Kylie Hallett has distinct memories of watching the Riverton Days parade as a child, seeing the Miss Riverton royalty on the float and realizing the girls didn’t look like her. As a plus-sized girl, she didn’t see pageant queens that represented a full-figured beauty ideal. 

That all changed when Hallett, 20, was named Miss Riverton 2024 on June 1. The Riverton High grad ran on the platform “More Than Your Dress Size: Inspiring Inclusivity Through Body Positivity.”

“I wanted to compete because no one should have to feel like that. I’m so excited that I get to be someone for little girls to look up to,” Hallett said. “You don’t have to look a certain way to compete in a pageant, you don’t have to look a certain way to be Miss Riverton.”

Six young women competed for the title at the newly opened Sandra N. Lloyd Community Center (12830 S. Redwood Road). Along with Hallett, Rose Cannon, Chrystia Lance, Belle Snow, Anna Jeffery and Jane Rutherford competed to represent Riverton City. Contestants were judged on a private interview, talent, health and fitness, evening gown and onstage conversation.

As a classically-trained singer, Hallett performed “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from “Phantom of the Opera.” She has a background in theater, which she said helped her overcome nervous tension during the pageant. 

“A lifetime of being in theater, being on stage, prepped me for the experience. Even if you don’t have the confidence, you have to fake it, and then it appears as though you do.”

As the new Miss Riverton, Hallett received a $2,000 scholarship to help with her studies in criminal justice at Utah Valley University. Her initial plan was to go through the actor training program at the University of Utah, but she felt it was time to make a change. She’s now considering enrollment in the police academy. 

Before the pageant began, the contestants talked backstage and agreed that any of them could win the Miss Riverton title. Hallett said the sisterhood and kindness between the women was supportive, inclusive and rare for such a competition. Hallett was shocked when her name was announced as the new Miss Riverton.

“I had convinced myself that I wasn’t going to win, so now I have a lot of pictures of me ugly crying on stage,” she said. “There has never been a plus-size winner of Miss Riverton before, which is obviously why I wanted to compete, why I wanted to win.”

Hallett looks forward to bringing her body-confidence platform to girls in elementary and middle school. By creating a mentorship program with high school and college students who may not fit society’s conventional beauty standard, she hopes to encourage girls to love themselves for who they are, not what size they wear. 

“Every kid should have someone to look up to and think, ‘this person looks like me and they’re successful,’” she said. “I want to start a social media movement using #morethanmydresssize with people posting what makes them feel more than their dress size. Maybe it’s their hairstyle or their tattoo or their talents. It’s the little things that can start a movement.”

Hallett will serve with Cannon and Rutherford as the Miss Riverton Royalty for the next year. Cannon, 19, (first attendant) is a graduate of Entrada High School and currently studies at Salt Lake Community College. She was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Rutherford, 18, (second attendant) a graduate of Juan Diego High School, won a $500 scholarship. 

“I’m really looking forward to spending time with Rose and Jane,” Hallett said. “There’s such a sense of sisterhood with everybody who competed, this sisterhood where there’s support and love with all these women.”

To schedule an appearance with Miss Riverton, contact her at [email protected]. λ