Rebel with a cause

 Despite so few years of experience, Rebel was able to wow judges with her veterinary knowledge of horses and her performance handling her horse, Tigger. Rebel started her journey a few short years ago at Melody Acres Stable.

“When she was 10, she would clean stalls to pay for her horse-riding lessons. (Melody Acres) taught her everything. They made sure she was very well-informed on how to take care of horses. It’s incredible what they did for her here,” said Brittanie Yale, Rebel’s proud mother.

“(Tigger) was boarding here and she was working with another horse that she really loved, and they ended up selling that horse. Because Rebel was upset, they offered to sell us (Tigger), who didn’t have an owner. They sold him to us for what they paid, so they weren’t trying to make money off us. I thought that was really awesome. We bought him about a year and a half ago and she started working with him and she got really good.”

Soon, in addition to cleaning stalls, Rebel was training Tigger. Once other horse owners at Melody Acres began noticing her quick progress, they asked her to work with their horses as well. Eventually, Rebel’s father in Eastland started buying her mustangs to train and even her dentist asked her to train their horses.

“She has a plan. She’s saving her money to buy horses to train and then sell again. She’s just 13 and she’s already got her life planned out,” said Rebel’s mother. Rebel plans on potentially working at a 4-H affiliated ranch in Azle over the summer. “She’s a good kid and I do attribute that to working with horses. I’m not worried about her going off and doing stupid stuff as a teenager because I know where her priorities are. She’s found what she loves really really young,” said Yale.

Rebel attributes much of her success to the support given to her by Melody Acres Stable, her family, 4-H and, of course, her horse, Tigger. “I’ve always loved horses, but I probably found out once I got Tigger. Tigger is just a silly horse, he’s not really scared of anything, he’s just a goofy personality. He makes me smile all the time,” said Rebel. “At the end of the day, (horses) just kind of relax me. It’s not just riding, it’s the way they make you feel.”

Along with a red ribbon, Rebel won the support and admiration of attendees at her first contest. One audience member recalled on Facebook, “you would not have known it was her very first show! She did amazing!”

Always training and improving, Rebel plans on competing in future competitions with Tigger, hopeful that she will bring back the gold for Azle.