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About Kathleen
Kathleen
grew up in the American Midwest, where, by the time she was in her early
teens, she was showing in hunter/jumper competitions. She began teaching
riding when she was 16, guiding friends to 4-H victories and working summers
at hunter/jumper camps. Upon her graduation from high school, Kathleen
worked professionally as a hunter/jumper trainer, teaching juniors and
amateurs and riding hunters and jumpers on the Midwestern "B" and "A"
circuits.
After several years of
training horses for a living, Kathleen attended Cardinal Stritch College in
Wisconsin where she studied 19th Century English Literature.
Before completing her
degree, Kathleen moved
to Colorado, and bought a young grey Thoroughbred gelding as a resale
project. Little did she know how that one act would change profoundly what
she thought she understood about horses. Ashcroft was not like all the other
horses she'd run into over the years, in that he didn't care who she was or
how much she thought she knew about horses. Kathleen and Ashcroft fought for
two years, accomplishing little.
It was about that time
that Kathleen heard about a horseman named Mark Rashid who was scheduled to
do a clinic in her area. Kathleen decided to take Ashcroft to see him to see
if maybe he could sort the horse out.
At that clinic, Kathleen learned that horses often are trying, even if it
doesn't look like it. She learned that Ashcroft had been trying all along,
but because what he offered didn't look like what she expected it to,
she hadn't been able to see it, and that's where all the fighting had come
from. To get along with Ashcroft, the first thing Kathleen had to do was
stop fighting.

That clinic with Mark
became the first of many, and Kathleen continued to ride Ashcroft with Mark
two or three times a year. In the meantime, Kathleen began to show Ashcroft
successfully and they became fixtures in the Amateur Adult Hunter division
in Western Colorado for many years. Kathleen also began to work cattle and
trail ride in the Rockies with him as well.
In 2003, after Kathleen had been
riding with Mark for about six years, he invited her to become a "student
teacher", which meant that she could go to any clinic,
anywhere, but she'd have to help teach. She accepted the offer and began to
meet up with Mark across the country whenever she could.
In 2004, Mark asked Kathleen if
she'd like to become his full-time assistant, and she again accepted. From
September of 2004 to December of 2006 Kathleen served as Mark's assistant,
traveling with him across America and the U.K. During this time, Kathleen
also wrote her first book, titled "In the Company of Horses: A Year on the
Road with Horseman Mark Rashid". Kathleen learned a lot while she worked
with Mark; not just about training horses, but about the business of
clinicing, writing and life as well. It's all the same thing, in the end.
Mark continues to fill the role of Kathleen's mentor, and she has the
privilege of counting him among her closest friends.
Mark also introduced Kathleen
to the martial art of Aikido, which she continues to study and practice,
along with the art of Tai Chi. She
is constantly looking for ways to apply the tenants of Aikido and Tai Chi to teaching
and horsemanship and life.
Above left photo:
Kathleen at age 14 with Belle
Above right photo: Kathleen and
Ashcroft riding in a clinic with Mark Rashid in 2001
Above photo left:
Kathleen and Ruby by Kyya Grant
Photos below, left to
right: Ashcroft and Kathleen moving cattle off Yellowjacket Pass in Western
Colorado, Ashcroft and Kathleen competing in the jumpers, Kathleen at age 16
with her Children's Hunter Catch My Eye, Kathleen and Ashcroft working with
Mark Rashid in 2003
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