Born in Russia, raised in New Mexico and Oklahoma and now reaching for the stars in Texas, Elizabeth Gates is a junior pre-vet major at West Texas A&M University (WT). Gates graduated from West Plains High School in 2024 after participating for many years in agricultural student organizations such as 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA); however, her love for horses started long before then.
“I got into riding horses from my father,” Gates said. “He started me when I was about six months old. I started lead lining at playdays and other rodeos and stuff. And so, I thought it was really cool. That’s kind of what got me started. He got me this pony named Midnight, and he was a little miniature horse, and so it was really fun to do golfette and barrels on him.”
Gates said her current horse, Drifty, has strengthened her abilities as a rider and trainer, but she credited her horse, Gracie, with truly making her the rider she is today.
“The horse that probably made me grow the most was Gracie,” Gates said. “She’s my mare that I got when I was six. She was a green, broke three-year-old, and so every time she saw an arena, she got real hot-headed [when I was] in high school. And so that really taught me the balance aspect of [riding]… She was a real knucklehead sometimes, but I enjoyed her. I’ve had her for 14 years now, so that was really nice.”
Gates competes in barrel races, sortings and cuttings, but despite her love for competition, training horses is her favorite part of riding.
“I really like training the horses,” Gates said. “Because I get to see how well the horse can actually move. I get to see all their different techniques and everything because every horse moves different. And it’s really fun to get to figure out how each horse reads a cow. Some horses pin their ears back when they’re focusing. Some horses have their ears forward, and that just tells me a little bit about their personality.”
Gates’ passion, hard work and horsemanship got her to the top many times, including 2024, when she was crowned Miss Tri-state Rodeo Queen. Gates shared her experiences and responsibilities while holding the position.
“I was mainly in charge of being the advocate of agriculture,” Gates said. “But I think the main thing is that I was in charge of being the bridge from [the] public to the agricultural side… I really enjoyed doing that, and I was asked to be on television several times for interviews, and so, basically, as an advocator, I had to go to several places and make public appearances, and I was also in charge of posting the colors. [I] might have been fully caked in makeup, but I was making sure that our United States was still being represented by the rodeo. And I really enjoyed doing that as well.”
Gates shared that she would not have made it this far if it were not for her time in 4-H and FFA, where she competed in public speaking, horse judging and hippology. As a pre-vet major, Gates explained why she is so passionate about her field.
“Something that inspired me to do pre-vet is that I just really enjoy seeing horses moving around well,” Gates said. “I’ve seen the ugly side of the industry where horses are being hurt and everything… Once I’m a vet, it would be really nice for me to be able to come up with a certain feed ration that would help certain horses with extremely sensitive stomachs. Colic is one of the biggest things that I’ve noticed with horses, and I’ve actually had several of them die from it. And so I feel like maybe finding the perfect mixture of feeding regimen would be really good.”
After graduating from WT, Gates hopes to attend Texas Tech University or Oklahoma State University to finish veterinary school. According to Gates, taking care of animals is no easy job, but for those who are pursuing a career as a veterinarian, she offers encouragement.
“If you ever think about giving up,” Gates said. “Think about what you would be doing instead. Because in my head I’ve thought about it, and I was like, ‘if I wasn’t doing [this], is there any other option that I would enjoy more than the path that I’m trying to accomplish right now?”
Gates said that above all her accomplishments, she wants to be remembered as “the kindhearted, God-fearing person” that she is striving to be.
