A Cowgirl's Story

Dusty Rhodes arrives at Jefferson High feeling out of place, because she actually is a cowgirl from Texas. Her mother is a helicopter pilot and her father serves as a Special Forces Army Ranger, so military life shapes her home. At first Dusty is sidelined by classmates, but she slowly forms a friendship with a small group that includes Savanah, a goth student whose father died while serving in Iraq. Dusty pushes the school to start an Equestrian Drill Team and persuades her new, city-raised friends to join. Practices, team-building, and schoolyard tensions follow, while Dusty copes with the ongoing fear around her mother's deployment to Afghanistan, learning about leadership, trust, and the unexpected ways friendships develop.

Directed by Timothy Armstrong and released in 2017, A Cowgirl's Story stars Bailee Madison as Dusty Rhodes, with Pat Boone, Alicia Coppola, Froy Gutierrez, and Jordi Vilasuso in supporting roles. The film presents a family-oriented story centered on military life and youth equestrian activity.

No widely reported box office figures are available for A Cowgirl's Story. The movie maintained a relatively low commercial profile compared with mainstream releases, finding most of its visibility through family-focused outlets rather than major theatrical headlines.

Though not a mainstream cultural landmark, the film found an audience among viewers interested in stories about military families and youth sports. Its depiction of deployment-related anxiety, Dusty’s bond with her grandfather, and the sight of teens working together with horses helped it resonate with parents and young equestrians looking for wholesome, relatable material.

Audience response has tended to be positive, reflected in a 7.03/10 user rating from 33 votes, with many viewers noting Bailee Madison's earnest lead turn. The movie highlights themes of teamwork, coping with parental military service, leadership through extracurriculars, and the way different personalities can come together around a shared challenge.