Rodeo is my Nature

“I was on a horse before I could even walk,” says Kenzie Gentry, a Henderson native, and accomplished equestrian.  Kenzie’s resume boasts many of her accomplishments in the rodeo world, including a Miss Congeniality award in addition to her riding wins.  The 20-year-old, who just earned an Associate of Science degree from Henderson Community College in December 2016, has dreams of turning her hobby into a career one day.  “I see myself raising a family.  Maybe a boy and a girl.  That would be my dream.  I have this big dream of owning my own ranch,” she adds. Kenzie was instrumental in helping the Henderson County Fair Board bring a rodeo to Henderson County last summer.

However, she hasn’t always been a fan of horses.  “I used to be horrified of horses.  My older sister had a horse, and I was, what we call, ‘teasing the horse.’  I was kind of poking at it and playing with it.  The horse picked me up by my shoulder and threw me across the horse stable, and I bruised my shoulder all the way down my arm.  I was horrified of horses after that.  Not too long after, though, I began taking riding lessons with my sister and started learning how to ride them.  I learned how to respect them for them to respect me.”

“Trust is earned… it’s not given.  Horses have taught me that you need to give as well as receive.  It takes both of those and mixes them together.  Your respect is earned, but you can only get as much as you give.  Horses taught me that,” Kenzie says as she ponders the meaningful life lessons she has learned through perfecting her craft. “Horses have taught me how to love and be loved back in return with absolutely no judgment.”

Kenzie’s focus and goal-driven mentality are even evidenced in the name she chose for her horse.  “The one (horse) I have now, she’s four.  Her name is Vegas.  She named after a national rodeo competition.  It’s the biggest and best.  So, I named her after that as a way to set my goal and remind myself of it every day.”

The lifelong passion she has towards horses, most definitely, makes rodeo her nature.