Count On Me
Session pro photos by Rachel Griffin Photography.
Grace Riley and A Certain Red Vette relied on each other when they needed it most – and that friendship propelled them back to the top at the 2025 Sun Circuit.
By Delores Kuhlwein
“You can count on me like one, two, three, I’ll be there,” sings Bruno Mars in Count On Me, a song about best friends and unrelenting devotion. For Grace Riley and A Certain Red Vette, their friendship reflects that same loyalty – an allegiance they both rely upon.
“Pistol,” a 2011 sorrel AQHA gelding by Certain Potential and out of Zips Red Cora Vette, was and is Grace’s first horse, best friend, and patient teacher, explain her mom, Laura Hulse, and stepdad, Walt Hulse.
“Leigh Berryhill and Spencer Zimmerman introduced them to each other in a practice arena at Congress in 2021 when Grace was riding as a nine year old,” Laura says. “Ever since, she has wanted to spend as much time as possible getting to know him and rides him as long as she is allowed. Leigh, Leonard and Mandie Berryhill have worked endlessly to get this team to communicate, work together and have fun. Grace did her first loping class with him and went on to quickly learn how exciting lead changes and Western Riding were.”
Mandie Berryhill agrees, “They have a very special relationship – he is her heart horse, that is for sure, and they are a great team. She has learned so much with that horse, such as if you put in the work and have patience, you will be rewarded.”
Grace and Pistol also happen to be the same age, fourteen, and Grace says she “loves the fact that no matter what has happened they have gone through it together and will continue to do so!”
What happened, unfortunately, in the fall of 2024, was Grace injuring herself during school basketball tryouts – the day before she was set to leave for Congress. “Winning the 13 & Under Western Riding at Congress has been a goal of hers for a long time, and she had been preparing diligently with Pistol, so she was determined to still go and ‘see what she could do’,” explains Laura.
When they arrived in Ohio, the family learned Pistol had colicked on the trip to Columbus. “Dr. Tony and Leigh tried everything they could to avoid surgery,” Laura reveals. “Despite their best efforts, he did have to go to OSU and ultimately have surgery in the early morning. They took excellent care of him at OSU, and we prayed he would make it through surgery. Once he was through surgery, we prayed for him to make it through early recovery and get stable enough to come back to Oklahoma. ICU hours were infrequent, but we visited him as much as we could to try to let him know his people were with him and he wasn’t alone.”
Love Prevails
Those visits, one might say, were gamechangers cementing an already incredible friendship. “Even though he was in a very fragile state, you could see that Pistol lit up when Grace was able to first see him,” Laura reveals. “She was able to hold him and hug his neck and he noticed her knee brace immediately. It was a heartbreaking but special moment to see the two of them injured together side by side, leaning on each other and we knew he was feeling better when he turned his head to look for that nibble.”
Grace persevered at Congress, staying and competing with Sudden Vital Signs, aka “Rudy,” a new all around partner, and they had success despite her injury. But Walt and Laura were most proud of her sportsmanship. “Grace could be seen constantly supporting her friends and the rest of the barn as they competed throughout the show, on the sidelines, helping to get ready, etc.”
When they returned to Oklahoma, the Hulses found Grace did need surgery, and they admit the surgery was painful and the recovery was challenging, both physically and emotionally.
“PT became her new practice, and she was fortunate enough that her main physical therapist, Bethany, grew up riding (still has her 34 year old best friend) and understood how much it meant to Grace to get back in the saddle. Further she knew exactly what muscles Grace would need to build up to make this happen,” says Laura. Also, “Leigh, Leonard, and Mandie kept her spirits up by sending lots of videos of her boys and checking in on her and she got to spend time with them (even if it wasn’t riding) to keep their connection strong.”
But despite the struggles, like a typical horse girl, Grace had a goal in mind, explains Laura. “Each day her constant motivation to push through was ‘I have to do this to get back on my horse…. I have to do this if I want to ride again’. Days turned into months, and she was finally cleared to ride a couple weeks before Sun Circuit.”
The day she was cleared, they went straight from the doctor’s office to the barn, and her smile lit up the arena. “My world was back, and I was the happiest girl in the world,” she says. After a few rides, they made the decision to come early to Arizona so Grace, Pistol and Rudy could practice doing what they love, and that included Western Riding. Though Grace felt a bit nervous and unprepared coming into the show, she explains, “I had faith in my team and my horses, and I knew they would lead me through the right way.”
Pistol the Powerhouse
The right way meant Pistol and Grace won the 13 & Under Western Riding circuit for the third year in a row. And the two best buds were back, with Pistol living up to his name, explains Mandie, “as the easiest horse to show Western Riding, but the hardest to prepare. It’s so very cute to watch them warming up because of how Pistol acts (like a giraffe who will spook for the first five minutes), then he gives her 110 percent every time.”
Watch a glimpse of their stellar Western Riding performance at the 2025 Arizona Sun Circuit, thanks to Tammy Bogart of All That Show Clothing:
Grace agrees that while “the warmup arena isn’t always easy, NO MATTER WHAT he always gives his heart when we go in to show. I love him so much.”
Although Pistol can be a challenging horse, Grace explains, she also says he’s the sweetest horse she has ever known. “He has quirks just like me, and that is what makes us the best team. My favorite thing to do usually involves Pistol, whether it is lead changes in the arena or quiet moments in the barn. Having walked through our surgeries & recoveries together our bond is stronger than it has ever been. We are also tougher than we have ever been and are looking forward to this year and achieving our goals together!”
Their true partnership earned the team their first big win 13 & Under Western Riding at the 2022 L1 West Championship, and they’ve won many circuits in Western Riding, Trail, Horsemanship, and more over the years. But Sun Circuit is one of their favorite shows, so coming back to win the 13 & Under Western Riding for the third year in a row, a goal she had set at the beginning of the year, was a dream come true. But, Grace adds, “Just to ride together was a win.”
Other top highlights Pistol and Grace have earned include Reserve 13& Under Youth Western Riding at the 2023 American Quarter Horse Congress. She also tied for Reserve L1 Youth Western Riding at the Congress in 2023 (but lost in the tie breaker). She has many Top Five and Top 10 at the NSBA World shows with Pistol in various classes and was most recently Top 5 at the 2024 NSBA World show in the Youth Western Riding!
Photo by Shane Rux Photography, courtesy of the All American Quarter Horse Congress.
Official High Point Awards with Pistol:
- #1 High Point Youth Level 1 Western Riding for AQHA 2023
- #1 High Point Year End for Level 1 Western Riding for NSBA 2023
- #2 High Point Youth Level 2 Western Riding for AQHA 2024
- #2 High Point Youth Western Riding 13 & Under for NSBA 2024
- #4 High Point Level 2 Youth Western Riding AQHA 2023
- #5 High Point Level 1 Youth Trail AQHA 2023
- #7 High Point Level 3 Youth Western Riding AQHA 2023
- #8 High Point Level 3 Youth Western Riding AQHA 2024
She has also achieved the OKQHA Youth All Around Award in 2022, 2023, and 2024 and the OKQHA 13 & Under All Around Award in 2023 and 2024.
Keeping the Edge
The duo keeps their edge with exercises during the summer like western riding bridleless to advance their technique, and by practicing lead changes during warmups for other classes, such as trail, because as Grace says, “It’s what makes him happy and calms his mind.”
“Of course, riding with the Berryhills, Grace is under the tutelage of the King of Western Riding, Leonard Berryhill, and together he, Leigh, and Mandie always come up with new things for them to try. Trying new things in different ways helps to keep Grace and Pistol sharp and growing in this class,” Laura adds.
All in all, winning on all eight cards at Sun Circuit in 13 & Under Western Riding represents much more than a title to Grace – it was about friendship, and keeping the faith, and working hard every day to see a dream come to life. She proclaims, “No matter what, you don’t give up and never stop pushing or believing in yourself.”
