Living On An Island and Living the Dream

By Delores Kuhlwein

Cathy Wilkin, owner of up and coming sire, Whiskeynkrymsun, lives on the largest freshwater island in the world, and even though she’s miles away from the horse show world, she’s figured out a way to chase her horse breeder dreams. 

Island life is simply in Cathy Wilkin’s blood.

Her parents were both born and raised on an island called Manitoulin Island, which is in Lake Huron, and it’s within the borders of the province of Ontario, Canada. For those familiar with Michigan geography, it’s east of Mackinac Island.

Manitoulin Island boasts the title of being the largest freshwater island in the world, and as Cathy explains, “It was a great place to settle due to the abundance of hunting and fishing as well the high quality farmland,” when her parents’ ancestors came to the island – first her mom’s relatives came to Central Manitoulin in the 1840’s, followed by her dad’s family settling in East Manitoulin in the 1870’s.

The island that’s more than 100 miles in length with an area of 1068 miles and more than 100 inland lakes provides an amazing outdoor lifestyle as well as that of a small town community, where Cathy says, “Everyone knows everyone and we support each other and look out for one another, but the difference being we are surrounded by water.”

As one might imagine, being a horse lover might not seem conducive to island life because islands do have their limits of being accessible.

“We only have two access points to the island…..the Little Current Swing Bridge and the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry, which runs during the spring, summer and fall months.  The Little Current Swing Bridge is 110 years old and has been increasingly falling into disrepair, but because it is such a landmark, the community is reluctant to part with it,” she explains. “It is a very contentious issue!”

She doesn’t think the problem will be resolved in her lifetime, she says, and there are times when nobody can leave or come onto the island.

Island Life with Horses

But like all horse lovers, despite the challenges due to limited access, she makes it happen anyway – because just like island life being in her blood, horses are undeniably in it as well.

“My grandpa gave me my first horse when I was 8 years old,” she explains, and from then on, it was always a passion, all the way until she purchased her first Quarter Horse after she married her husband, Greg, and had kids. Even though managing her little horse breeding farm on Manitoulin Island definitely has its challenges, she says taking care of her six horses is her favorite thing in the world.

“I am also a registered nurse, so horse breeding combines my love of my horses and my desire to care for and get my hands dirty to accomplish the goal of producing a foal,” she reveals. “I took a reproduction course a while ago from Marilyn Bowling, where I learned how to perform artificial insemination.”

Cathy says since there’s not a large horse population on the island, she’s learned to be very self-sufficient, but her great relationship with her vet enables her to get what she needs.  “She was just as happy as I was to confirm my mare’s pregnancy last summer…….we were both jumping up and down in excitement!”

A Dream Come True

In 2018, she purchased WhiskeyNKrymsun, aka “Whiskey” as a weanling and he lived with her other gelding on the island until he was two years old.

“My husband actually named him Whiskey because he jokes that “it took a lot of whiskey for me to convince him to let me buy him”…..true story!” she laughs.  “He is a part of my family.”

The 2018 Brown AQHA Stallion is by the legendary One Hot Krymsun and is out of a producing daughter of RL Best of Sudden.  “He is royally bred, he is a beautiful mover, and he is 6-panel negative, but for me the best part of him is his amazingly quiet mind and gentle nature,” explains Cathy. “He is very kind.  I know that he will pass this along to his foals and make him the ideal sire for many Non Pros like myself.  He is so quiet that I am considering showing him myself next year as a Novice Select rider…..I will keep you posted on this as I have to practice a lot at home to make this goal a reality.”

Whiskey’s future is already bright in the show ring under the guidance of Matt and Beth Gouthro of BMG Show Horses, and at Mountain View Equine in Steeles Tavern, Virginia, where he stands.  “We are so lucky to have Matt and Beth Gouthro as his trainers,” Cathy explains.  “They are the hardest working people I have ever met and they take the very best care of their horses. They are good people that love the horses in their program like their own.  They have put points on him in both the Ranch Trail as well as the Working Western Rail…..we are one point away from his ROM in Working Western Rail which will then make him able to show in the Performance Halter.  He will be showing at all the big shows…..the NSBA World Show, the Quarter Horse Congress, and the AQHA World Show.”

In addition, Whiskey’s first foals are arriving this spring, she explains, out of both Hunt Seat and Western Pleasure bred mares.  Her own first Whiskey foal is due at the end of May!

“My goals for him are to be a great all around sire and to be an accomplished all around show horse,” Cathy reveals.  “My dream is for him to be a contender in the Superhorse competition at the World Show.   I do plan on enrolling him in all of the big programs as he gets more foals on the ground……one step and one day at a time!   If mare owners are looking for a special young stallion for their mares I am confident that Whiskey will tick most of their boxes…..he truly is the best boy!”

Staying Connected

All in all, one might wonder how she stays in touch with the horse show world while living miles away in the providence of Ontario on an island.

“With living on Manitoulin Island I am definitely far removed from the horse world but I honestly wouldn’t want to live anywhere else!” she says.

Cathy notes that social media helps make her feel like part of the horse show world, even though she’s thousands of miles away. “I watch all the live broadcasts and follow the placings on HorseShowTracker.  And although I do not know many of my Facebook horse friends personally, I am always cheering them on from my living room.”

By living the life she loves on an island and still chasing her horse show and breeding dreams, one thing she’s found rings true: “Horse people are unique in that although we may not have anything else in common, our love for horses brings us together!”