She's a mere slip of a girl on a tiny horse, but even the most seasoned professionals take notice when they enter the show ring. Twelve-year-old Amanda Graber, with her little Paint Horses mare, Ima Hugable Jet, is as comfortable competing against trainers four times her age as she is in a class for youth.

They are a force to contend with. Mandy is there to do a job and she does it well. The sixth-grader, whose horse topped four APHA Honor Rolls in Western Pleasure in 1998, is all business.
"She's pretty dangerous in the ring," said Jim Isley, a longtime Paint Horse breeder, trainer and APHA judge who has competed with the 12 -year-old.
"She's little Miss Perfect. When she and her horse are in a class, I know I'm probably going to come in second. But I don't mind being beaten by that team."
"I've judged her and shown with her. If I was looking for the ideal picture of a youth or amateur and their horse, they would be it," continued the Reidsville, North Carolina, horseman.
"Amanda is very exceptional. She's a perfectionist and is mature beyond her years."

Ima Hugable Jet's show statistics support Isley's claim. The numbers are also a credit to Mandy's father, Neil, who trained the mare and shows her in Amateur and Open classes. This year, Mandy and Neil took turns showing "Fancy" in Open classes. "They would see how the judges scored them in Youth and Amateur, and whoever did best rode Fancy in the Open," said Mandy's mother, Roxanne.

In 1998, the little horse Neil has called a "midget" got its first taste of glory when it won all four Western Pleasure Honor Rolls. Although APHA does not have a list of the number of Honor Rolls on which every registered horse has placed, Ima Hugable Jet is probably the first horse to win four Honor Rolls in the same performance class, according to the APHA Performance Department.

With Mandy in the saddle, Fancy won Youth 13 & Under Western Pleasure. Neil rode the 5 year old mighty mite to firsts on the Junior Western Pleasure, Amateur Western Pleasure, and Open All Ages eastern Pleasure lists.

In 1999, Fancy seemed determined to defend some of the titles. As of September 1, she was Number 1 in Youth 13 & Under Western Pleasure with a sizable lead. At that time, she also was first in Open Senior Western Pleasure, fourth in Amateur Western Pleasure, and sixth in Open Western Pleasure All Ages.

Yes, big things do come in small packages.

Going to Carolina

When watching Mandy and Fancy in the show ring, it would be easy to assume the two were made for each other. The pair seem to be a natural combination - like the wooden swing and its balcony support found on one of the Grabers' two teal-colored barns.

Located in gently rolling hills 20 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina, Lope-Along-Acres is home to the Grabers and their 25 Paint Horses. In 1994, the family traded city life in Charlotte for country living near the tiny town of Alexis.

Roxanne and Neil still take country roads and Interstate 85 to Charlotte, where they operate their spa and hot tub business. But their hearts remain at the 23-acre farm that includes a one-story house, tow barns with 16 stalls, an indoor arena and round pen. Hog Jaws and Peanuts, the family's black-and-white Jack Russell terriers, defend their turf as several cats and kittens meander around the barns or snuggle against the saddles in the office.

On weekdays, Mandy jumps off the school bus at 4 p.m., does her homework, then heads for the barns where she works with the horses until dark. Mandy can discuss each horse's pedigree as easily as other 12-year-olds girls can tick off the names of their favorite singers and rock bands.

But Fancy is Mandy's favorite. When they are in the ring, girl and horse flow in a soft, easy ride that looks effortless. Mandy is completely engrossed in their performance. Fancy listens to Mandy, who makes few corrections, with a quiet expression.

But that wasn't always the case.

When Fancy was offered for sale two months after the show, Mandy saw her again on a video. She wanted a horse for her 10th birthday, but not just any horse would do.

"I wanted HER," Mandy said. Mandy had paid her dues, spend the previous two years caring for and grooming her parents' horses. Neil had been bitten by the equine bug after riding with Roxanne's grandfather in the hills north of San Diego during a family trip.

"I had ridden horses years ago at Texas A&I University," said Neil, a native Texan. "Finally, I had the time to fool with them when we got the farm."

After buying a couple of Quarter Horses, the Grabers eventually attended a Paint Horse Show.

"We really enjoyed it," Neil said. "The people were competitive, but nice."

The family was so impressed that they bought their first Paint Horse, MLB Tuff E Nuff, a 7 -year-old tobiano mare by MLB Supreme and out of Sonnys Tarheel AQHA.

After talking with several trainers ("I'll pick their brains mercilessly," Neil said), he decided to train "Tuffy" himself.

The novice trainer apparently had the winning touch. In 1997, Neil made Tuffy the all-time high-point Novice Amateur Horse in Western Pleasure. That same year, Lop-Along-Acres' black overo mare, JRs Onyx Affair, was the high-selling horse at the World Showcase Sale.

Neil continued to do his own training. His 4-year old buckskin tobiano stallion, Color Dynamics, holds a Superior in Western Pleasure, and now is being shown in Hunter Under Saddle.

But Neil had no idea what was in store for him when he bought his daughter Ima Hugable Jet.

Mandy was thrilled when she saw the mare, but her excitement quickly turned to fear the first time she tried to ride her. Fancy took off like a shot in the arena with the frightened little girls on board.

"She raced around the arena," Roxanne recalled. "It was scary. Mandy didn't have the strength to pull her nose to knee, but she finally stopped her."

Not surprisingly, Mandy was not eager to ride Fancy again. Neil was also concerned for his young daughter's safety.

"I thought I had made a mistake," he said. "I thought I had stepped into deep water. I was a novice at training. Fancy was only green-broke.

"The horse was a blithering idiot, but she had talent. She had been trained to do things a certain way at a certain time, but a 10 year-old girl didn't have the strength to do it."

Neil knew he had his work cut out for him if Mandy was ever going to ride Fancy again.

Dad to the rescue

Fancy became Neil's project. He worked with her daily, trying to teach the mare necessary skills as he struggled to understand the way she thought.

"It took him about six months to figure her out," Roxanne said. "He taught her to do what was needed and to listen."

But she certainly was a challenge. Despite her petite appearance, the little 950-pound mare was a dynamo.

"Fancy has tons of energy," Neil said. "She prefers to lope. If she's in a round pen and wants to see something, she'll lope to it.

"We have to lunge her 20 to 30 minutes each way before Mandy can climb on board." Fancy is bright and curious, and likes to explore anything new.

"If she hasn't been somewhere before, she's not focused," Neil said. "She wants to visit and look around."

He puts Fancy through a series of suppling exercises before she enters the ring, and signals to Mandy with hand cues when the pair is showing.

"You have to time it just right so that when Fancy goes into the ring, she'll be at her best," Neil said.

The horse also has a sweet tooth. If she hears the crackling of the paper around a peppermint, she wants it--now.

"We discovered that by accident," said Mandy. "Now we usually have a gab of peppermints in the truck to reward her when we go to shows. At home, she'll chase you around the barn to get a piece of candy."

The right trail

After months of training and occasional setbacks during the first part of 1998, girl and horse came to a turning point in April.

Mandy got a standing ovation for placing first under six judges in Youth 13 & Under Western Pleasure at the big Railsplitter Zone 5 Paint Horse Show in Springfield, Illinois.

Neil got five firsts and one second in Amateur Western Pleasure. The wins spelled relief after months of training.

"Finally, I thought I had this figured out," Neil said. "I knew I was going down the right trail.
"

At the 1998 World Show, Mandy placed fifth in Youth 13 & Under Western Pleasure, and Neil came in fourth in Amateur Junior. After they returned from the World, they decided to go for the Honor Rolls.

"We're the type that if we're going to do it, we want to do it well," said Neil.

And that they did.

In their run for the rolls, father and daughter have hauled Fancy to at least 38 states, sometimes entering shows on their way to deliver foals to buyers.

Roxanne accompanies them when she can take a break from the spa business.

"I'm the groom and chief mane-bander when I'm with them," she said with a laugh.

Mandy would like to make Fancy the all-time high-point Western Pleasure Horse in Youth 13 & Under, a goal that is certainly possible.

"As long as they get along the way they are, and Fancy stays sound," said Neil, "she'll be tough to beat."

Into the future

World Champion trainer Michele Pearson agrees.

The Pilot Point, Texas, horse woman, who has competed with Mandy, sees similarities between herself and the 12-year-old girl.

Michele has won several Championship titles in Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle. At the 1999 World Show, her students took home six Championships and two Reserves in those events.

Like Mandy, Michele started showing horses early, when she was a 9-year-old girl in California.

"I was small, very serious and focused, like Mandy," Michele recalled. "I went about my business, like she does.

"I have noticed at the shows that she spends an unusually large amount of time with her horse for a young person. When I ride at midnight or 4 a.m. when the arenas are open, I'll see her there.

"The most extraordinary thing I have noticed is that she and her dad appear to get along well, which is rather unusual because sometimes it can be difficult for a parent to work with a child.

"Mandy has a good future in front of her.... I really believe she is one of the most competitive, upcoming Pleasure riders in the industry."

Sounds like a perfect prediction for the young North Carolina equestrienne with the little horse.