Louisville Kentucky Equine Photographer | Kate the American Saddlebred
Kate, Valleyfield’s Call Me A Lady, is an American Saddlebred Mare. Kate is by CH Call Me Ringo and out of I’m A Little Lady. CH Call Me Ringo is a World Champion in the Fine Harness division. I’m A Little Lady is by I’m A New Yorker who was a Reserve World Champion in the Fine Harness division as well and was a top stallion. She was bred by Brian Ferguson at Valleyfield Farm.
Kate is currently living in Brenham,TX and is in training with Dominique Drummond of Drummond Performance Horses. Kate is owned by the ever so fabulous Amanda. Some of you may know Amanda because she helps keep the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show running behind the scenes all year long. I am truly in awe of this amazing woman and all of the hard work she puts in to keep the show going. Kate is the first mare that Amanda has ever owned, and is also the first young horse that Amanda has owned. Kate especially loves Amanda’s non-horsey husband.
Kate may be just 3 years old, however she is extremely laid back and loves people. She is definitely a mare though, and has her own opinion and will make it known. It can sometimes take a little effort to convince her to do things your way, but eventually she will. Eventually Kate will be shown Saddle Seat or Harness.
Amanda shares the story of how she found Kate, “I saw her on Facebook when she was a yearling and fell in love. She was in New York and was still owned by her breeder. My husband bought her for me. I’ve owned her for just over a year and a half. I first met her when she finally arrived at the farm here in Texas. I was expecting her to be shy and maybe a little skittish but she was so friendly and calm. I just knew she was the horse for me. It’s been so fun watching her grow up so far.”
This Queen loves Carrots. Oh, and speaking of Carrots, I have to mention that Amanda owns two of the cutest bunny rabbits ever.
“I started riding at a YMCA camp. I came home and told my mom I wanted a horse. She humored me by signing me up for lessons at a local Saddlebred barn. She figured I’d get bored with riding and horses after awhile. She was very wrong. I’ve been riding now for 20 years. My favorite thing about owning horses is getting to know each individual’s personality and developing a relationship with each horse.”
“I believe in cross training. Ride, drive, longline, trail ride, trot poles, etc. I think horses get bored and the more you can engage them and give them new challenges, the better. I also think it’s great to try new disciplines as a rider. You can learn something from disciplines other than your own that you can apply to your riding.”
Amanda shares her favorite story about Kate, “There are cows that live in the pasture next to the arena. Kate was turned out in the arena the first time she saw them and she thought they were pretty scary at first. She stood with her ears forward and was snorting. So I went and stood next to where the cows were and tried to encourage her to get closer and reassured her that the cows weren’t scary. She was not convinced. So my non-horsey husband did the same. This time she came right up, sniffed noses with one of the cows, and proceeded to spend the rest of her turnout time grazing next to the cows.”
Oh my goodness, this story sounds exactly like my young horse Calypso and my Husband. I swear she is an angel around him, but the minute I try to do something she turned into a crazy mare. Thank goodness for these non-horsey husbands that our mares love!
Karinda K Equine Photography is a Louisville Kentucky equine photographer located in Montgomery, TX. Karinda creates timeless portraits of you with your beloved horses, and other farm animals. Serving locally Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, Texas communities. KEP also serves Wellington and Ocala, Florida, Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, Aiken, South Carolina, Tryon, North Carolina, and Norco and Woodside, California and their surrounding communities.
