Kaitlyn Maria, of Jarales, is our New Mexico State Fair Queen

Kaitlyn Maria was both surprised and elated last Friday when she was crowned the 2025 New Mexico State Fair Queen.

“This means the world to me,” Kaitlyn said. “I’ve been preparing for this for so long and, as of right now, it still doesn’t seem real. I woke up the next day and thought it was just a dream.”

Kaitlyn, a resident of Jarales and a member of the Navajo Nation, has been working and studying for more than a year to achieve her goal — all while going to college to earn her certificate in electrical trades from Central New Mexico College.

“I was known as the wild card,” Kaitlyn said. “I was the only girl who hadn’t competed (at the state fair) before. I wasn’t very confident at all. I knew I had skills but I didn’t think I was good enough to get me the title.”

Boy, was she wrong.

Kaitlyn competed against six other women for the state fair crown, and said this competition was much more intense than when she competed and won the 2023-24 Valencia County Rodeo Queen title.

A 2022 Belen High School graduate, Kaitlyn prepared for more than a year to compete, which began last week with two separate days of horsemanship, in which they had to do a front-pattern and freestyle pattern each day, as well as the horsemanship interview each day.

“When preparing for state fair, obviously you have to practice your horsemanship, but you also have to know all the aspects of a PRCA rodeo as well as horse anatomy, a written test about the state of New Mexico, rodeo, the state fair and you also have to answer personal questions,” she said. “So preparing for that was a lot more difficult.”

From August 2024 until just last week, Kaitlyn was constantly training and studying for the competition. She would practice at the sheriff’s posse arena in Belen three days a week, and at her house in Jarales the other four days with her trusted horse, Manny the Mammoth, a 7-year-old Appendix Gelding.

“When I was competing for the Valencia title, I was preparing to take my finals for the last two semesters,” she said. “Along with all the events, going to school, studying and working as a lifeguard and at PetSmart, it was a lot. My mom thought I was crazy.”

Kaitlyn is the daughter of Lisa and Donavan Maria, and is the younger sister of Hannah, who is serving our country in the U.S. Navy.

“My family is beyond proud of me,” she said. “I’m so proud of my culture, my heritage. I think there has only been one or two queens who were Native, and to be able to represent them means the world to me.”

Kaitlyn is honored not only to represent New Mexico but also Valencia County. She said the last time someone from our area won the state title was Teri Rolan about 30 years ago.

“It was absolutely amazing,” Kaitlyn described when she was crowned as the New Mexico State Fair Queen. “I felt that I wasn’t as prepared as everyone else even though I was studying for so long.”

She said anyone who has a dream should follow it, no matter where they’re from or where they’re headed.

“If you have a dream, you can accomplish it 100 percent,” she said. “You just have to put your mind to it. I never thought this would have happened to me if you asked me 10 years ago.”

Kaitlyn and her sister grew up raising and showing livestock — rabbits, chickens and goats. She remembers when she was 12 years old making a promise to herself that she would never run for a title.

“My sister ran for a title when she was younger, and she didn’t win. I told myself I wouldn’t win either,” Kaitlyn said. “Then when I was in high school, I got into rodeo and I realized I could do it.”

Graduating eight months ago from CNM with a certificate in electrical trades, which includes residential wiring and photovoltaic installation, she is now an electrical apprentice at Jimmy’s Electric in Los Chavez.

While she wanted to be a veterinarian when she was younger, Kaitlyn looked to her family for inspiration.

“We have a lot of people in the trades in our family, but no one was an electrician,” she said. “I know its something that not a lot of women do, but I wanted to make a difference and to show other people that it’s possible, regardless of your gender. I love it — so much.”

As the New Mexico State Fair Queen, Kaitlyn will travel around the state, and even in Arizona and Colorado, as an ambassador of sorts, speaking about the fair and rodeo.

“I’ll make appearances at schools and talk about myself, my agriculture and horsemanship background, my personal background and just being an advocate of the state fair,” she explained.

“If you have a dream, chase it, because anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”