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Saddlebred Strong Spotlight : Creativity Inspired in the Year of Covid for Cathleen Cole

In the spring of 2020, when the world and our industry were first navigating, understanding, and adapting to the adversity created by the pandemic, we began sharing "Saddlebred Strong" stories, ideas, and community initiatives. One individual who took this year like no other to reflect back on her past passion for combining her love of American Saddlebreds and writing to help #SharetheSaddlebred. Cathleen Cole took the time for doing things different presented by the covid-19 pandemic and reworked the stories she had written to give 2020 a children’s book about the wonderful characteristics of the American Saddlebred and the joys of the Saddlebred Stories of young riders growing up riding saddle seat. We are thankful to creators like Cole who find unique ways to #sharethesaddlebred and help our wonderful breed have a #saddlebred strong future!

  

“Heads Up! Come here, boy! I have a carrot for you,” I called as I climbed over the fence of a paddock at Estaire Berkeley’s Fort Lauderdale Riding School. The old American Saddlebred trotted to me, nickering his hello and nudging for his treat. I knew Heads Up’s real name was Starheart Montgomery, and he was a champion three-gaited show horse in the 1960s. Miss Berkeley told me his photograph was in Helen K. Crabtree’s Saddle Seat Equitation, a copy of which my parents bought for me and I read cover to cover. 

Pictured: Starheart Montgomery

I loved American Saddlebreds and saddle seat riding. I was an avid reader and wanted to read books about my favorite horses and riding style, but I couldn’t find any. Instead, I read stories about stock seat riders and their Quarter Horses and Mustangs and hunt seat riders and their Thoroughbreds and Welsh ponies. Maybe someday I’d find a children’s book about a special American Saddlebred like Heads Up whose rider rode saddle seat. 

Pictured: Prime Time Event with Cathleen's daughter Caroline riding

Years passed and I continued riding, even though I never had a horse of my own. I attended the University of Florida and met Alicia Davis of Raindrop Farm. She taught me so much about showing American Saddlebreds and Morgans. After graduating with a journalism degree, I got a job with a magazine in Atlanta and started my professional career. Even though I was immersed in my new job, my passion for American Saddlebreds would not fade. I needed to be around horses. I reached out to trainers Jayne and Temple Stephenson in Marietta, Georgia, who let me work for my lessons on Saturdays. When the Stephensons built a new training facility in Woodstock, I became their Saturday lesson instructor for beginners. That’s when I got the idea of writing a children’s book that would entertain and instruct about American Saddlebreds and saddle seat riding. But I was busy. My story would have to wait. I finally bought my first horse – a yearling mare named Prime Time Event. About two years later, I got married and we all moved to Texas. While in graduate school at the University of North Texas, I was a founding member of the North Texas American Saddlebred Horse Association charter club (NTASHA) with my friends Maybeth Monroe Nunn and Luanne Williams. We helped promote the Amateur-Owner-Rider-Trainer classes with our “backyard” Saddlebreds. 

Pictured: Cathleen with Calling Baton Rouge 

School, marriage, work and eventually two wonderful kids were my focus. But I still wanted to write my children’s book. Heads Up whinnied to me. It was time. Tell a horse tale and teach. I wrote a book and then a sequel. But the publisher wouldn’t let me control the pricing and the books were, in my opinion, overpriced. I let the publisher’s contract expire. 

Motivation hit me during Texas’ 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, and I reworked my books into one – Saddle Seat Riding Adventures at Four Seasons Stables. I republished it on Amazon where I can set the price, a reasonable price. My goal is to spread the word about American Saddlebreds – my passion, my dream horses, the horses I have loved since I was 10 years old. My story also includes Morgans, Arabians and National Show Horses since these breeds are often ridden saddle seat. But the stars of the book are American Saddlebreds – a beautiful chestnut mare named Autumn Leaves and a past champion named Sweet Hearts Afire – the “heart horse” of a girl who lived on the farm decades ago. 

Pictured: Cathleen showing Calling Baton Rouge 

Readers have sent me messages about my book. They like that there is a children’s story about American Saddlebreds and saddle seat riding. They like the illustrations. They like the extensive glossary and the resources page. That was my objective: to tell an interesting story while teaching about saddle seat riding and some of the breeds that are ridden in that manner, and to show that American Saddlebreds, the peacocks of the show ring, are more than that. They are trail riding buddies. They are pasture pets. They are best friends. 

If you have a story like this reach out to Jessica Cushing at j.cushing@asha.net to submit!