Gracie Jones competed at the American Rodeo semi-finals and has used her love of horses and love of barrel racing to propel her through a lot of tough times in life.
Gracie was born two months early with several birth defects and with over 30 surgeries in her 19 years on Earth, her whole life has been a fight.
“She has gotten through it like a champ,” her mother said.
The horse she rides is named Famous Reba out of Oklahoma and her mount is a bit of an underdog story too. The horse was essentially a rescue, Famous Reba had never been touched before she was loaded up in the trailer to be delivered to Gracie.
“We bonded really quick, when she came it was like ‘okay, you’re the one. You’re going to stay with me for a long time,” Gracie said.
Gracie trained Famous Reba herself and she said that proves you don’t need to be fancy or have better horses to succeed as long as you keep trying and do your best with what you have.