Bailey King, 17, leads her new horse through her front yard on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, hugs her riding instructor Dania Spor-Orellana after Bailey was gifted her own horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, holds her new horse Sierra while talking to reporters on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey, 17, has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, center, cries tears of joy after being gifted her own horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Leah King, left, brushes her daughter Bailey’s hair from her face as Bailey cries tears of joy after being gifted her own horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey, 17, has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, leads her new horse through her front yard on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, cries tears of joy after being gifted her own horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, leads her new horse through her front yard on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, cries tears of joy as she realizes she’s being gifted her own horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, cries tears of joy as she realizes she’s being gifted her own horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse, Sierra, by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Mike King, Bailey’s father, laughs with friends, family, and Make-A-Wish volunteers before surprising Bailey with her new horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey, 17, has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Betty Evans, a volunteer with Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada, pets Sierra before surprising Bailey King with the new horse on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey, 17, has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse by Make-A-Wish. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, center, helps get her new horse Sierra ready to ride on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, and was gifted the horse by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Mike King, Bailey’s father, holds the new horse, Sierra, gifted to Bailey by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey, 17, has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses.(Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Dania Spor-Orellana, Bailey’s riding instructor, walks Sierra through the King family’s riding arena on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey, 17, has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses.(Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, shows off her custom Make-A-Wish western shirt on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bailey King, 17, left, hugs Make-A-Wish volunteer Betty Evans on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted a new horse by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
With the help of her riding instructor Dania Spor-Orellana, Bailey King mounts her new horse, Sierra, for the first time on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bailey, 17, has a heart condition that limits her physical activity, but can ride and show horses and was gifted the horse by Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A Las Vegas teenager with a heart condition grew up watching “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” and dreaming of having her own horse to take care of one day. On Saturday, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada made that dream come true.
Bailey King, of northwest Las Vegas, asked the foundation for a horse three years ago when her family moved to the valley, giving them the space to care for the animal. After meeting several horses, King told her family that Sierra, a 7-year-old bay mare, was her favorite.
Scott Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the Las Vegas-based nonprofit, said King was the 62nd recipient of a wish in the valley this year.
“They’ve always owned horses, but Bailey has never had a horse of her own,” Rosenzweig said. “We had to kiss a lot of frogs before we got a Sierra.”
When King arrived home in her sister’s car Saturday morning, she stepped out of the passenger side to hear cheers and see her family holding signs that read “Happy Wish Day” and “Your Wish Is Coming True.”
King was in tears and immediately described how calm and sweet Sierra was.
“I’m trying not to cry,” King said. “I’m overwhelmed in a good way. We’ve all been super patient because this is a really big wish, but I’m so thankful we were able to get it granted. I’m at a loss for words.”
King is the youngest of four children and a high school junior. She is considering attending the College of Southern Nevada after high school, especially after Saturday to stay close to her horse.
Her mom, Leah King, said the teen has been taking riding lessons for over a year. She has Long QT syndrome — a heart rhythm disorder — takes a beta blocker and has to get her pacemaker checked annually. King is in danger of hospitalization if her heart gets above 80 beats per minute, her mother said.
“This is the one sport she could do,” Leah King said.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.