A cranky horse at her aunt’s Cherry Creek ranch was the first equine Liz Smith ever rode.

Despite the horse’s nature and Smith’s age, the pairing was good for both animal and rider.

“At my aunt’s, there’s this one horse they had for me out there for years. She was a bit of a bitch to most people. She’d go crazy when people got on her back. But she and I got each other. I remember having a bad night, going out the barn, and she just put her muzzle on my hand. She understood. I’m a calmer person around them,” Smith said in an interview this week.