When asked to describe Mickie James in three words, the trio of smart, beautiful and talented quickly comes to mind.

An honors student who played the violin as a child, it was ironically a failed Trigonometry class in high school that sent Mickie into the wrestling world instead of college. Of course, being the diligent woman that she is, Mickie did go on to get her college education, earning an associate’s degree in business administration and working on her bachelor’s all while traveling the world as a WWE Diva.

Still, it was a long road from childhood dream to World Champion. After training in Virginia, Mickie worked the independent circuit for several years, learning everything she could from such Legends as Ricky Steamboat, Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton along the way. Finally, after nearly a decade of paying her dues, Mickie made it to WWE, where she has stepped into the ring both with and against long-time idols like Trish Stratus on the way to becoming a multiple-time Women’s Champion.

There is one thing Mickie likes almost as much as being a WWE Diva, however: horses. Mickie has ridden since age 11, when her grandmother bought her a horse named Rhapsody. She spent hours on her grandmother’s farm with Rhapsody and her other horses even to this day, and when her days of being a Diva wind down, she holds aspirations to own a farm and become an equine trainer.

Fortunately for our fans, that goal is far ahead in the distance…as long as Mickie has something to say about it, anyway.

“I’m so glad that my path led me to where I am today, because I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Mickie has said in the past.

And as long as she can continue to make her dreams come true, there’s no doubt that she can become one of the most recognized and decorated Divas in WWE history.