At the young age of twenty three years-old, Katherine Holland of Billings, Montana has already overcome challenges that many people never have to face during their lifetime. At the age of seventeen, Holland lost her leg in a tractor accident while working at a barn during her senior year of high school. Immediately after her accident, Katherine was sent to a Seattle hospital where she spent the next three months enduring over 20 surgeries and recovering from her accident. Fortunately, she was sent home five days before her high school graduation where she was determined to walk across the stage with her class. And she did!
Holland’s tenacity and perseverance after her accident has also carried over to the horse show arena. The California native is currently showing her paint horse, A Mystical Senstation (Maeby), in the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure and Showmanship under the guidance of Scott and Amy Neuman and Amanda Kudnra.
“I had to re-learn how to ride after my accident,” Katie recalls. “I had to learn how to balance without a leg and to feel confident again in the saddle. I have fallen a couple of times while riding, mainly because I lost my balance. I also needed to gain my confidence again that I would be able to ride again without feeling like I was going to fall off every time. The biggest difference of riding after my accident has been not using my legs as one normally would– instead using my reins and voice to get the same results. I like working with my trainers because they are willing to try anything and come up with ideas that are outside the box. It has been quite the experience figuring out how I would be able to ride and how to train my horse to suit my needs.”
Holland adds, “My horse show goals for this year would be to continue to gain my confidence in the show ring. I recently got a new seat adaptation on my saddle that will allow me to stay more comfortable in the saddle, and, with this new adaptation, I also hope to add more classes.”
What is also unique about this team is that the duo shows in the regular Amateur Showmanship with the assistance of a scooter. She has a variance from APHA that allows her to show in any in-hand class with a scooter and any ridden class with an addition to her saddle.
Last year, Holland showed in the Amateur Walk-Trot and won the circuit award in the Amateur Walk-Trot Showmanship at the Zone 2 Show in South Jordan, Utah.
“It has been an interesting and fun experience adding showmanship to our show bill,” says Holland, who recently graduated from Rocky Mountain College with a degree in elementary education. “The mind set that I have going in the class is either the judges will place me or not, because I don’t do my quarters, but as long as Maeby and I have a good pattern, I’ve accomplished my goal.”
Holland’s trainer, AQHA judge, Scott Neuman, says that he as been impressed with Katie’s positive attitude. “Katie is tenacious and nothing slows her down. She works really hard and always seems to be happy and upbeat–she is an absolute pleasure to help and be around.”
According to Holland and her trainer, Kudnra, Maeby did very well when she first saw the scooter, and the 2008 sorrel overo mare has been very understanding with the training process.
“It was been interesting trying to learn showmanship with a scooter because you don’t just have to worry about the horse, you also have to worry about the scooter,” Holland tells GoHorseShow. “‘Shasha (that’s the scooter’s barn name) can sometimes do its own thing and I will occasionally run into things, including Maeby. It has taken a lot of practice figuring out how fast to go and how to steer the scooter while also leading the horse.”
Her trainer, Kundnra, agrees, “I did teach Maeby how to do showmanship off the scooter. None of the horses in the barn are afraid of the scooter at all. We feed off a gator so they pretty much equate small motorized things with food! Maeby is very light and attentive so she tracks well with the scooter without needing a lot of pulling or pushing. Katie leaves the scooter at the barn so I use it daily to school the showmanship. The horse is actually much easier to control than the scooter!”
Katie’s favorite horse show memory was having the opportunity to show at the APHA World Show in 2010 in Novice Amateur Western Pleasure with Dynamic Girl Friday and in Amateur Aged Halter Geldings with Just Bearly Cool.
“It was my first experience of showing at a World Show, and I loved the excitement and atmosphere and I hope to be able to go back sometime soon,” Katie states. “The number one thing that I enjoy about horses and showing would be the people you meet along your journey and how those people turn into lifelong friends and become a part of your family.”
Holland’s future plans in the show arena are to show at the APHA World Show in the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure with Maeby. She would also like to continue to add more classes including horsemanship and trail. Holland credits her parents for helping her nurture her love of horses.
“They have inspired me to not give up on my dreams to show horses after my accident and allowed me the opportunity to continue my showing–only in a different way. They also encouraged me to never give up and to always do my best.”
Photos © Don Trout Photography
