While many young kids enjoy sports like football or basketball, 16-year-old Danyal Kheyroolla of Houston, Texas, discovered his passion in a more unusual sport – exhibiting miniature horses. He has distinguished himself, winning competitions at both regional and world championship levels.
The world of miniature horses, also known as “minis,” does not involve riding the animals, but instead focuses on the relationship between the horse and the trainer, while showing the horses in various events such as jumping, obstacles, and driving carts.
Danyal started this hobby seven years ago when a friend recommended that they visit a farm that had miniature horses. Danyal was immediately hooked, and has been passionate about the sport ever since.
His love for animals first got him interested in this sport. “I’ve tried many different sports like tennis and soccer, but none of them were really that interesting to me,” he said. “I’ve always really loved animals, and after I visited the horses and got involved, it really clicked.”
Since then, he has accomplished many feats. Most recently, Danyal participated in the World Show in Dallas, and the Greater Houston Miniature Horse Club awarded him Reserve Champion for the Overall High Point Youth (13-18) division at another recent event. He has even been appointed as an ambassador of the sport as a director in the American Miniature Horse Youth Association.
Describing how this sport has helped him grow, he said, “I think I will have gained a lot of leadership skills and a lot of cooperative and patience skills. Sometimes horses are just really stubborn or arrogant and don’t want to do what you ask them to do, so it really tests your leadership skills.”
Developing these leadership skills early on can be very impactful for someone as young as Danyal. In whatever career path he ends up choosing, Danyal knows that the soft skills he will gain from this hobby will help him reach even greater heights in the future.
