A DEAF horse rider is defying all the odds to compete at the National Reining Horse Association Derby in Oklahoma City.
More than 1,000 horses and hundreds of riders are competing at the State Fairgrounds, but none are like Ella Panten.
Ella was born deaf, but that hasn’t stopped her or trainer Josiane Gautier from trying to make her a champion in the para reining competition.
Ella’s mom Jennifer Dowdy Panten told Koco News 5, an ABC affiliate, “She was born deaf, and so stuff doesn’t come easy with that…