Lady Wins a Modeling Competition at Royal Ascot

This week has been a very surreal one. After getting scouted for a modeling competition for the Face of Ascot on Tuesday and selected as a finalist on Thursday, I headed back to Royal Ascot on Saturday for the judging.

The morning was filled with champagne receptions and meetings with the judges. In the afternoon we were taken to a photo shoot, a fashion show, and a lunch.

We had time to watch some of the horse races before heading down to the catwalk area for the televised announcement of the winner on the BBC. I was a little nervous, but mostly just freezing cold.

It was strange being on television because none of us could hear anything the judges and announcers were saying.

It was all I could do to catch the line “the winner is not one of our English roses, but an American beauty…”. At that point I knew I had won the modeling competition, and I was completely shocked.

In the blur that ensued, I was handed a bouquet of flowers that weighed about 15 pounds. The show wrapped up and I was overwhelmed by journalists, photographers, and people offering congratulations. My head was completely spinning.

When I finally had time to catch my breath I walked back to watch some more of the races and then went to the Parade Ring.

There I met the racecourse executives and a number of other VIPs, and was given the honor of choosing and awarding the prize for the best groomed horse for the final race at Royal Ascot.

I went up to a suite to watch the race and then returned to the Parade Ring to be on TV once again as I awarded the prize to the winning owners, jockey, and trainer.

Seeing a ginormous version of myself on the jumbotron was one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had.

I left the racecourse around 7pm. It took a while to get a train, as the platforms were packed with people.

When I finally boarded a train I had to stand for an hour in my four-inch heels holding my 15-pound bouquet and having to keep my balance as there was nothing to hold onto.

It was a nice way to come back down to earth after such an otherworldly day at Royal Ascot.

I arrived home at 9pm exhausted and starving, but completely happy and overwhelmed to be the Face of Ascot. What a week!

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