The country aesthetic is in right now (just ask Beyoncé!), and Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s daughter Kaavia James has fully embraced it. The 5-year-old rides a horse in a precious new video, and we are officially obsessed with her cowgirl era!
“Cowgirl Kaav Mini Vlog,” the video on Instagram, set to Beyoncé’s “Blackbird,” was titled. Kaavia (aka, Shady Baby) dressed in a “Believe in Yourself Always” t-shirt and leggings for her day at the barn. The clip begins with Kaavia feeding and brushing a horse because every horse girl knows you gotta give your animals love and care before you ask something of them.
“Y’all ready to ride? ????” was written over the video next, as Kaavia helped lead her horse outside the stables and into the riding arena. When it’s time to ride, Kaavia looks like the cutest little equestrian with her black riding helmet and black boots. She sits on the saddle, holding the reins with one hand and reaching over with the other to pat her horse’s neck. “let’s get it!” text over the video said.
She starts out at a slow walk, quickly moving up to a trot as two trainers jog to keep up with her and make sure she’s safe. Kaavia’s got it though — she already looks like a professional!
The end of the video shows Kaavia leading her horse out of the arena, stopping only to pose in front of the pretty animal. You can tell she’s proud of herself! Back at home, Union interviewed her daughter about the whole experience.
“It was great,” she said about riding the horse, adding that she “was” nervous “because it didn’t smell great.” Well, she’s nothing if not honest!
After whispering that horses “smell stinky” and should really “take a bath every day,” Kaavia admitted that she does want to go riding again. “You know I love going horseback riding,” she adds. Hmm… questionable, but OK. We love the enthusiasm!
“rodeo ready,” the cute video posted on Kaavia’s Instagram was captioned. (Except, maybe not if she doesn’t like the smell!)
“Such a beautiful kid ♥️ Love how she whisper so not to hurt the horse feeling so sweet ♥️” one person commented. Someone else wrote, “Ahahahahahahaha the way she whispered as if the horse would hear her ???????????? I love me some Kaavia James!”
“Yessss @kaaviajames! I’ve been riding since I was 5 and I’m 64 now. Cowgirl always. I do western riding,” one person wrote. Another said, “The rural country girl in me loves this @kaaviajames! We need more black girls riding horses!”
Last week, Kaavia and Union went on a mother-daughter date to see the premiere of Disney’s Descendants: The Rise of Red. The walked the red carpet in similar navy blue dresses, white shoes, and bucket purses, smiling for pictures and hugging. “every day is a once-upon-a-time with her,” the Bring It On alum captioned a set of photos from the event.
Kaavia is growing up fast, and her adventures never cease to amaze us.
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