Gabby Lunow was raised just miles from the US/Mexico border, in the small ranching town of Patagonia, Arizona. As one of the only white girls in a school that is mostly Mexican-American, Gabby faces bullying and physical threats, which drive her to want to drop out of school and move in with her mother, long divorced from Gabby’s father.
Monte Lunow, however, agrees that Gabby can move to another school only if she wins a major regional rodeo competition. This short piece profiles Gabby’s journey to navigate bullying, her parents’ divorce, and ultimately, her own successes and failures as she aims to get a scholarship for rodeo.