How it all started, an about me

Hello, welcome! My name is Katherine, and I would love to share my life with you. Please stay a while and read my story.

Before I dive in, here is a little about the present me. I am a stay-at-home mom to a wonderful daughter and married to a man who, while is not a horse person, wants my dreams to excel forward with them. I have an associate’s in Veterinary Technology but no longer work in medicine. I am currently obtaining my bachelor’s in Management Information Systems while pursuing my dream. I am a huge advocate for those who struggle with ulcerative colitis and dyslexia. Two Feather Stables colors are purple and silver to represent those two struggles in my life and keep me pushing forward.

I honestly cannot tell you when I fell in love with horses or when I wanted to start to ride them, but I must have been born with the feeling. I started riding at a very young age, about seven years old, and have never looked back.

I was born into a military family; my father was an officer in the United States Navy, and my mother was an ED nurse. I have moved eight times, not counting on different apartments to houses. My earliest memories were when my family lived in Hawaii, and this is where I started my horse dreams.

I started riding western at a stable located inside a military base that is unfortunately no longer there. I remember ever so briefly those riding lessons. How I loved them, and how they frightened me as well. By the time my father received his next deployment, the stable was closing down. I remember the ladies discussing prices for the lesson ponies, as I was saddling up my favorite gelding with the dorsal stripe one last time. I swear his name was Tubs, but his name eludes me still.

My family moved to England, and my mother found me my next riding stables. However, my whole mindset was about to change as I was introduced to the English saddle. English stuck with me, as I have stayed with it for the past 23 years, and the reason for that is I fell in love with jumping. It was a thrill, but such an accomplishment as well.

During our time in England, I rode in Pony Club, and I loved it. In my first year, I accomplished my fears of riding the devilish grey pony named Booboo. He had such an attitude but had a great heart for his little rider. He earned us 1st out of two 1st place ribbons. An accomplishment I am still in awe about. My second year was on a lovely Chestnut mare named Moonie, and she was my absolute favorite. She earned me a 1st place ribbon, though it was out of numerous 1st places. However, I still marvel at those accomplishments because I had barely ridden English for a year in my first year of pony club. I had been barely riding for two years during my second year of Pony Club, and I can only think that I had become a small accomplishment rider at some point, as I was riding with children with much more experience than I.

Our time in England was short, and my mother, sister, and I lived in Georgia for six months with family while my Dad finished his deployment in England, and we eventually moved to Connecticut. I picked up English lessons again in Connecticut and took lessons every week. I never showed. I just enjoyed riding and improving myself.

The horse showing part for me has always been a battle of to do, or not to do? As a younger child, I chose not to show because I knew the sport itself was costly, and I didn’t want to burden my parents. Even though now, I can reflect and say my parents would have given me every penny to try and do so. However, after a few years, I got to lease my first horse, and the game completely changed for me and would soon lead to me purchasing my first horse.

Sweet William was my first leasing horse, and while Will wasn’t the sweetest off-the-track-thoroughbred (OTTB), he taught me a lot, like every horse I have encountered. When his owner decided to leave Will’s current boarding facility, I followed, and it gave me more significant opportunities to ride different horses. However, lessons became fewer, and I became more dependent on myself. Not on purpose; it was just a different path to follow for a time. I followed until I ended my lease with Will and started leasing Eve an OTTB. Little did I know she would become so much more to me.

When I first met her, Eve was a bay, 21-year-old OTTB mare who loved to jump and had a lot of fire to her spirit. Eve's owners ended up moving out of state and offered my parents to either continue the lease or to buy Eve. When my father told me he would buy me a horse, that he would buy me Eve. I was floored. I never thought my parents would buy me a horse, never. I said absolutely yes! I will say in hindsight, Eve was probably not the best first horse to have, but I loved her, and she would teach me and others that age is only just a number.

I owned Eve for ten incredible years, and during that time, we had our trials, but she, without a doubt, was a fantastic mare. When I first bought Eve, we struggled as her previous owners and my trainer at the time, who had left, had given us a saddle that they said fit her, but didn't. I can't tell you how frustrated I became when I didn't understand why my mare started to bunny hop and buck at the canter or run like the wild wind. We were fortunate to be recognized by someone at our new barn who connected us to a trainer and a new saddle. A saddle I still have and ride in to this day.

Our new trainer specialized in training Arabians, but he took us underneath his wings and trained Eve and me back from the ground up. By the time we were moving States again, I remember that he was in awe of how far Eve and I had come. I think most do in part to Eve's age. She was re-taught how to carry herself, and I learned a great deal of groundwork that I still hold close to my heart to this day. That trainer was the best thing to have happened to me, and I still wish I could be learning from him.

My family then moved to Nebraska, where I still live today with my husband and daughter. In Nebraska, I picked up lessons again with Eve, with a trainer in jumping, and we continued on that way until I went to college, and then things started to slow down. Eve was 25 when I graduated high school, still jumping and being her energetic self. However, after I graduated high school, I became quite ill and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.

After my diagnosis, my world fell apart around me, but Eve was a constant. While I still rode her, I considered her retired. We no longer took lessons, and we just went on our day-to-day shenanigans. Eventually, after changing majors and working different jobs, I settled into the veterinary field and graduated with an associate's in veterinary technology. Along the way, Eve developed Cushing's and low thyroid. Despite treatment, she was losing weight and having acute laminitis flare-ups.

On September 28th, 2016, I gave my mare one last act of kindness and sent her on to greener pastures. She was 31 years old and will always be my first horse. I finally was able to read her tattoo and found out her racing name was "Our Heather." She had one foal, Horatius Island by The Plumber (QH), and Eve did not have a well-defined racing career. Eve to me, will always be this hot-fired OTTB mare, but she was a dream to ride when we worked together and was so loved.

After the passing of Eve, horses dropped out of my life for a bit as I finished school and continued working full-time. Taking care and affording Eve was a financial burden for my husband and me, but he knew, and I knew that one day I would come back to the world of horses, and I would finally focus on the breed I have always loved from afar, the Appaloosa.

When I did come back, it was because of a black Appaloosa mare who was only two and a half hours away from me. Who had lines back to Secretariat, who had four perfect white feet, and a perfect spotted butt. A little girl's dream was about to come true of owning her dream breed.