Kelly Murphy-Alley on Greatmats National Horse Trainer of the Year Award
Date Published: 09-12 - 2018
Learn about Greatmats National Horse Trainer of the Year Award: https://www.greatmats.com/horse-stall-mats/greatmats-annual-national-horse-trainer-of-the-year-contest.php
2017 Greatmats National Horse Trainer of the Year Kelly Murphy-Alley was ''Overwhelmed with joy'' when she learned he had been nominated for the annual award.
As the only person from her small town to rodeo, Kelly is well known in her community, but sometimes found it difficult to carve out her place in the ''man's world'' of horse training.
''We have a different way of going about it,'' she said about training as a woman.
A rodeo scholarship winner, she moved from Wilmore, Kentucky, to Texas and back where she began training horses that have been rehomed from a local rescue center and took in retired thoroughbred race horses to retraining them for other events. She also breaks 2 year old thoroughbreds for racing and coaches the University of Kentucky women's rodeo team. Her participation in the Retired Race Horse Project earned her a nomination for the Greatmats award which helped validate her as a top-level trainer.
''You don't realize sometimes how many people you have behind you until something like this comes up where everybody has to come together to vote for you,'' she said. "I'm just really appreciative of this. I'm really honored. ... Women can be successful trainers, and we can train the tougher horses.''
Kelly brings that passion and experience with her as she mentors other young women, teaching them how to ride, how to rodeo, how to respect horses, how to train and how to be patient.
With the UK rodeo team boarding and practicing at her facility - Striking KMA Performance Horses - Kelly says, ''I've got... a big family here. It's really so much fun. Everything they're doing is pretty much what I did when I was their age. I have a soft spot for those girls.''
See the Kelly's complete Horse Training Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98808TX9eTQ&list=PL9-gwoDSlzT_Zw3BbW21WtHLtLHeiJrY-
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