Dat Flowing Bunny

Details: 2001 AQHA gelding by Whose Dat Bunny and out of Hota Moore, by He Hota. Barn name: Flo Jo. Owned and ridden by: Chayni Chamberlain of Stephenville, Texas. Born to ride: Chayni started competing at junior rodeos on her dad’s horse Ringo. “He was lots of fun and taught me a lot about riding correct,” she says. Then, at the ripe age of 7, she stepped up to her mom’s horse Flo Jo and shares, “We’ve just kept going ever since.” The pair won the 2014 youth Better Barrel Races title, made it to the semifinals of 2014’s The American, and placed second at this year’s Salt Lake City ERA rodeo. But Chayni confides that, “My most favorite moment is when Flo ran the fastest time at the OKC BBR finals, putting us into the No. 1 spot to come back in the finals. This was out of over 1,500 entries!” Hereditary horsemanship: Her parents, Casey and Callie, are accomplished riders, but she’s put in plenty of saddle time herself. Chayni exclaims, “I’m the exerciser! (Flo’s) fun to ride because he’s so smooth.” She also rides with her friend Lilly. “We both have ponies and run barrels bareback on them; it’s fun!” Fun with Flo: Callie reveals, “(Flo’s) funny with Chayni. They have their own special bond.” As many young riders do, Chayni spends much of her time outside of the competition arena enjoying Flo. “I like giving him baths,” she shares. “We play chase out in the pasture; he likes to hide behind the round pen. We also bring steers up for my dad to rope. I like to jump on the trampoline by Flo Jo. His pen is right beside the house, so he usually eats grass while I jump.” Life of the barn: Callie says that around the barn, Flo’s “a total ham. He can be pretty bossy. When he thinks he needs fed, he pops his feed trough so loudly you can hear it in the house, even at 2 a.m. He loves apple and carrot treats.”

... Alexis Bennett