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“I want to leave the arena with a better horse than I came in with. I want to do right by the horses, and I want to do everything in the right way because I believe that it will come back to me.”
opportunity to buy, train, and sell horses. I that is people I’m around that are her age to win when running barrels. I always want have also met many great trainers and have show a lot of respect for her.” to win, I’m a competitor, but I always put had the opportunity to work with all kinds An avid horse trainer who admittedly loves my horse first. I want to leave the arena with of outstanding people. My parents put a speed, Kelly takes great joy in working with her a better horse than I came in with. I want
lot of things aside for me and my brother (Clint), and my mom put a lot of things off for me to rodeo, and she has always helped me. It was obvious to me early on that she is good with a horse. Another thing that proves
horses to improve their skills and abilities. “All aspects of working with horses are
satisfying to me in some capacity,” Kelly said. “I do a lot of events, from barrels to roping calves and it all depends on the event. I want
to do right by the horses, and I want to do everything in the right way because I believe that it will come back to me. When you put the horses first, they are going to try harder for you. Of course I want to win, but at the same time it depends on the circumstances, so I am accepting if the horses just do the best they can.”
One such horse that Kelly fondly recalls is TF Hellrasing Cat, an off-the-track racehorse that she introduced to barrel racing in 2021 through The Legacy Project, headed by Lance Graves, one of the most prominent names in the sport of barrel racing. Bred in Louisiana by Tate Farms and campaigned during his racing career
by Darling Farms, TF Hellrasing Cat was winless at the track in four starts but did place twice at Remington Park.
“Lance selected TF Hellrasing Cat and he told us specifically that he selected a horse that would challenge me,” said Kelly, who was 18 years old when she began working with TF Hellrasing Cat. “Even though I had trained horses before, this horse was different for me because he was a racehorse. The goal of the project was to make the best horse you could make. So, I rode him, sorted some cattle, and tried to make sure he was the best horse he could be to work with.
“We owned him until a couple of months ago,” she added. “We sold him to a team roper. I’ve been away at school and was
not able to ride him much. He was not completely ready for competition, and we don’t push them or rush them, so we had him at home. One of my friends needed a nice, fast horse, and I said, ‘I have one.’ I showed him the horse, he bought him, and he is a head horse now.
“Every horse teaches you something,” she continued. “I feel I am very patient with horses, but he was harder than I thought, compared to other horses I have been on
Kate with TF Hellrasing Cat and Lance Graves after winning The Legacy Project in June 2021.
© Sherri Kelly
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