Madison Jacob is soft-spoken and reserved, but she quickly opens up when the topic shifts to her horse Marty.
The two have a connection – and they also share a championship pedigree. Jacob recently captured 4-H State Grand Champion honors at the LSU AgCenter Horse Show. It is the third state championship the Hahnville High student has garnered – she won her first in 2019 at just 10 years old.
“It was a lot of hard work,” Jacob said.
Jacob’s mother Gaynell said this time was perhaps less about the win itself for her daughter than the experience she shared with the friends she’s made through 4-H.
“I think that third time was more about what she accomplished with the horse and being with her friends in 4H, cheering each other on,” said Jacob’s mother Gaynell. “There’s a group of girls from different parishes that she met through 4-H and I think having the chance to do that with them meant the most to her. When it’s hard, they lean on each other and bring each other up.”
Madison’s brother Dylan played a big role in inspiring her love of riding.
“He started riding horses, and ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted a horse,” Jacob said. “So, he started riding and he got his own horse. He got me into it. I wanted one so badly.”
Dylan would also compete in 4-H and Madison recalled watching his competitions. She knew that when the time came, she wanted to follow suit, and when she turned 10 she entered her first 4-H competition.
She was a fast learner – she won that very first competition, and along with it her very first state championship.
That championship came with one of Marty’s predecessors, Kitty, who was experienced in quarter horse competitions and meshed with Jacob well.
Then there was Fancy, a rescue horse and the first horse Jacob ever rode on.
Frosty, meanwhile, became Jacob’s very first pony of her own. And as his name would imply – he took a little while to warm up to people at first.
“He’d gone through a lot and he didn’t really like people at first,” Jacob said. “Nobody rode him because he was terrified of people.”
Jacob earned his trust.
“I rode him and he and I had a connection,” Jacob said. “And I still have him to this day.”
This year’s championship win came with Marty, a quarter horse that Jacob was instantly drawn to.
“We went all the way to Texas for him. He was really fat,” Jacob quipped as to why she liked him so much. “He also had a lot of muscle. He’s just really big – plus, his birthday was the day after mine.”
He can also be a challenge.
“He’s got an attitude like that,” Jacob said. “He’s only seven.”
Of course, becoming a three-time champion doesn’t just happen by accident. Jacob works hard at it with her trainer, Steve Naquin, at Rocking N’ Ranch in Des Allemands, practicing her patterns for competition and caring for her horse on hot morning after hot morning.
When the day of competition comes, Jacob is eager, not just to try to win, but to compete against some of her closest friends.
Jacob has also trained other young riders herself.
Gaynell said that her daughter being a part of 4-H has brought countless benefits – great friendships as well as learning about responsibility and accountability.
“It brings people from different communities, parishes together,” said Jacob. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s not just about how much you want to win or not win. It’s just how I get to see my friends.”
