In 2023, Bella Hadid packed her belongings and swapped the glamour of New York for the vastness of Texas. In March 2024, she purchased a home in Forth Worth, where she had spent the previous year regaining her strength with the help of horses. In January 2024, she showed off her skills when she placed eighth in a National Cutting Horse Association amateur event. Bella’s interest in competitive cutting may be a newer development, but she’s no stranger to horseback riding.
Bella grew up on a horse farm in Santa Barbara, where she fell in love with the animals thanks to her mother, Yolanda Hadid. “My devotion stemmed from my mom’s love of horses. I have been riding since I could walk and the fact that my mom knew everything about horses really helped my passion grow,” she told Porter in 2015 (via Just Jared). She had enough talent to compete for a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. But her dream was thwarted by her health struggles.
Bella had to give up horseback riding because of Lyme disease. “This was the biggest heartbreak of her life,” Yolanda wrote in a January 2016 Bravo blog post. After all these years, she’s back on the saddle and seems happier than ever. “Thank you to all the great trainers and people who allowed me to ride their incredible horses. And my Lucy, Blue, Ami. I love these animals,” she captioned an August 2023 Instagram post.
