TAMU Reyette Olena earns the SHTX Legacy Horse Award
By: Chastain Spiller ’24
“Reyette changed my life and I’m forever grateful for her. She taught me how to show… she just took care of me one hundred percent.” – Anissa Cervera
There is no stronger partnership than one between two individuals who need not exchange a single word to communicate, who work together seamlessly and know each other like the back of their hand, or in Reyette’s case, hoof.
TAMU Reyette Olena—a small sorrel mare—was born, raised, and trained at Texas A&M University and has made a massive impact on students during her 16 years in the equine program. She is sired by Chocolate Chic Olena and out of TAMU Rey Ette Oak, a Texas A&M-owned mare, but her pedigree is far from the only impressive thing about her.
Throughout her career as a school show horse, Reyette carried five members of the Texas A&M Ranch Horse Team, a competitive team in the Department of Animal Science, to victory at Stock Horse of Texas, SHTX, shows, qualifying her for the SHTX Legacy Horse Award.
The SHTX Legacy Horse Award highlights horses that have taken at least three different riders to the top ten at the premier or year-end SHTX shows in three separate calendar years and have excelled in all four SHTX events: cow work, trail, pleasure, and reining. Reyette was presented this award at the SHTX year-end banquet on Saturday, March 2 at the Brazos County Expo Center.
Reyette’s legacy began in 2015 with Anissa Cervera, coming in 5th at the Collegiate Novice Year End, then bringing home 1st place the next year. After that, Reyette was paired with Kayte Weeks in 2017 and Tristan Bowen in 2018, both placing 9th in the Limited Non-Pro World Show. In 2019, she and Reagan Loxton were 8th at the Collegiate Novice Year End. Reyette’s final partner on the Ranch Horse Team was Jarrett Haydon, who rode her to 2nd place at the Novice World Show in 2020 before she was retired from the team.
This impressive list of accomplishments is a testament to Reyette’s talents and training, as well as the skill and dedication of her riders. The honor of the Legacy Horse Award is an incredible achievement for Reyette, the university, and the Ranch Horse Team. Yet what truly makes this mare and horses like her special are not the awards, trophies, saddles, or bragging rights. It is the lessons and experiences gained from the time spent with this horse that will stick with her riders, long after the glory of the awards ceremony fades.
“My background was limited when it came to Stock Horse of Texas, but Reyette was the one who helped get me comfortable working cattle and introduced me to all the events,” said Taylor Helms, a member of the Ranch Horse Team from the spring of 2017 to the spring of 2019, who also rode Reyette. “We also travelled to many reputable trainers across the state, and I was proud to have her as a partner and teacher. She was always reliable, was forgiving of me while I was learning, and helped me win top ten titles during that semester. I’ll never forget the first time I ever worked a cow. I was a bit terrified and had no idea what to do, but when I stepped up to the cow, she just about took over and made it look like I had the slightest clue of what was going on!”
This sentiment is shared by several team members who showed Reyette, stating that her temperament and talent not only helped them reach success in the showpen, but also pushed them to become better horsemen overall.
Jarrett Haydon recalled his experience with Reyette, explaining his regrets of not pushing her to her full potential in the first round of the 2020 World Show. “I just remember going into the second show thinking ‘I’ve got one of the best horses here. There is no reason why I shouldn’t be competing for the top spot in every class,’” Haydon said. His frustration with their performance in the first half of that show unlocked a drive in him to excel in the second half, doing justice to his abilities as well as his horse’s.
“This is not something everybody gets to do, and I feel special for that, but this is something I need to take advantage of if I can,” he said.
“We were one out of the top ten, and I was so peeved…” said Anissa Cervera when looking back on her first World Show on the Ranch Horse Team, at which she rode Reyette. She spent the next year riding a different school horse but was thrilled to have the opportunity to once again be partnered with Reyette the year after that.
“We needed to get down to business,” explained Cervera. That they did, earning them their place at the Collegiate Novice Year End. “When they said my name I literally couldn’t believe it, and immediately went and got Rey,” she said.
Cervera’s gratitude towards her former team and the mare she rode is boundless, stating, “That horse taught me so much and was a big reason why I am where I am today. If it wasn’t for her, if it wasn’t for Paige, and the Stock Horse Team, my life would be completely different.”
Though much of Reyette’s triumphs stem from her talent, natural demeanour, and the hard work of her riders, the beginning of her story is important to remember as well. Horses like her do not simply happen by accident but rather are shaped by every rider and trainer they encounter. With that, there is a great deal of gratitude to be dealt to the graduate students, team members, students, and coaches who worked so hard to help shape Reyette into what she became.
“I think that’s what is so special about it because, what people have done in the past, people that I know that helped start some of the school horses, they did all those things with the intention that someday somebody would be able to go out and win something on that horse, representing the school,” Haydon said.
Though her days in the arena have passed, Reyette’s legacy will carry on in the Texas A&M equine program in the Department of Animal Science, a legacy that has already begun. The night before she was honored with the SHTX Legacy Award, Reyette welcomed a foal by Fiddle and Steel. There is no doubt that Reyette has left a lasting impression on this program, and the hearts of each and every one of her former partners.