Kiva James

At the age of four Kiva began riding horses ranging from Welsh Ponies to Tennessee Walking Horses, but it was the dream of being a Cowgirl and riding fast that made her choose the American Quarter Horse. She began participating in 4-H at the age of 11 and after qualifying for the Arizona State Fair, she decided to go for the glitz and glamour of showing horses and purchased her AQHA gelding Zippo Goes Lightly. She excelled in showmanship, western pleasure, western riding, reining, trail courses, judging and horse science. Not only did Kiva and “Lee” compete in various show circuits across the state, they made it back to the AZ State Fair for the next 6 years where they placed top-ten every time and brought home many state championships.

The dream of being a cowgirl still held strong for her, and what better way to achieve this than by being queen of her hometown rodeo! Kiva participated in several rodeo queen pageants, but it was being the 2001 Flagstaff Pine Country Pro Rodeo Queen that is dearest to her heart. While in college at Northern Arizona University, she served on the board of the Rodeo Association, team penned, practiced roping and even worked cattle on the Navajo Nation Ranch. She now works at Arizona State University where she attended graduate school. When Kiva isn’t volunteering her time as a youth mentor or exploring the great outdoors, her greatest passion is traveling where she loves to experience different cultures, customs, and cuisines!

Being a cowgirl is a pure way of life. We have strong values: we love our families, we love our animals, and we love this land!