It’s that time of year, ladies and gentlemen: It’s the Miss Mustang Beauty Pageant of 2012! The beautiful contestants have been preparing like mad, trimming their hooves on native sandstone, soaking in natural ponds, and honing their talents so that they can enter the competition with all they’ve got. Word on the street is that there hasn’t been a more beautiful and formidable group of equine contestants since the 1967 pageant, so get your scorecards ready!
Judges, please welcome our gorgeous California contestant Carrie! Carrie has volunteered her time with various literacy organizations and loves to run on the beach in her spare time, which clearly explains her lean physique. Carrie hopes to use her platform to promote healthy eating and fitness in schools. Welcome, Miss California!
This statuesque stunner hails from the great state of South Carolina. Let’s all give Sarah a warm welcome! Sarah believes young women lack the necessary self esteem to equip them to succeed in the world, so she plans to use her platform to help build confidence among the young women in society.
This is mildly ironic, considering Sarah is too shy to look at the camera…but at least she’s putting herself out there. Even though she won’t look at the camera. But at least she’s trying! Even though she won’t look at the camera.
So let’s hear it for Miss South Carolina!
Even though she won’t look at the camera.
Our next contestant is Margaret from the beautiful state of Michigan! Margaret is a medical student who hopes to use her profession to promote preventive care among the equine population of the world, and she intends to enter the mission field with stethoscope in hand.
I mean hoof.
This gorgeous loner Laura hails from the great state of Louisiana. Laura is learning to be a lawyer and loves listening to Lisa Loeb.
Laura also adores alliteration.
This elegant equine with the flowing mane comes all the way from cool, crisp Alaska! Let’s give a warm (Ha! Warm! Get it?) welcome to Anabelle! Anabelle hopes to use her influence to break down the walls of back biting and pettiness at equine pageants and encourage all women, I mean mares, to support and build up one another.
And just as long as they don’t cross her, she promises to get along with everyone just fine.
This lovely contestant traveled all the way from New Jersey to join us at Miss Mustang this year. Please help me welcome Nadia!
Nadia would like to request that you not be eyeballing her. She’s from Jersey, after all.
And if you mention her birthmark—even once—she’ll totally go off on you!
Nadia would also like to emphasize that she hopes to use her platform to promote world peace.
This contestant joins from Oklahoma, the greatest state in the union! Her name is Ree and she’s dropping out of the contest immediately because she just learned there’s going to be a swimsuit competition.
“I…am…OUTTA HERE!”
We’re awfully sorry to see you go, Ree!
We think.
Ree Drummond is the founder of The Pioneer Woman and a lover of butter, basset hounds and life on the ranch! Ree started her blog in 2006, and now millions visit ThePioneerWoman.com every month for her trusted recipes and fun family stories. Here’s what she has been up to since it all began:
New York Times Bestselling Author
Ree has written two memoirs (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and Frontier Follies) plus nine bestselling cookbooks:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (2013)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (2015)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy (2021)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready! (2023)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes (2025)
Food Network Host
Since 2011, Ree has been sharing simple, family-friendly recipes—and the occasional kitchen prank!—on her award-winning show The Pioneer Woman, filmed right on Drummond Ranch. Ree is also a regular judge on Food Network competitions, including Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Founder, The Pioneer Woman Collection
Ree has been creating and selling kitchen and home products at Walmart since 2015 and she’s involved in designing every piece and pattern. The line now includes best-selling appliances (you have to see the floral blender!), plus hundreds of pieces of cookware, tableware, and more. Ree doesn’t like to play favorites but the Agatha print has a special place in her heart.
Restaurant and Hotel Owner
Together with her husband Ladd, Ree has opened several bustling businesses in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, including The Pioneer Woman Mercantile—a bakery, restaurant, and general store that draws visitors from across the country (many come for the biscuits alone!), P-Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream Shop, and The Boarding House, a charming hotel with eight different rooms decorated by Ree and Ladd.
Media Personality
Ree appears regularly on national TV shows like Today, Good Morning America and more—all while managing to keep flour off her shirt.
Wife, Mom and…Grandma!
Ree’s kids (daughters Alex and Paige and sons Bryce and Todd) are all grown up, and as of December 2024, Ree is the proud grandma of the cutest baby ever, Sofia Scott, born to Alex and her husband Mauricio. Ree still cooks for Ladd (and the kids when they’re home), and she also looks after a few mischievous ranch dogs.
