Kate began training her own horses at ten years old and took numerous horses into the show arena, including competing at the AQHYA World Championship Show in Reining and Trail. She learned to train by studying books and videos, observing at shows, and riding with various trainers in different disciplines, including training in Germany. Kate researched French horsemanship during the 17th and 18th centuries. After applying many of the methods she read about, Kate decided to follow the French horsemanship theory of lightness as her guiding principle. Now, she continues to study French classical horsemanship, incorporating other methods as necessary, as well as horse care methods, with special interest in the musculoskeletal system. She most recently has been studying with Stephanie Millham, a prominent student of Nuno Oliveira.

 

Over the last several years, her interest grew to include the study of conformation as it relates to function, soundness, and longevity. She has applied this study to racehorses both on the track and off the track. She works to develop rehabilitation and training programs based on the individual needs of the horse to improve soundness and performance.

 

At the track, Kate works with the trainers to rehome the horses. Because she spends time on the backside and talking to trainers, she gets to know the horses while they are still racing. This gives her the opportunity to help potential adopters find horses that are a great match straight from the track. All of the horses that come to CRR's facility in Cheyenne, WY receive evaluation rides and a soundness evaluation to identify their talents, as well as any issues right away.