Showing horses is a family affair for the Flowers family of Ocala, Florida. Both Makayla, 18, and 14-year-old brother, Ryan, show under the guidance of Kim and Curtis Reynolds of Final Four Performance Horses, in Fairfield, Florida. The family has lived all over the country from the Northeast to the Midwest before finally putting down roots in Ocala, Florida two years ago. Throughout every move the one constant for Makayla was horses.

“When I was 2, my parents took me to the Big E in Springfield Massachusetts and I refused to get off the ponies at the pony ride,” Makayla recalls fondly. “By the time I was 6, I was showing at my trainer’s farm and in open shows with my pony, Champion.”

Makayla’s first Quarter Horse was Country Treasure (Tali) a 1996 cremello gelding by BTS Country Cowboy and out of Patriotic Treasure. She showed him in Walk-Trot All- Around Events before moving up to Youth All-Around classes. Together they showed in everything from Hunter Under Saddle to Barrel Racing and Pole Bending. The Flowers recently lost Tali due to a severe leg injury, which broke Makayla’s heart because she says he was her favorite horse.

For her 13th birthday, Makayla’s grandmother purchased her a 2003 AQHA gelding named Don’t Skip The Chips (Skippy) by Zips Chocolate Chip. It was with him that she first got involved with AQHA. Together the team showed in Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation, Showmanship, Halter, Horsemanship and Western Pleasure. But a rare cancer, called Osteocondrosarcoma, started in his jaw, spread to his lungs and eventually claimed the life of Skippy in 2008.

When the family moved to Florida in 2012 they started searching for the perfect training facility and quickly found that at Final Four.

“Makayla is one of the most hardworking, dedicated and focused kids I have ever met,” says Kim Reynolds. “Sometimes she gets so focused she can actually look through people, but she is actually very nice once you get to know her.”

This year, under the guidance of Final Four, Makayla is showing Formally Yours, a 2008 sorrel mare by The Invitation and out of Zipped N Scotch, in Trail, Horsemanship, Equitation, Western Riding and Performance Halter. Together the team finished fifth in the AQHA and third in NSBA at the Quarter Horse Congress in Youth Ranch Horse Pleasure and won Trail and Horsemanship at the AQHA Novice Championships East last October. Makayla also shows Invested In Cookies, a 2004 bay gelding by Principle Investment and out of A Cookie For Cookie, in Showmanship.

“I love being able to show off what my horses and I can do and how far we have come,” Makayla says. “I was told by many people that Formally Yours wasn’t good enough and I needed a new horse to be able to succeed at the higher level AQHA shows. Overall I love being able to prove people wrong and show them we can do it.”

In addition to showing AQHA All Around classes Makayla also competes in over fences events with the help of Lee Paul Shinn. Teamed with her 2007 gelding, Air Zip, Makayla competes in Novice Youth and Youth Hunter Hack, Equitation Over Fences and Working Hunter.

Makayla has been homeschooled most of her life which has allowed her to show more often. She graduated high school early in 2013 and would like to attend cosmetology school to learn to do hair, makeup, nails and facials.

When she’s not at a horse show you can usually find Makayla in the kitchen with her father, Royce, who is a chef, or in the Roping pen with her boyfriend, Levi Brito. Whether it’s pulling the hot heels or roping with him, she loves every minute of it.

Makayla is also an avid photographer thanks to her mother, Rachel, and says she would like to travel to Alaska one day to view the wildlife and experience the raw beauty.

“Most people would be surprised to learn that I know basic construction and know how to use many power tools,” Makayla says. “I also get extremely excited when anything about muscle cars comes on TV or there’s a car show in town”

Though she favors the All-Around events Makayla says her favorite class to watch at a horse show is Cutting because she loves watching the connection the horses have with the cattle and being able to see the true natural talent and ability of the horses.