A Heart to Serve

Cavannah Hansen uses her talents and horses to help others in a variety of ways.

- ABIGAIL BOATWRIGHT

Cavannah Hansen's love for horses grew from a small seed-a simple pony ride at the fair. Now 15 years old, she has grown C as a horsewoman and achieved much in competition, but she's also taken her passion for horses and turned it into service toward others. Here's how the Declo, Idaho, teen is using her gifts to lift up her community.

Cavannah was adopted into the Hansen family when she was 2 years old. When she was 5, she begged to go on the pony ride when the family went to the California State Fair. This was a core memory for her.

"I fell in love with that horse going around the circle," she says. "His name was Scarecrow. I just kind of clung to him and wanted to go back to the fair and ride that horse again."

Life with Horses

A few years later, her older sister Chloe got a horse, so Cavannah would go watch her ride. At 8 years old, Cavannah climbed back into the saddle and felt the desire to go fast.

"I just wanted to ride the horse-it always made me super happy," she says.

Five of the 11 Hansen children rode at one point. When Cavannah was 10, she joined 4-H and improved her horsemanship skills with the help of a trainer named Lawrence Valdez. With his help, the family purchased a reining horse named Emma for Chloe, and when she moved on to another horse, Cavannah began riding Emma. Although they dabbled in other disciplines, the girls began competing in reining.

Today, only Chloe and Cavannah still ride. Cavannah rides a 5-year-old palomino named Hotshot Dunnit.

"He's a really good, solid horse," she says.