ADMIRABLE ASSISTANTS: LILLA BELL

Coming from a California ranching background connected this horsewoman to bridle horse traditions and cow horses.

JENNIFER DENISON

The California Central Coast is known as “cowboy country.” Nestled in the golden hillsides are family cattle ranches where horses are still essential for getting ranch work done. Also, the methods of early Vaqueros and bridle horsemen continue to impact the region’s horsemanship and the foundation of reined cow horse classes.

Growing up on her family’s third-generation cowcalf operation in Hollister, California, and around local horse shows and rodeos, Lilla Bell was exposed to bridle horse traditions from a young age and continues to honor them through her work in the cow horse industry.

“There’s so much history in California of cowboys on ranches,” she explained. “Everybody honors bridle horses. I remember going to brandings when I was young and watching all the cowboys show up on their nice bridle horses. I was always intrigued by them and how to make horses like that.”

Bell’s grandfather, Woody Bell, was raised in Nevada and later moved to California and rode with horsemen Bill and Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt. He shared his knowledge with Bell’s father, Dean, who later taught it to Bell and her older brother, Dawson.

As with other Central Coast ranching families and cowboys, the Bells tested their horsemanship and their ranch horses’ handiness each year at the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo in Tres Pinos, California. Bell also rodeoed. Most of her high school years she was homeschooled, which enabled her to work for rope and ranch horse trainer Andy Holcomb in nearby San Juan Bautista, California. Through Holcomb, she reconnected with champion National Reined Cow Horse Association trainer Justin Wright of Santa Maria, California, who recently joined the elite NRCHA $2 Million Rider Club.

“I used to take lessons from him when he lived in San Juan Bautista,” Bell said. “Justin got to talking to me one day and asked if I’d want to come out and help him a little bit. I went down there for a couple of weeks [in 2020] and stayed for about two years. I debated going to college, but when I got to Justin’s and saw all the nice horses I didn’t look back.”

Wright, who also was born and raised in San Benito county, had known the Bells for many years. In fact, his father grew up on the ranch where Bell was raised. Knowing her background and work ethic, he was willing to help her get her start in cow horses.

“She’s very talented and understands the mind and body of a horse. She always wants to improve her horsemanship and has a natural way with a horse,” Wright said. “She is always trying to make her horses better. The other thing is, she came off a ranch, can read a cow and has roped and knows how to compete. When she came into cow horse, she had a lot of raw ability that needed an opportunity.”

With a solid work ethic, dedication and a positive attitude, Bell seized any opportunities that came her way. Working for Wright, she learned everything about taking care of high-level performance horses, making sure everything is flowing smoothly at shows and working with clients. She also had the oppor- tunity to ride several horses, including her personal favorite, Scooter Kat (Kit Kat Sugar x Scooters Daisy Dukes x Dual Smart Rey), and show in her first major cow horse classes.

The past few years, Lilla Bell has grown as a horsewoman and cow horse competitor, working as an assistant to Justin Wright, Kelby Phillips and currently J.D. Johnson. She’s shown here with CR Be Lethally Tuff, owned by Wyatt and Lacy Bourdet, on which she recently won the Limited Open at the Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes.

“The job was pretty much what I expected,” she said. “But what I didn’t expect to learn is how much goes into maintaining those horses and what athletes they are. I love that part of the job, but the hardest part for me was learning how to take care of them at that level and all the little things that go into it.

“People see the glamour at the shows, but they don’t realize that’s not even a fraction of what we do every day,” she continued. “It’s long hours, day and night, of taking care of the horses and training them, every day of the year. Some days you feel like you don’t know how to bridle a horse, and then the next day things go well and you’re hooked again. It’s all worth it!”

Her first major cow horse show was at the 2021 NRCHA DT Horses Western Derby in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she showed Smooth Lil Dream (Smooth As A Cat x Dream A Lil Dream x Proof Set). Wright had shown the stallion at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® the previous year.

“I’ve been so lucky to have clients allow me to go show their horses,” Bell said. “They know everyone has to start somewhere, and every time I’ve stepped into the show pen I’ve learned so much. Some of the clients have turned into my closest friends; they’re like family to me.”

Since then, she’s shown at events such as the Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity and the Tres Osos Cow Horse Derby. This year at the Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bell and CR Be Lethally Tuff, (Woody Be Tuff x CR High Brow Letha x High Brow Cat), owned by Wyatt and Lacy Bourdet, won the Limited Open division. She is excited to keep showing the mare and a couple of 3-year-olds she has in her string, as well as a 3-year-old she purchased from Wright last December.

“Riding these cow horses is completely different than riding ranch horses,” she noted. “We could go get a job done on our horses, but they weren’t fancy like these horses. I thought my horses were broke until I started riding these horses.”

After the Snaffle Bit Futurity in 2022 Bell moved to Weatherford, Texas, to work as an assistant to Kelby Phillips. Then, in November of last year she wanted to be a little closer to home so she moved to Scottsdale,

Arizona, for the winter to work for J.D. Johnson, who she met while working for Wright.

“I like seeing their different styles,” she said. “I’m able to watch and learn and take things from everybody and put them into my own style and program. I love the team environment everywhere I’ve worked; everyone helps each other and become like family, because you spend so much time together. And the horses become family, too.”

As hard as it is to see a reliable assistant leave, Wright knows it’s inevitable and says that through the years he’s learned to “find joy” in it.

“It’s definitely hard to see them go, but at the same time something I’ve learned recently is watching them go is also very exciting, to hopefully see them dominate with their own program,” Wright explained. “It’s a way to give back to the industry that lets us do what we love every day and develop the next generation of [cow horse trainers].”

In just a few years, 21-year-old Bell has come a long way in the cow horse industry. She said, however, that she still has so much to learn and that drives her to keep working hard.

“I want to be able to train my own horses and go down the road and show them,” she said. “I’ve lived and breathed horses my whole life, and I still have a lot of goals left [to achieve] in the show pen.”