Motherhood is one of life’s greatest gifts. Children provide the most challenging and the most memorable moments.

“When you become a mother, your life changes in the greatest way possible,” said Kristen Galyean, of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mothers often put their personal hobbies or professional endeavors on hold to provide the care and the attention their children need. Despite sacrifices and comprises, most mothers agree that it is worth it.

“Nothing compares to being a mom and wanting to spend every minute with your child,” said Michelle Favorite, of Kent, Ohio.

When a mother’s career is intertwined with all aspects of her life, she finds ways to make it all work.

“Horse showing is what we do. We work together and are fortunate that my parents travel with us so that we can all be together at home and on the road,” said Kristy Starnes of Summerton, South Carolina.

And, if they are lucky, mothers can influence their children’s hobbies and encourage them to join in on the activities about which they are passionate.

“My mom had horses and showed all along while I was growing up. She got me started and hooked,” said Kaleena Katz Weakly, of Shelbyville, Illinois.

“Now, she loves to come to the shows to be a show grandma.”

On May 8, mothers across the country will be celebrated for their devotion to their children. You may be surprised to learn that Mother’s Day had a much different intention than the way the holiday is celebrated today. The History Channel’s website explains, “the roots of the modern American Mother’s Day date back to the 19th century.

In the years before the Civil War (1861-65), Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children.”

After Jarvis’ death in 1905, her daughter, Anna Jarvis, conceived the idea of celebrating motherhood and the sacrifices mothers made for their children. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially established Mother’s Day as the second Sunday in May. Distraught by the commercialization of the holiday, Anna Jarvis spent the remainder of her life fighting for the repeal of the holiday.

In honor of Mother’s Day, InStride Edition recognizes show moms who are at the top of their game while raising the next generation of exhibitors.

Kristy and Jay Starnes with their son, Logan

Meet the moms

Kristy Starnes – Kristy and Jay Starnes make their living training and showing horses. They both grew up on horses and became professional horse trainers at a very young age. Both are highly decorated exhibitors and both are members of the National Snaffle Bit Association’s Quarter Million Dollar Club, for logging earnings in excess of $250,000. Specializing in futurity horses, the couple has helped shape the careers of many of the industry’s top horses such as VS Flatline, Strutin On The Range, Its Best To Be Hot, A Certain Illusion, VS Check My Pulse, The Lopin Machine and many others.

Since their son, Logan, joined the family in 2010, not much has changed.

“This is what we do,” Kristy said. “Our show schedule has largely stayed the same. The only change is that we don’t do shows around Christmas like we used to.”

Kristen Galyean – Prior to welcoming two daughters – Gracelyn Nicole and Aislynn Faith – into the family, Kristen Galyean and her husband, Wes, a nationally renowned Cutting horse trainer, traveled extensively to shows. Kristen won multiple AQHA World and Congress Championships with Vital Signs Are Good. In 2005, the pair set the Amateur Western Riding record at the AQHA World Show earning a 237.5. In 2007 the team won the All-Around Amateur title at both the AQHA World Show and Quarter Horse Congress.

Riding VS Code Red, Kristen became the only Non-Pro rider to win the 2-year-old Open Western Pleasure, 2-Year-Old Non-Pro and 2-Year-Old Limited classes at the Congress, which she accomplished in 2009. Her partnership with VS Flatline has been equally successfully. When she followed her husband into the cutting pen, she quickly rose to the top and has been inducted into the National Cutting Horse Hall of Fame with earnings exceeding $538,000.

“I was showing often,” she said. “I worked for my family’s car dealership business and had a lot of flexibility. I could up and go to horse shows.”

Kristen and Wes Galyean with their oldest daughter

Michelle Burch Favorite – Michelle and husband, Zach, a winning Western Pleasure trainer, have consistently finished in the top 10 at the major shows. Riding Duplicated Hero, Michelle won seven national titles in AQHA and NSBA circles and were Top 10 at the Congress and AQHA World Show. She was named the 2006 AQHA Rookie of the Year and has led the nation in Hunter Under Saddle and Western Pleasure classes, winning those events at nearly every major futurity from the Tom Powers to the Reichert Celebration and the Southern Belle. A son, Cruz joined them 18 months ago.

“I was riding three times a week if I wasn’t at a show,” she said. “When I was trying to get a horse qualified or at a big futurity, I was at a show every weekend.”

Kaleena Katz Weakly – Describing herself as “addicted,” Kaleena hauled extensively for national AQHA All-Around and High Point titles.

“We would hit at least one show a month during the winter season, and it would increase to around three shows a month during the summer,” she said.

Kaleena has won many High Point titles in several different classes. She has also earned three AQHA All Around titles, 11 Congress Champions and two Reserve World Champions. Her husband, Josh, is known for his success in the Halter pen with multiple World Champions like Giancarla, Elusive Premonition and FG Coco Chanel. They have one son, Jax.

After children

Pregnancy didn’t slow Kaleena’s pace. “I was really lucky and had an extremely easy pregnancy. I think staying active and showing as long as I did while pregnant, helped me get back into the pen six weeks after Jax was born,” she said.

With her doctor’s OK, she continued showing in all of her classes until she was five-and-a-half months along. At that point she dropped Horsemanship, but continued in her other events. “It was tough for me, giving up the Horsemanship, but after Jax came my perspective on showing actually changed,” she said, “my mindset was more on the quality of shows we attended and that the family could all go together.”

Although her outlook on showing is different she hasn’t lost her competitive edge.

“My best year to date in the show pen was actually the year Jax was born, 2014,” she said. “That was the year I won my first World Championship along with two more Congress Championships.

Michelle and Zach Favorite holding their newborn son, Cruz

In addition to riding and showing less and experiencing the swirl of emotions that come along with having a child, Michelle had to make a significant lifestyle change. Her son, Cruz, was constantly sick. Countless doctors visits revealed that he was allergic to horses. That meant no horses. No trips to the barn and no horse shows. And when Zach came home from the barn he had to be extremely careful before interacting with Cruz.

“I was devastated in the beginning,” she said, “when your infant can’t be around horses, that means no barn and no horses for mom too.”

Unable to share what she loved with her son was an enormous change. “I really got to missing horses and being able to ride and show,” she admitted.

Since Cruz’s diagnosis, Michelle and Zach have worked with multiple doctors to find management strategies that work for their son.

“Now that Cruz is nearly 1 ó, we are better able to manage his allergy and he can live a bit more of a normal little boy life,” she said.

With the help of Michelle’s mom, Renee Linnell, Cruz will be joining the family at horse shows in 2016. “My mom has been my rock. She helps take care of Cruz so that Zach and I can work horses and show,” she said.

Staying in the game

It can be difficult to find the time to ride and haul to shows with an infant or a toddler, but you have to find what works for you and make time for what’s important. These show moms have found a middle ground that fulfills both their love for their family and their passion for showing.

“I may not practice as much as I used to, but I feel like my practices and lessons are more productive and focused now more than ever because that time is really important,” Kaleena said.

Kaleena Weakly and her son Jax

Her main show horse is in training at Gilliam Show Horses, nearly a four hour drive, making it difficult for regular training sessions.

When she has a big show coming up she travels to the barn for “boot camp” so that she can compete in one circuit a month from  March to August and then focus on Congress and the AQHA World Show.

With limited practice time, Kristen appreciates the training Wes puts on her Non-Pro Cutting horses so that she can jump on and go.

“He does such a good job,” she said, “even though I don’t get to ride them much at home I know we will be ready at a show.”

Showing with children also means not being afraid to ask for help. “It was challenging for me to ask for help at the shows with my new baby without feeling guilty about going to ride my horse,” Kaleena said.

Family is at the heart of each of these show moms’ success.

“My mom and dad travel to every show with us and watch Logan so we can get up at midnight to get a horse ready to show,” Kristy added.

Michelle agreed. “There’s no way I’d be able to enjoy horses and shows without my mom’s help,” she said. “She’ll be watching Cruz at shows when she can.”

Shows can also provide a chance to connect with out of town family members. “Shows are a real family event for us,” Kristen said. “It gives us the opportunity to see Wes’ uncle, (Gil Galyean, the first NSBA rider to reach the $1 Million mark in lifetime earnings).”

Finding a routine and a school arrangement that complements their career has allowed Kristy and Jay to maintain their rigorous showing schedule while involving Logan in every event they attend. “Logan was on a schedule and we stuck to it, even at shows. It made it easier when we were home because he would go to sleep more quickly” Kristy said.

The six-year-old is enrolled in a private school that is flexible and willing to send work along with him when he is on the road with his family. “The school is great about working with us and he can continue with the school until the 12th grade,” she explained.

Future riders

One of the questions these women likely get asked a lot is, “will your children show too?” Each of them agree, they would love to share their passion with their children.

“Of course! Mainly I hope he finds a passion in life and goes after it whatever it may be,” Kaleena said, “more importantly, we hope he learns to work hard, have determination and patience and is kind to both people and animals.”

Kristen’s oldest, Gracelyn, already rides all the time. She loves to ride VS Flatline or VS Code Red when they are home and she’s already chased a cow or two under her father’s watchful eye.