Longtime Kimball resident Sharon Schubert was honored by the American Saddlebred Association of Lexington, Ky., with the Breed Ambassador Award for 2016 for Region 3, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota.
The award is to recognize those who educate, demonstrate, and promote the American Saddlebred horse to encourage awareness about the versatility of the breed.
Schubert is an amateur owner from a farm just north of town, who has shown American Saddlebreds for more than 20 years. She not only rides, but also has cared for the multiple generations of saddlebreds she has owned.
She recently won first place at the WSCA Champ show (one of the largest all-breed shows in the country) in St. Paul in the Saddleseat Pleasure class, while also placing second in the Western Pleasure class with the same horse. This demonstrates the true versatility of the breed.
Schubert describes the American Saddlebred as not only beautiful, but with an attitude that owners cherish. She currently owns three saddlebreds: Santanas Grand Treasure, an 18-year-old who was featured showing in the Aug. 11,
2004, Tri-County News riding
saddleseat at a local show; Courageous Carrissima, a 3-year-old who will begin his career this year; and Daybreaks Roman Holiday (in the photo), a 9-year-old Saddlebred who was rescued as a result of a Pine County Humane Society case.
What Schubert would most like people to know is that Saddlebreds have a heart of gold and are trusty mounts for high-level shows, trail rides, driving, show jumping, and even for her grandchildren in the backyard riding ring in Kimball.
Sharon Schubert of Kimball won first place in Saddleseat Pleasure and second in Western Pleasure at the WSCA Champ Show recently on Daybreaks Roman Holiday, her 9-year-old American Saddlebred horse. Submitted photo.