It was a rough start to life for the 11-month-old, brought up in an abusive environment about six hours away from the Manning area.

Now, she's back to full health and in the care of the Sowter family.

Carissa Sowter has formed a bond with the horse and was instrumental in her road to recovery.

"We rescued her from a place with her mum," Carissa explained.

"It's taken six months to just start to gain her trust. I trained her myself and she's come a long way."

The 16-year-old worked with Dakota on the family property near Wingham in preparation for the Taree Show.

The horse entered its first competition; the led showhunter under 14s hands section.

"It was good, she was well behaved so I'm very happy with her," Carissa said.

She outlined how Dakota's young age helped build trust and cooperation with training in a short amount of time.

The beloved horse has even learnt some uncharacteristic behaviours.

Not only as Dakota learnt to lie down (curled up might be a better was to describe it) but reports from the family suggested she has dog-like tendencies around the family.

It appears this is just the beginning of life in the spotlight.

"I'll take her to a few more shows, my big horse is out at the moment as he hurt himself," Carissa said.