Jaden Musgrove and her horse “Uno” took the top spot in the Open 4D division at the National Barrel Horse Association’s State Finals this weekend at the Covington Center Arena.

‘It was very exciting,” Musgrove said. “It was the first title that I’ve ever won and I did it on a horse that hasn’t been running barrels for quite a year.”

Not only had Musgrove’s horse “Uno” been running barrels for a year but Musgrove actually trained the horse. The 13-year-old said she a little help from her grandmother along the way, but that most of the work was done by Musgrove.

Musgrove said she has been riding since she was around 4-years-old and this was the first time she fully trained her own horse.

“There is a lot of work that goes into it,” Musgrove said of training a horse to run barrels. “Uno has been pretty easy, though. He is really smart and catches on quickly.”

Musgrove said that lots of slow work goes into training the horse.

“Walking, trotting and slow runs are what you start with,” Musgrove said. “The most important thing is get their turns down before adding speed.”

Winning on a horse she trained is something Musgrave said she loves.

“It’s really fun and exciting when you win on a horse that you trained yourself,” Musgrove said. “I’ve been very proud of how he run so far.”

Musgrove will now go on to compete in the NBHA World Finals in July.

This will be the second year in row that Musgrove has made it to the NBHA World Finals.

Although she isn’t a part of the Alabama Junior High School Rodeo Association this year, Musgrove said that she will still be competing in rodeos nearly every weekend.