Stacy Huls – Not Just a Hunt Seat Rider

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146 – January/February, 2023

By Brittany Vermeer

AQHA Professional Horsewoman, Stacy Lane Huls, might be best known as an elite Hunt Seat rider who has racked up four AQHA World Champion titles, at least 10 Congress Championships, and countless futurity wins during the course of her career. But there’s a side to Stacy that nobody knows.

She didn’t grow up in a family of equestrians. She never planned on being a horse trainer. She loves competing in Western Pleasure.

In sharing the story of her unconventional start and rise through the ranks to the top tier of competition, she hopes the next generation of young trainers will realize that there’s no secret formula for success. “If I can do it, anyone can,” she says.

Ordinary Beginnings

Unlike many of her peers, Stacy didn’t grow up in a family with a long-standing tradition of equestrianism.

“Nobody in my family rode horses,” she says. “I actually started riding Hunters at a place across the street from where my aunt and uncle lived. Then, the people at the facility decided they were going in a different direction, and that’s actually how I ended up getting into the stock horse side of things.”

Stacy didn’t have expensive horses as a kid. She was just lucky to have her own horse, so discussions about breeding, quality, or temperament never entered into the picture.

Click here to read the complete article
146 – January/February, 2023