show him just for fun one last time before bringing him home for the winter to rest. We were in Shelbyville and I was talking about how amazing it would be to win a blue in THE Shelbyville Tennessee.. Me and Baker started in the ring at the Heart of a Champion show and I had a feeling that night was going to be great. Who would have ever thought I would make my best show with him in that little outside ring at the Celebration Grounds… standing in the lineup talking to Miss Rayna, I heard the number 710 being called and I realized it was me. tears filled my eyes as I couldn’t believe I had just won a show in Shelbyville Tennessee. Another experience that really had an impact on me was showing in Shelbyville at the Money Tree Classic in the Cooper Steel Arena on a new show horse, Honors Dixie. I was in a class of 10+ amazing horses and was 3rd! Along with the class being an amateur class division in which I had never shown in before due to only showing in youth 17 & under. I now have made so many friends and I am beyond proud to be a part of this horse show family! Thanks to all for welcoming me into the family and giving me this opportunity. No matter what my future holds, the Walking Horse will always be a part of it. I look forward to many more trips in the ring in my life and I would greatly appreciate your support for my candidacy for the 2025 Miss Kentucky Celebration Queen! Thank you!
- 2025 Candidate
- Mallie Smith
- Hi friends! My name is Mallie Smith, and I’m grateful to say that I have the opportunity to run for 2025 Miss Kentucky Celebration Queen! I am the 16-year-old daughter of Amber Taylor and James Smith. I am a sophomore at Russell County High School! I’m an active member of FFA and my church youth group. I love all things pink, shopping, baking, taking pictures, spending time with friends and family, reading my Bible, attending church-related activities, and of course spending time with my favorite horses! I also love teaching young children the basics of riding. After high school, I plan on going to college to become a dental hygienist. Horses have always been the biggest part of my life! Ever since I could talk, the only thing I wanted to talk about was horses! I was lucky enough that my grandparents owned a farm that I could spend my time on. My first ever horse was a Tennessee walking horse named Groundhog! My grandpa also kept other horses in the barn that he and his friends trail rode on. By the age of 7, my grandparents realized that it was not just a phase, and I got my heart horses, “John” and “Smokey.” showed in my first ever local show on “Smokey’s got the blues” and brought home a blue ribbon! From then on, I was hooked on showing! I showed in multiple disciplines such as hunter jumpers, eventing, and rodeo events! But when Billy Selby asked me if I wanted to ride his padded horse, “Well played, Sam,” I took the first opportunity, and from then on, I knew that showing the Tennessee Walking Horse was my favorite thing ever!! Since then, I have attended the National Walking Horse Celebration in 2023 and 2024 and multiple other shows. Whether I was just watching or showing, it was my favorite way to spend my time. I’m beyond thankful for all the opportunities and new friends this amazing industry has given to me! I’ll forever be grateful for all the amazing experiences and memories I have had, all thanks to the Tennessee Walking Horse. I hope that whatever the future holds for me, the Tennessee Walking Horse is one of the main things in it. I owe the biggest thanks to my grandparents, Connie Bernard and Wendall Wilson, for always supporting my love for horses and giving me the opportunity to love and ride horses for the past 15 years. And also a big thank you to Billy Selby, because he is the reason that I was able to get involved in the industry and experience showing the Tennessee Walking Horse. Another thank you to everyone and everything that has helped me and supported me in this amazing industry! I am so extremely excited to attend many more shows in 2025 and years to follow! Thank you to everyone, and any support for my candidacy for the Miss Kentucky Celebration Queen is so greatly appreciated from me and my family!