By Holly Vasic | [email protected]

Hard work for eight women came to a heart-pounding conclusion on May 5 at Riverton High School as the Miss Bluffdale Scholarship Pageant capped its newest winner. The evening unfolded with performances by the contestants, a farewell daddy-daughter dance from last year’s winner, a Little Miss pageant, and, at the end of the show, the winner, Abigail Roller, was crowned. 

Abigail’s brother Liam Roller, who just turned 5 last month, sat in the very back row of the Riverton High School auditorium with a family friend, too little and impatient to sit through the entire show. He had just been playing in the commons area with his friend and had come back in to hear the winner. When “Abigail Roller” was called, he threw his arms in the air and screamed louder than anyone else. Jamie, Abigail’s mother, couldn’t believe it.

“I was in awe that it was my daughter that just won,” she said.

 Adam, Abigail’s 12-year-old brother, described how nervous he was after the show, asking his family if they had felt the same. Sisters Jessica, 10, and Bella, 15, couldn’t be happier for their oldest sibling. Their dad, Matthew, recalled feeling overcome with emotions.  

This family of seven all worked together to make Abigail’s (known as Abbi) dream of becoming Miss Bluffdale a reality, such as finding sponsors for the perfect dress. Jamie loved the dress shopping.

“The most fun part was when she would ask me to go dress shopping with her and seeing her try on all of the many, many dresses,” Jamie said.

The entire process of competing for Miss Bluffdale was challenging and exciting for Jamie as a mother and has given her the opportunity to allow Abbi to make decisions for herself. “We are really close as a mother and daughter and I had to step back and let her do this on her own,” Jaime said.

Abbi will be off to Utah State University this fall with the scholarship winnings she was awarded from being crowned. This experience may have been a positive step toward what’s to come: Jamie’s first born leaving the nest.

“I already know if I think about it too much I'm going to cry that my little girl is growing up,” Jamie said.

In addition to the support of her family, Abbi had, what she called, a secret weapon—her new-found friend Hanna Norton. Though Jamie loved the dress shopping, Abbi said it was a difficult aspect of preparing for the pageant.

“One of the biggest challenges for me was finding an evening gown that fit all of my picky requirements,” Abbi said. She tried on a variety of evening gowns at many different dress places, one of them being Bling it On, a dress rental place in Riverton, where she met Norton.

“She took me under her wing, even while she was busy preparing for the Miss Lehi pageant she is in,” Abbi said.

Abbi’s dad, Matthew, was a little surprised when she decided to compete.

“We are not pageant people,” he said.

It was not something Abbi had grown up doing, but Jessica was confident in her big sister. “Abbi is very wonderful and kind,” Jessica said. “When she does something, she never gives up, and she looks like a princess.”

The pageant may be over, but Abbi has the year ahead of her to be Miss Bluffdale, already practicing her parade wave.

“I'm looking forward to going to parades and also really making a difference in Bluffdale with my platform,” she said.

Bella is also looking forward to what her big sister can do in their city.

“It is going to be a great experience to really connect with Bluffdale and become a part of the community,” Bell said.