Bella Hadid Rides Into Rookie of the Year for Horse Cutting

Bella Hadid fans have certainly backed the right horse by supporting her ... 'cause she proved herself at the rodeo -- winning Rookie of the Year this week!

The model shared several pictures of her new title ... sitting atop a horse with a cowboy hat, tight blue jeans and fringe pants on.

In her hand, Bella holds a golden belt buckle, bearing the words "Rookie of the Year" and the acronym "NCHA" -- National Cutting Horse Association.

Horse cutting is the act of a rider and horse separating a steer from the rest of its group ... full of quick jumps by horse and rider to keep the cattle from sneaking past them.

BH shared videos of her cutting atop a horse ... and, ya gotta check it out -- she puts the "model" in "model cowgirl."

As for winning ROTY ... Bella explains she started competing after meeting Adan Banuelos -- and, about six months ago, she learned she was in the running to win the award.

Bella writes she and Adan went all out to get her ready to win ... and, she ended up pulling out the upset at a rodeo competition this week -- galloping past the leader into first place and winning the belt buckle.

Hadid adds she's very competitive ... but, Adan's been helping her learn to embrace the losses as well as the wins -- and, she simply loves horses, so competing is icing on the cake.

We broke the story last year ... showing Bella and Adan holding hands down in Fort Worth, Texas. Obviously, their relationship has grown a ton in the ensuing months -- and, after moving to Texas, it looks like Bella's embracing the Southern lifestyle.