Krista Romero’s family loves it when she’s baking in the kitchen. The thirteen year old cowgirl’s specialties are cakes, cookies, and cupcakes, especially red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Everybody in her family loves her red velvet cupcakes, and sometimes she even decorates them with sprinkles or pretty patterns cut out of fondue.

The Church Point, La. cowgirl competes in the Louisiana Junior High Rodeo Association as a barrel racer and pole bender, with barrels being her favorite event.She rides the same horse for both events, an eleven year old named Pete. Pete is really good, but really smart, and he can be a troublemaker. He sometimes gives her problems in the alleyway. At home, when she goes to catch him, he runs away. “But he still takes care of me,” she says.

She is an eighth grade student at Richard Elementary in Church Point, and she loves the teachers at the school, who are always willing to help her out. But her favorite teacher is Miss Comeaux, her seventh grade English teacher, because “she always said how good her students are, and she encouraged us to do better in school, and she helped me a lot, too.” Krista still has her for enrichment classes at the end of the day.

She likes to read mystery books and is currently reading “Close to Famous.” It’s about a girl who loves to bake and wants to become famous through her baking. She is a 4-H participant and plays volleyball. Krista’s mom helps her with her baking, and even though she doesn’t do much cooking yet, she enjoys her favorite meal her mom makes: chicken fettuccine. The family has two pet dogs: Max, a Shih Tzu, and Cookie, who is part rat terrier and part Shih Tzu. Cookie claims Krista as “her person,” and sleeps with her every night. She doesn’t hog the bed, but she sure hogs the pillow.

Krista also competes in the National Barrel Horse Association, where she has qualified for the World NBHA Show two years, and has also qualified for July of this year. She qualified for the junior high state finals last summer. When she was younger, she competed in the Acadiana Youth Rodeo Association, where she’s won several buckles. When she grows up, she’d like to be a veterinarian. Her favorite animals are horses. She is the daughter of Rickey and Christy Romero.