National Hereford Queen – National Hereford Women

National Hereford Queen Program

In 1955, the first white boots graced the Hereford show ring representing the breed, industry representatives and producers from across the country. Since the first young lady was crowned, the National Hereford Queen program has grown and evolved with the breed. Today, the National Hereford Women is proud to organize and support this development program for the young women of the Hereford breed.

Each year, state queens are selected from across the country to represent their respective state with the goal of being selected as the National Hereford Queen. In each state, the queen attends events, shows and sales along with attending the Junior National Hereford Expo presenting awards and assisting with ring presentations. The official competition for the title of National Hereford Queen takes place each year during the American Royal.

The National Hereford Queen is an icon of breed queens as she is dawned in a white dress, boots, statement sash and classic crown. The National Hereford Women are proud to support this program and the legacy tied to the breed.

Queen’s Scholarship

The National Hereford Queen devotes a great deal of time promoting our cattle, attending shows and sales, educating individuals and using the platform to be a spokeswoman for our association. The NHW understands how much time and effort she puts into this program and we set forth to increase the scholarship she would receive. The NHW worked very hard in our fundraising and joined with Hereford Youth Foundation of American (HYFA) to fund our National Queen with a $10,000 scholarship upon the completion of her reign. This scholarship is housed in HYFA and is paid directly to the college, technical school or trade school which the Queen is attending. We are extremely blessed to have the support of our breeders and HYFA to make this available to our National Queen.

Meet Our 2023 Queen

Madison Katzenberger, Wisconsin

Hi everyone, my name is Madison Katzenberger, and I am the 2023 National Hereford Queen. I am the daughter of Eric and Rosie Katzenberger and live in Monroe, WI where we own and operate our family operation, Plum River Ranch. I am a 3rd generation Hereford breeder and have been exhibiting Hereford cattle all over the country since I was 5 years old. I have been heavily involved with the Wisconsin Junior Hereford Association and am currently serving as the President. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Platteville in December of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and a minor in Spanish and am an embryologist for Boviteq USA in Madison, WI. Some of my favorite Hereford memories revolve around the fun activities in the barn. I love to play games with the younger members from all states and enjoy having fun conversations with anyone that I see, or that stops by my stall. I am so excited to serve as the National Hereford Queen as it has been a dream of mine since I was 8 years old, and I can’t wait to see what memories I’ll make and where this journey will take me.