For Abby and Emma Gabriel, horses aren’t just a hobby — they’re part of home.
The sisters walk out of their Colbert home each morning straight into the connected barn, where eight horses wait to be fed, brushed and ridden. It’s a routine they’ve known for as long as they can remember.
“We’ve had horses since we were little,” said Abby, 15, who will be a sophomore at Oglethorpe County High School. “We’ve both been on horses before we could walk.”
Both girls competed at this year’s Georgia 4-H State Horse Show in Perry earlier this month, riding in the ranch horse division and qualifying for the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championships in late July.
The sisters each competed in several events, placing in the top 10 in Ground Handling, Ranch Rail and Ranch Riding. Each event is designed to showcase a horse and rider’s ability to handle obstacles, follow patterns and demonstrate control in a working ranch style.
Emma, 11, and headed to sixth grade at OCMS, placed sixth overall in the Cloverleaf Ranch Division, competing with Gaybars Superstar or better known as “Bunny.”
Abby earned seventh overall in the Senior Ranch Division, riding Who Whiz Golden, or “Whiz.”
This year marks a comeback year following Whiz’s injury the past season.
“We didn’t do all the classes because he hadn’t worked up to exactly where I wanted him to be,” Abby said. “We’re working with him and stuff to get him more conditioned and just build up his knowledge and get him remembering stuff for regionals.”
The 15-year-old spends much of her time training the family horses, a skill passed on from her mother, Stephanie Gabriel, a veterinary surgery technician at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
“(Whiz has) really helped me with the aspect of training them and getting ready to train my other horse that’s a lot younger than him,” Abby said. “That was pretty much the whole goal with him for me and my mom. (It) was for her to teach me how to do all this stuff on him so that it transfers over, and it’s a lot easier for me to do with my other horse when the time came.”
Stephanie grew up showing and training horses, and made sure her daughters had the same opportunities.
“I just think that it’s a good way to grow up and it keeps them out of trouble and keeps them busy,” she said. “It takes some guts to get out there and, you know, put yourself out there.”
Outside of horses, the Gabriels also raise pigs and dairy goats. Abby, who participates in the Future Farmers of America along with 4-H, has experience with livestock and dairy judging.
“I'm getting more focused on livestock that aren’t the horses,” she said. “I want to continue raising the goats, and then probably raise some show pigs just because I like that. Pigs are super fun.”
Both girls still have a couple years competing with 4-H, and Abby already has goals to continue working in animal science after high school.
She and Emma agree that the lessons they’ve learned in the barn and memories they’ve shared in the ring with their horses have shaped them in lasting ways.
“I think that they’re really interesting animals because there’s so many different breeds of horses, and there’s so many different sizes and types of horses,” Emma said “I really just like riding them, their personalities and spending time with them.”