Ryan Stille, 15-year-old son of Kelly and Geno Stille, was born in Napa, California, but the family of six relocated to Colleyville, Texas when he was just 7-years-old. It was around this time that Stille became interested in horses –  thanks to his mother.

“My mom actually got me into it because she showed Paint horses when she was a youth. When we moved, she still knew a lot of people who were showing from when she was a kid,” explains Stille. Andrea Simons was among those good friends. Stille and his family started going to some shows to watch and learn, and eventually bought his first youth horse at the Fort Worth Stock Show.

The very next year, Stille was in the pen competing.

Today he is an accomplished rider and competes under the guidance of  Jeffery Gibbs of Sanger, Texas. Last year, he and T Town Sensation (Nikki), an 11-year-old gelding by Zippos Sensation, were the American Junior Paint Horse Association Youth Reserve High Point earners, showing in Western Pleasure, Showmanship, Hunter Under Saddle, Horsemanship and Trail. In the middle of hauling for the High Point, Stille and Nikki attended the APHA Youth World Championship Show where they earned World Championship titles in both 13 & Under and Novice Trail, Horsemanship and Showmanship. While at that show they also snagged the Western and 13 & Under High-Point titles.

Stille also shows in Trail with A Western Sensation, a 2008 gelding, and in Western Pleasure with Lopin My Lazy Off, a 3-year-old gelding sired by Lazy Loper and out of Dun Zippin My Rockies.

Stille believes “lucky charms” have played a role in all his success.

“There are a couple things I wear actually,” he admits. “I always try to show in a black shirt because when we won all those World Championships, I was wearing a black shirt and decided if black’s workin’ for us then we might as well not change it.”

And it doesn’t stop there. He also reveals that he has a special watch he wears when showing and then goes on to explain a phone superstition.

“The first class of the day, I put my phone in my pocket and if I do well, I’ll keep it in my pocket, and if I do bad, I take it out.” Stille says.

There’s no doubt Stille is having a blast with the horses in the show pen, but even in his down time at the shows, he says he enjoys watching the 2-year-old classes.

“I like to see what the next generation looks like because they’re the ones affecting the industry,” he says.

His mature attitude toward the sport likely comes from his family’s involvement in the horse industry. His mother is very much involved and Stille’s twin brother, Austin, has had a very successful show career as well. In 2009 and 2010, Austin was third at the AjPHA World Show in 13 & Under Western Pleasure.

“The best part of showing is going to see all these cool places I would never get to see otherwise and I get to go with my best friends,” explains Stille. “The worst would have to be when it’s time to go home and back to normal life.”

Though his schedule is hectic and he’s away from  friends and school for days at a time, Stille says he surrounds himself with supportive people.

“My friends actually think it’s pretty cool and a lot of them want to come out to the shows and watch,” he says.

When his weekends don’t involve showing, Stille enjoys hanging out with friends, going to the movie theater, and then church on Sundays. He’s also a fan of watching Duck Dynasty on television and says his music playlist covers all genres from Biggie Smalls to Travis Tritt. Besides his three horses, Stille has a black lab, Jack, and a German Shepard named Nick that the family adopted from the pound.

Stille will be a sophomore at Grapevine High School this August and is an active member of the school’s Speech and Debate team, but says even that can be hard to find time for because of his horse show schedule. Even though graduation day isn’t until 2016, he already has his eyes on a few choice colleges that include Texas A&M, University of Southern California Berkeley and Texas Christian University.

As for horses being a part of his future career…

“Oh definitely,” says Stille. “I think I want to be a veterinarian. I want to be a horse vet that travels to all the horse shows. That really interests me.”