8-Year-Old Pony Trainer Addy Kenley is Saving For Her Future and Helping Kill-Pen Ponies in the Process

By: Brittany Bevis

“Addy was born horse crazy, I think. She lives and breathes horses. She doesn’t play with dolls or toys really… never really did. She would rather be in the barn. She bums rides on other people’s horses by offering to ‘cool them off.'” – Kristin Kenley

In just a few words, Kristin perfectly describes the essence of her 8-year-old daughter Addy, who has become known around these parts of Texas as “The Pony Trainer.” Spunky, ambitious, and determined, Addy has combined her love of helping unwanted and untrained ponies with her desire to save enough money to buy her own show horse with a pony training business she calls Addy’s Pony Pals.

This adventure began last year on Addy’s birthday, when a miniature, blue roan, tobiano stallion named “Stormy” walked into her life. “We were working in the barn when a friend pulled up with a trailer,” Kristin says. “He had an adorable miniature stud that he was trying to sell. Addy, of course, fell in love and sweet-talked her dad into buying him for her. She named him Stormy.”

“He was a naughty, little stinker. He bucked Addy off the first time we tried to lead her around on him. We got him gelded, and he started to mellow some. Addy would spend every day dragging that poor pony around the property. She and her brother Tanner are homeschooled, so when she wasn’t doing schoolwork, she was working with Stormy. Before long that little pony was so broke she could do anything with him. She would lope him around the arena, go on trail rides around the property, and she even taught him to jump small jumps.”

Addy’s parents, Kristin and Blair Kenley, own and operate KB Ranch, a training and boarding facility in Aubrey, TX. Located about an hour away is a local auction that many unwanted horses and ponies pass through on their way to the kill pen. After seeing a video of a kill pen pony that was set to be shipped off to slaughter, Addy decided she could do something to help.

“We talked to Addy about how a lot of these ponies don’t get trained really well, because grown ups are too big to ride them,” Kristin says. “We came up with the idea of Addy training the rescued ponies, so they could find new homes, and also so parents could find a safe pony for their kids.”

The first pony Addy sold through her new venture was Stormy. Although she was very fond of Stormy, Addy knew he was headed for a good home. Since that time, Addy has sold four ponies and currently has ten more in training.

“Addy stalks [the auction’s] Facebook page and watches for ponies,” Kristin says. “They actually know her by name now, and they let us know when they have ponies come in. Also, she has found some on Craigslist or Facebook.”

“Addy buys the ponies with her money. When she sells one, she takes out what she originally paid for the pony and puts the rest into her savings account. She’s saving up her money to help buy her own show horse when she is ready to move up out of the small fry division. She wants a double registered, AQHA/APHA, all-around show horse.”

We asked Addy if she has a favorite pony she’s trained recently, but she couldn’t narrow it down to just one! “I have a couple favorites: Pepper, Cody, and Peanut,” Addy says. “Pepper is an Appaloosa mare. She’s a beautiful horse. She’s broke to death and super sweet. She’s fun to play with. Cody is an Appaloosa gelding. He was a teaser stud. They weren’t very nice to him. He’s very sweet. He’s not broke quite yet. He’s kind of scared still. Peanut is broke now. He’s going to be a little kid’s horse. He’s going to Georgia. He’s a Paint.”

Once Addy has trained the ponies, they often go to families with children between the ages of two and three. “People are looking for a pony their kids can lead each other around on and they can learn to ride,” Kristin says. “Right now, Addy is training a pony named Peanut. He’s a cute, little, bald-faced mini with two blue eyes. He’s on hold for Nick Mayabb’s son Channing. It’s really fun to see the little kids’ faces light up when they try out a pony, and getting updates and pictures afterwards is awesome.”

There is a dual purpose for Addy’s venture. First, she hopes to rescue, train, and re-home as many ponies as she can. Secondly, she is saving up to buy her own show horse one day. She currently leases a semi-retired gelding that belongs to a friend of the family, Shelley Grissom. Addy and Jay Dee’s Last Flash competes in walk-trot and small fry classes at local AQHA shows.

It’s through this tiny training operation that Kristin hopes her daughter will learn the values of honesty, integrity, how to overcome her fears, and money management. “The biggest thing I try to make sure she learns from this is honesty and integrity,” Kristin says. “She has to make sure these ponies are very safe. I tell her all the time that we have to make sure we tell the people looking at them if we think the pony isn’t a good fit or safe for their child. It’s important to be honest when you’re selling ponies, so kids can enjoy them and be safe.”

“Also, she is learning to overcome her fears. There are still days where a pony will buck or rear or spook and she gets scared and upset. That’s when I step in and help calm her down. Then, we will figure out why the pony did what it did and decide how we can teach it not to do it again.”

According to Addy, her favorite things to teach the ponies are how to jump small fences and go on trail rides. “Sometimes I have to teach them not to do naughty things like rear up or buck with me on them,” Addy says.

Addy does receive a bit of help in the financial department from her parents, but, for the most part, she pays for everything herself. “The only thing her father and I pay for is feeding the ponies,” Kristin says. “Addy even pays for her own farrier work on the ponies.”

“She has a goal of how much she needs to buy a show horse, and she has to be judicial in how she uses the money she earns. She bought a pony saddle the other day and several bridles and bits with her own money. She’s learning that maybe she doesn’t need that fancy piece of tack. Maybe the plain work version will be just fine, and she can put more of her money toward her show horse fund.”

Of course, when Addy grows up, she wants to be a horse trainer.

Click here to Addy’s Pony Pals on Facebook.

Scroll below to view more pictures of Addy and her ponies.