Every equestrian remembers their first horse or pony. For some lucky ones, that first horse becomes their horse of a lifetime. Such is the case for Macy Brangers and her horse, Belle.

Now a formidable pair in the adult amateur saddle seat equitation classes, Brangers and her 2009 American Saddlebred mare, Aunty Bellum (Ocean’s Roar x Kalarama’s Belle of the Ball) got their start when they were both young newcomers to the performance ring under the direction of trainer Betsy Webb.

Their first encounter came when Brangers was participating in a junior judging contest at the Rock Creek Horse Show where Belle was showing as a young three-gaited horse. Brangers did not pin her first in the class, and neither did the judges—she happened to be in the class with a future national champion. However, Brangers was still smitten with the chestnut mare.

“She got third out of four in that class, and her price dropped a little bit,” said Brangers. “They surprised me with her when I got to the barn that weekend, and my heart was sold immediately.”

Brangers had previously shown in academy classes, but with Belle, she entered the main ring for the first time, competing in the 13 & Under classes.

“It’s really funny, because now watching those old videos of me training on her, it’s kind of a horror show,” she said. “Her canter was huge. She had so much motion that we had to learn how to dial her back. There was a time where we’d practice a lot of figure eights and we’d finish our circles, and she’d do a little buck. It took a while for us to find our stride together. We were both really young, and I think we had the benefit of growing up together and being trained by Betsy Webb. She was really consistent with both of us in the way that she would work us in our lessons. We just kept pushing forward, and eventually we found our stride, and continued to get better from there.”

Saddle seat equitation horses are asked to perform like powerful show horses on the rail and then must have the patience and precision for the intricate patterns asked of them in championship classes. Not every horse is suited for the discipline, but Belle proved to be up to the task.

“My favorite part of equitation is doing patterns. I love doing workouts,” said Brangers. “Belle and I worked on so many different workouts together that now I think that’s what we look forward to the most. She is just such a beautiful equitation horse. She’s so fluid. When it comes to patterns, she trusts me implicitly to lead her where she needs to go, and I don’t take that for granted. Every time we go to a show, I beg the gods for a hard workout because I know that she can do it. The more complicated it is, the more she will shine.”

For many youth riders, aging out of their junior exhibitor years means letting their equitation horse move on to bring another young rider through the ranks. Brangers is now a college graduate, several years into the adult amateur ranks, living in Georgia where she works in the TV and film industry. Belle remains with her longtime trainer Webb at Louisville Equestrian Center in Kentucky. But Belle has a home for life with Brangers and Webb, and their partnership perseveres.

“Every time I come back to Kentucky, the minute I’m in town, I text Betsy and go, ‘When can I come ride?’ And then I ride as many times as I can fit in during the time that I’m there,” said Brangers. “And then I go back to Georgia and wait for the next time I can come back or I meet them at the next show. We’ve had so many years together, I think we benefit from our past every time we meet in the ring. She knows who I am and she knows what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from her. I think that has really benefited me in this kind of transitional period of my life.”

During her junior years, Brangers would visit Belle nearly every day and spend quality time with her, even if she wasn’t riding her that day. It didn’t take long for Belle to recognize the sound of Brangers’s footsteps in the barn aisle and perk up when she came to visit. To see the pair interact today is to witness a horse and human who have developed a seamless communication and a comfortable relationship through more than a decade together.

“I’ll scratch her under her blankets, because I know she likes it. But if I scratch other places, the minute she’s had enough of it, she’ll let me know. She’ll walk away or just stare at me very intently,” said Brangers. “I think she’s learned how to communicate what she wants from me as long as I listen to her. I think that was a bit of a learning curve growing up. When you’re young, you don’t really know how to read their body language, but the longer you’re with a horse, the more you get to learn their personality and what they want.

“I used to joke that she’s such a diva. She wants her stuff when she wants it,” Brangers continued. “But every time I come home, it’s more clear to me. She’s not a diva at all, she just wants love. I come back, and she’s so sweet, she’s like, ‘Can you please pet me and give me treats?’”