I’m a cowgirl who won horsewoman of the year – I met my husband in the most country way ever
KELSEY Love Thomas has officially been crowned the world’s greatest horsewoman.
The California native, who now lives in Texas, holds an astonishing nine world titles and has dedicated her life to riding in the saddle.
She won her latest championship at the recent Art of the Cowgirl competition where she blew the competition away.
The 39-year-old is immersed in the Western lifestyle so it’s not a surprise she fell in love with her husband after seeing what he was riding.
But was Buddy rocking a turbo-charged motorbike or was it a lovely, flashy car that caught her eye?
Of course not.
“The first thing I noticed about him when we first met was he was riding a really nice horse,” she told The U.S. Sun with a chuckle.
“So, I said to him: ‘Tell me about the horse that you’re riding!’
“We both definitely like a good cow-horse, and that’s where our passion is a hundred percent and definitely one of the main things that brought us together.”
While Buddy is a bonafide cowboy who works on a ranch every day, Kelsey earns her corn in other ways.
Winning the World’s Greatest Horsewoman was another success to add to an already bulging résumé and proved just how versatile a competitor she is.
The competition was split into four phases: competition–herd work, rein work, steer stopping, and cow work.
That tests every sinew of a rider who is vying for a bumper $15,000 jackpot and a spot at the World’s Greatest Horseman tournament, which takes place next week in Fort Worth.
Kelsey teared up after she was crowned champ last month, but she knows she couldn’t have done it without Buddy by her side.
“We’re definitely in line thinking on the same page,” she added.
“It was kind of hard to find someone, I don’t know if it’s intimidation or what.
“In terms of guys being intimidated, when I was dating before I got married, a cowboy and a cowgirl creates an interesting dynamic because while a lot of guys might think it’s cool or have respect for me, a lot of times they want to be the better one on the horse.
“Buddy is a cowboy. I might be lumped in as a cowgirl, but I really consider myself like a cow-horse-girl.
“Horses are what’s important to me. The cows, I just like doing that with the horses, where he is a real cowboy and he knows how to take care of the cows and do all of that.
“My office is the arena and the barn – his office is out in the pasture out with the cows. When I go help him with that, I listen to him a hundred percent, whatever he says goes.
“But it’s a little bit different dynamic when we’re at home because I know what I’m doing there and I don’t need direction with everything. Not that he tries to do that, but the dynamics are different.
“He loves a good cow-horse just like I do, we’re a team, definitely.”
So, what makes a multiple world champion tick?
“You have to be very passionate and completely immersed,” Kelsey explained.
“You basically have to live and breathe it every day. A vacation for us is going to a horse show!
“It’s just, you know, it’s more than what we do. It’s who we are.
“Don’t get me wrong, I wanna go to the horse shows, I love doing that a hundred percent. That’s why I moved to Texas.
“But I haven’t gone skiing in three years and I love the snowboards. I guess that’s what comes with growing up and having responsibility – you have to make choices.”
Kelsey’s horse – Kit Kat Jerrie – is the other love of her life and her one and only.
Some competitors will own multiple horses while training others along the way but in Kelsey’s world, everything is more compact.
“It’s kind of just me and my husband,” she said. “I have a girl that comes and helps me a few days a week but it’s much more intimate than most.”
The Art of the Cowgirl event pays homage to cowgirls and their contribution to the western lifestyle.
Aside from the competition, there’s plenty for fans and newcomers to get their teeth into.
The three-day festival, founded by Montana horsewoman Tammy Pate in 2018, celebrates cowgirl artisans and their contributions to the Western lifestyle and culture.
There are discussions, demonstrations, rodeo and ranch horse competitions, an art auction and trade show as well as an elite ranch horse sale.
Proceeds go toward educational fellowships that unite emerging artists with masters in their respective fields.
“There’s nothing else like it,” said Kelsey. “We’re all cowgirls, even if we are from different parts of the country and have different styles, different techniques – it all depends on what the terrain is like.
“Just to have girls come from Texas, California, Louisiana, and everywhere else all come together is really cool. It’s huge.”
