Mountaineering Mustangs! Throughout the month of January, we are featuring mustangs and mustang crosses.
Did you know that dressage riders who choose a mustang as their mounts are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the American Mustang & Burro Association, Inc. is a participating organization?
In this story, a rider shares how the sensitive nature of the mustang horse ended up being exactly what she needed during a tumultuous period of her life.
By Ashley Centella
I wasn’t looking for a horse to buy. I hadn’t even really considered that I might be able to have a horse of my own again after everything I had been through and all that I was struggling to survive. I was navigating how to put myself back together after leaving an abusive marriage and subsequent divorce, pushing myself to the breaking point as I separated from the United States Air Force active duty, and moved to a state I had never been to in order to pursue a degree, a certification, and maybe a new career. I hoped that learning more about horses and immersing myself in a lifelong passion might help me enjoy life again – or at least give me something solid to stand on.
On a random day early in 2022, I received a text from a family member about a nearly two-year-old mustang mare who needed a new home. She was grey, skinny, and small, but with the kind of eyes that drew you in and made you wonder about her story. Calm and kind, yet carrying an unmistakable spark. Conformationally, she was pretty solid – upright pasterns, but otherwise correct. I was conveniently taking a conformation and lameness class at the time, so it seemed right to ask the professor’s opinion, who concurred on my thoughts: upright pasterns, and a flat back, but otherwise correct.
I was told that straight off the trailer from the wild she had been friendly and curious, one of the easiest the previous owners had gentled. Still, she had a bit of a rearing problem when she didn’t get her way. She was halter-broke, could be led, and had her feet handled – and that was about it.
On May 22, 2022, I took a flight to Florida and met “Scout.” I didn’t think the name suited her, even before I met her. The moment I did, I knew: That’s my Hallow. The name had been sitting in the back of my mind for years, waiting for the right animal – though I wasn’t sure if I would ever find the one to suit it. Inspired by the 2013 film All Hallows’ Eve, it fit her perfectly. There was no hesitation, no real analysis. Something just clicked – that’s my girl.
A few months and an approved Bureau of Land Management (BLM) application later, Hallow was loaded onto a trailer and headed to New Hampshire. Even though I did not adopt her directly from the BLM, she had spent her early life in the wild in the Swasey Mountain Herd Management Area in Utah, and that background shaped who she was – sensitive, intelligent, and deeply aware of her surroundings.
Hallow presented many challenges early on. That rearing habit I’d been warned about? It was very real. If something felt too difficult, too scary, or was simply not to her liking, her feet went straight up into the air. This was the first horse I had ever trained entirely on my own, and while I had the knowledge and skills, I was scared for a time – worried I had taken on more than I could handle.
But giving up has never been part of who I am.
“Just keep moving forward” is a mindset that has carried me through some of the hardest chapters of my life, and this was no different. Hallow was worth it. I learned. I improved. I forced myself to stay present – something post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had made incredibly difficult – and to show up with consistency.
I was the weird girl at the barn, hand-picking grass out of the cross-country field to stuff into Hallow’s hay ball because it made her happy. I spent hours sitting in her paddock, talking to her and observing how she interacted with me. I was there twice a day, every day, at least three hours a day, even in the harshest weather.
For nearly two years, we focused exclusively on groundwork. She learned to ground drive, work at liberty, lunge, lie down, and master foundational skills like yielding to pressure, pivoting, backing, respecting space, tying, and more. She accepted a saddle and bit with little hesitation. Through it all, her personality shined. Hallow is incredibly intelligent, sweet, unapologetically sassy, and delightfully weird. She always has her lips moving, as if she is talking – and when she really gets going it’s almost impossible not to laugh.
Her first ride came when she was nearly four. The rearing issue was gone, and she was calm, well-mannered, and confident. I got on her in a rope halter and western saddle. She had no big reaction – just curiosity and her usual ploy to get as many snacks as possible. By our third ride, I was riding bareback in a rope halter. We progressed slowly: walking, halting, backing, and practicing lateral work she already understood on the ground.
Over the following year, we introduced the trot and canter carefully, prioritizing correct development over speed. By around the fifteenth ride, we were working bridleless, then bareback and bridleless in the round pen by around ride twenty-five. She thrived. The groundwork translated beautifully under saddle, and I finally got to see all my hard work and patience pay off. A significant bareback fall following a spook sidelined me for about a month, slowing our progress, but we returned to work once I healed.
My interest in dressage began at the University of New Hampshire, where I learned how classical dressage principles can help horses move correctly and comfortably without force, regardless of discipline.
After relocating to the Midwest, and adding a second mustang to the family, we began refining our foundation through lessons and clinics with some wonderful horsewomen. At our first dressage clinic, Hallow received numerous compliments for her conformation and presence. She continues to improve with every ride, always eager to learn (while also always reminding me that she has opinions, too).
In 2025, we attended our first county horse show, participated in multiple virtual shows with the International Liberty Horse Association, and made our dressage show debut.
That dressage show wasn’t planned… The weekend was busy, it was hot, and I wasn’t even sure I was ready – but encouragement from friends gave me the confidence to try. In the warm-up, Hallow was a bit spicy, but once we entered the show ring, she moved with confidence and focus. I have never been prouder of her.
Hallow’s personality deserves its own article/short movie. She’s a fairytale princess with a heaping helping of sass, expressive ears, and an endless quest for snacks, all packed into a 13.2-hand frame.
She greets me at the gate every day, nickers at feeding time, and communicates entirely through exaggerated facial expressions. She demands scratches by lining herself up to me, turning to look at where she’d like scratched, then staring at me. She will co-groom me while I do as she asks, but when she has had enough, she runs off with her ears pinned back. Gratitude? What’s that?
Beneath the sass and attitude is a deeply kind and intuitive horse. When I’m struggling or hurt, she slows her pace, lets me lean on her, and simply stays with me. After the loss of my 31-year-old Quarter Horse mare, Beauty, whom I had for 18 years, I was struggling to bring manure past her gravesite to where I needed to dump it. So, I would halter Hallow, and bring her with me. She would walk slowly with me and the wheelbarrow, stand quietly as I sobbed into her neck, and stand patiently next to me after I took her halter off before joining her herd. She knew I needed her.
Hallow gave me purpose when I had none. She gave me something worth fighting for – and in doing so, helped give me my life back. Dressage gave us direction and a framework to grow within, but partnership gave us meaning. She reminded me that healing doesn’t happen all at once, but through patience, commitment, and the courage to keep showing up. She isn’t “just a mustang.” She is an exceptional horse who chose to walk through life with me.
Wonderful story. 😊 ❤️