Headley Quarter Horses – It’s All In The Family
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When it Comes to Horses, It’s All in the Family
By: Susan Winslow
Steve and Kathy Headley and their daughter Sarah have come on strong in the Halter world over the past ten years. Their involvement in the horse industry has grown from a wholesome family hobby to a powerhouse in breeding, sales and competition.
Steve Headley is a multiple World Champion exhibitor. He showed Motavated, their magnificent 2009 gelding by DeRenzo, to a World Champion title in 2 Year-Old Geldings at the 2011 Adequan Select World Show and returned in 2012 to repeat the win in the 3 Year-Old division. He was on a roll at the 2012 Select World, earning a third in 2 Year-Old Geldings with Believe U Me and besting fifteen other entries to win 2 Year-Old Mares with Cauzin Trouble. Bred by Terry Bradshaw, the 2010 mare by CK Kid and out of Consent To Arms, by Major JD Parker, has had a stellar career. She took the Yearling World Championship at the 2011 Select World with Steve, and professional horseman Ross Roark showed her to a win at the 2012 AQHA World Show in 2 Year-Old Mares. She won the Reserve title in 3 Year- Old Fillies at the 2013 AQHA World.
Steve and Kathy’s daughter, Sarah, has made a name for herself in the Amateur Division, winning Amateur 3 Year-Old Mares at the 2013 Congress with Cauzin Trouble and Reserve Grand Champion Mare as well. She won a Reserve World Champion title in Aged Geldings with Motavated at the AQHA World Show in 2013. She also won her first Congress Championship with Motavated, along with winning a Reserve Grand Champion Gelding trophy at the Congress the same year. This dynamic 28-year-old also won the 2014 Breeder’s Halter Futurity Champion 2 Year-Old and Champion of Champions with Alluring Intention by My Intention and out of The Coolsified Girl.
“Headley Quarter Horses is a family business,” explains Kathy Headley. “As a little kid growing up in Indiana, I wished for a horse. But as the third of six kids who moved a lot because of my father’s job, the closest I got to owning a horse was collecting Breyer models with my allowance. By the time I graduated from high school, I’d been in twelve different schools and I still wished for a horse. Now, we have over sixty. I guess you should be careful what you wish for! But truly, I am grateful that my dreams have come true and we’ve been able to build a breeding, competition, and sales program we’re proud of.”
Steve is also a native Hoosier who grew up in sale barns in the Bloomington area. He says, “My family has been into horses for over seventy years. To me, having horses was as normal as having dogs or a car. My brothers and I grew up showing Western Pleasure, Halter and Barrel Racing. We even did some match racing until my dad caught us,” he says with a laugh. As a standout quarter-miler in high school track, Steve set records that lasted for decades. His sense of humor is evident when he recalls, “I won a lot and I thought I was pretty good in track until I got to Indiana University as a walk-on. We had an Olympic caliber runner on the team who could have finished the race, showered, and be relaxing in the stands with his girlfriend by the time I crossed the finish line. That was a real dose of reality, but I still loved the sport and I have always enjoyed competition.”
Both Steve and Kathy graduated from Indiana University, where they met in a Stable Management class. Kathy recalls, “We were friends before we dated, and we both shared a love of horses. I got a horse as a college graduation gift, and I kept it at the farm owned by Steve’s mom.” The couple married and worked for the senior-care company, CarDon, created in 1977 by Kathy’s parents, Carroll and Donna. Kathy and her siblings worked in the family business through middle, high school, and college, pitching in where needed. Steve laughs as he recalls, “Some of our first dates were folding laundry in the facility.” Their careers took off with CarDon’s success, elevating them from their newlywed home in a singlewide trailer to their sprawling 76-acre farm near Bloomington.
Kathy and three of her siblings bought out their parents seventeen years ago, and she is now the Chairwoman of the Board of the thriving CarDon company with 3,000 senior-care beds. Steve says, “We both worked for the company for many years, and we’ve been blessed enough that now I get to play cowboy.” Kathy retorts, “He says play cowboy, but he and our daughter, Sarah, work very hard and they are very hands-on with the farm. They care for the horses, begin their training, and they are right there for every foaling. I’m very proud of our success in the show pen. I love every minute of it, and I’m a very good show mom, extra hand, and groom.”
Steve chimes in, “Just like our careers at CarDon, we started out small in the horses, on the lower rung. Both of our kids, Matthew and Sarah, were in 4-H and showed at open shows. They had some success and they learned valuable life lessons through competition. My father always said it’s easy to be a gracious winner but hard to be a gracious loser. It’s a lesson every kid should learn, and our kids did learn that.” He pauses and says with a grin, “But I have to admit, it’s definitely more fun to win!”
Kathy describes the family’s decision to go all-in with horses, “Both of the kids did really well in 4-H and open competition. Matthew is not as involved anymore with the horses, but we came to a point where Sarah was doing really well, and national competition was her goal. We decided that if she wanted to go on to that level, we would make the commitment as a family, and that meant buying a horse of that caliber.” The Headley family bought Mr. Endowment aka ‘Tiny’, a son of Mr. Conclusion at the 2002 Congress Super Show Sale, when Sarah had three years left to show in AQHA youth competition. Initially, the Headley’s did all of the work themselves, keeping Tiny at home, picking their shows carefully, and getting Sarah qualified nationally for the Youth World. Their first official AQHA show was in November of that year at the National Livestock Expo in Louisville, Kentucky. Sarah took a fourth and a fifth out of 53 horses in her class. She continued to have success and was named the Indiana Justin Rookie of the Year in 2002. “We were on our way,” Steve says. “We have been fortunate to work with some great people, and we owe many people a great deal of thanks for helping us so much along the way.”
The Headley’s vision for their program is to produce exceptional horses, emphasizing quality over quantity. He says, “This is Sarah’s passion and she is a dedicated, gifted horsewoman. She also has an excellent eye for a horse and, like me, she loves competing. We have two huge barns and our goal is to buy, trade up, and breed to produce consistently high quality stock. My father always said that pretty gets the attention, and that’s true. I also believe in the old saying ‘form to function’ and that is the key to producing a quality Halter horse. We breed for looks that will stand out and correct conformation, but we also put a strong emphasis on breeding for a good, people-friendly disposition. There’s a lot of pride when you see one of your horses doing well in the show pen.” Kathy adds, “We’re very proud that the young horses from our program are starting to earn world titles, but we’re just as proud of the horses we sell to kids who go on to a successful 4-H career. We want to produce horses that are fun to own and show. Motavated loves to show, and he really knows how to turn it on in the pen. At the same time, he’s such a ham. He’d be just as happy coming into the house to hang out with us. Showing that kind of horse makes the whole experience really fun.”
The Headleys are excited about the addition of World Champion Stallion Rumerz to their breeding program. The 2013 brown stallion by Secretz and out of Kids Keeping Cool won the Yearling Colt class at the 2014 AQHA World with then-owner and breeder, Gerri Leigh Pratt, and was shown by Ross Roark. Steve describes the young stallion, “There are some horses that have that star quality, that extra something in their demeanor and appearance that makes them stand out. When Sarah went to look at Rumerz, she called me and said it took her 30 seconds to fall in love with him, and she was right. This colt has it all: conformation, looks, personality, and charisma.” This up-and-coming superstar will finish out the year in the show pen before standing at Griffey Equine in 2016. Steve says, “We’re very excited about the crosses we have planned for him with our mares. Because he is young, we will be offering him for limited bookings next year to outside mares. He is eligible for multiple futurities, and we expect big things from this talented young horse.”
With two thriving careers and a busy show schedule, Steve and Kathy emphasize the importance of family. Kathy says, “We got into horses as a family, and I think it helped our relationship with our kids because we shared the love of the horses. By spending so much time on the road at shows together, we really enjoy each other’s company. Our kids learned a lot about responsibility and sportsmanship through competing, and we also met wonderful people along the way.”
Today, the family includes Matthew’s wife, Jolene, and their four-year-old son, Colton. Kathy radiates grandmotherly pride when she says, “Colton loves to go to shows with us, and he’s got the family horse gene! We’re very proud of our kids – Sarah is doing such a fantastic job with the farm and Matthew has a successful career at Indiana University, and he speaks seven languages. Matt and Jolene are great parents – it’s so much fun being a grandparent!.”
With the success of CarDon and their growing success in the show pen, the family recently had a reminder about the importance of appreciating each day after Steve suffered a heart attack a few years ago. He had qualified for the Select World, when in June he felt flu-like symptoms. Kathy recalls, “It was a Friday and Steve said he wasn’t feeling well. He thought it was the flu but I got concerned because it came on so fast. I took him to the hospital, and he was having a heart attack. When they showed me the picture of his heart, I fell apart. The doctor described it as ‘a widow maker’ because the vein was so blocked. A typical horseman, Steve, asked the doctor if the stent surgery could wait until Monday because he had a horse show to get to that weekend. Needless to say, the doctor [and Kathy] didn’t go for that idea and Steve had the surgery right away. It was a tough recovery, and Steve’s goal was just to get to the Select World that year. He made it and even though he wasn’t in the trophies, seeing him in the show pen was one of the greatest moments of our family’s life.” Steve adds, “I can’t emphasize enough the amazing effect horses had on my recovery and how having a goal can make such an important difference in your life. I feel great now.”
Each year after the show season is over, the Headley family plans a getaway. Their favorite destination is Sanibel Island, Florida, along with the entire family. The couple has traveled extensively, too. Steve says, “What was the first thing we did when we visited Ireland? We went to the Dublin Horse Show! I guess horses really are in our blood. It was funny, though. There was an announcement over the loudspeaker that the president of the IQHA was on the showgrounds. I was the president of the Indiana Quarter Horse Association at the time and I thought, ‘Wow, isn’t that nice of them! How do they even know I’m here?’ But it turned out they were talking about the president of the Ireland Quarter Horse Association. I never knew they existed, but we met him and it was interesting to learn about the growth in popularity of the Quarter Horse in Ireland and Europe. I go everywhere wearing my World Champion belt buckle, cowboy boots, and cowboy hat and they got a real kick out of that.”
The couple also believes in giving back to the community through horses and in their daily life. They have volunteered in local 4-H for over twenty years and they are active supporters of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse founded by Kathy’s brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Stephen and Julia Moore, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Kathy explains, “We have been blessed with our careers, home, family, and horses. Both Steve and I grew up with an emphasis from both sets of parents on the values of hard work and family, and we believe in paying it forward.”
Steve says, “It’s also the little things that make a difference. We’ve been so fortunate to be currently working with professionals like Ross Roark and Don Griffey, and so many other people who have helped us along the way. We were at a show a few years ago when there was a cute little kid with a nice horse outside the ring. She looked so nervous. I went up to her and said, ‘you have a really nice horse there. Good luck to you.’ Her mom found me later and told me what that meant to her because she was new to showing and she was nervous because she didn’t know anyone and nobody talked to her. It was a little thing, but it was nice to know it helped that youngster.”
With a successful show season, a busy breeding season, and the expectation of a high quality foal crop in 2016, there is a lot going on for Headley Quarter Horses. As the list of World Champion titles grows for Steve and Sarah, and with grandson, Colton, chomping at the bit for his turn in the show pen, the Headley Halter dynasty is guaranteed an exciting future.
