He’s cocky, but he’s sweet. He doesn’t kick or bite, but he’s lazy and has an attitude. To put it short: he’s sassy. But junior Maddie Nagel doesn’t know it yet. She doesn’t see the first horse she’ll ever fall off of, the horse that will lead her to successive horse show victories, or the horse that will become a part of her family. She sees the cranky chestnut steed, although large and powerful looking, he is tired and overworked.

This doesn’t turn Maddie off. She’s determined to find her first horse, and follow legacy passed down by her mother. Maddie’s mother, Laurie Nagel, has always wanted her to ride. She’s prepared Maddie from a young age by putting her through gymnastics and contact sports so that she would develop the proper hand-eye-coordination and muscles to ride. When Maddie turned 16, Laurie sent her to Florida where she began a search for her first horse.

At the HITS Winter Festival in Ocala, Florida, Maddie prepares to ride the Oldenburg horse despite his apparent attitude. He towers over her, so it’s a struggle to climb up for the first time. Maddie is unsure of what will happen; the beast easily three times her size could throw her off.

“If you get on a horse and your personalities don’t click, or they don’t understand what you want and you don’t understand what they’re doing, it doesn’t really work out,” Maddie said.

They take off.

The horse holds a good mix of power and steadiness. For him it’s another run around the ring, for Maddie it’s a feeling of success. They move around the ring as one. Maddie knows it, he’s the one.

His name is Ty. He’s the sassy chestnut steed who loves to goof around. He causes a ruckus in his pen, and he globbers Maddie with kisses whenever she presents him with a treat.

“Some horses don’t have a personality, that’s one thing I like- that he has a personality and he’s not just there,” Maddie said. “He acts goofy and fun like a friend.”