California Riding Magazine • July, 2009

Kristin Hardin Stables
The next generation is off to a great start.

by Kim F. Miller
photos by Anne Amundson Hoover

Hunter/jumper trainer Kristin Hardin chose the road less travelled and that’s taken her to a pretty sweet spot: a 120-acre property 25 miles east of Santa Barbara where she manages 90 horses in various stages of development.

The majority of these are under 5 years old, including seven babies foaled this year. Coupled with her own 3-and-a-half-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, these youngsters project a powerful sense of possibility.

Although she continues to be a winner on the hunter/jumper, Arabian and Welsh pony circuits, Hardin sees her business as being more about the future. “It’s about the next generation,” she says. Known for her knack with young horses, turnaround successes and plentiful sales prospects, Hardin moved to Santa Barbara County’s New Cuyama from her longtime base in Santa Ynez four years ago. The peace of the cattle ranching area appealed to her, her husband Cole Hardin and their two children, as did the potential to have all of her horses in one location.

The high number of horses at Kristin Hardin Stables reflects the horsewoman’s multi-tiered interest in the sport. With five stallions in her care, she indulges her passion for matching the right mare and sire and developing the results. Not partial to a particular breed, Hardin works with a unique mix of horses. Welsh ponies, Arabians and half-Arabs, Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds get equal attention from this trainer who grew up as a super successful rider on the national A hunter/jumper circuit. (Her maiden name is Medall.)

With her first husband Will Simpson, Hardin took the more traditional trainer’s route of living a life built around the competition calendar. Those years established her great reputation, but she doesn’t miss that lifestyle even a little. “It’s really hard to develop horses at shows,” she notes. “It’s great to be able to put a basis on a young horse at home. That’s what a lot of people call on me to do for their horses.”
Most of the youngsters have been sent to her by owners from across the country who appreciate Hardin’s gift for getting them off to a great start. “My barn is always full,” Hardin notes. “I’m glad there’s a demand for this, because it’s what I love to do.” That demand keeps her husband busy building what she laughingly describes as the Winchester Mystery House of stall additions and paddocks.

DEVOTED CLIENTELE

Horses out-number students by a large margin, but those Hardin has are remarkably loyal. Amateur hunter rider Anne Hoover travels from Orange County to ride with Hardin and Emily Bridge lives in the Bay Area’s Los Gatos but keeps her several horses and a camper in New Cuyama.

“The emphasis here is on making really good horses,” Hardin says. Her own children, Tyler and Zacko, and those of a close friend, are her main young riders and they have to earn the right to compete. “I tell them they have to practice every day if they want to show, but they usually beat me out the door every morning to get on their ponies,” she says. There are less rigid rules for the adults who ride with Hardin, except that they must fall in with her belief that showing is “not the be all and end all of having a horse.”

“It doesn’t matter what riding style you choose or whether or how much you show, but rather that whatever you do, you do it right,” she continues. For example, “mutton busting” was all the rage at Kristin Hardin Stables after the kids recently attended a local rodeo. “There is a lot more to life than what’s available at the top level of the hunter/jumper circuit,” she observes.

Hardin made a splash on the Arabian Sporthorse market several years ago when Day Dream Arabians sent the pure bred stallion Showgun PGN to her. She rode him to great success at Arabian sporthorse competitions and also to numerous Hunter wins on the Open circuit. Hardin fell hook, line and sinker for the Arabian show scene, especially the annual Scottsdale Arabian Show. “Winning any class there is like winning the Grand Prix at a hunter/jumper show,” she notes of the enjoyable pomp and circumstance that permeates this lively corner of the equestrian world.

SANE SHOW SCHEDULE

Hardin’s sane schedule takes her to hunter/jumper shows often enough to meet her horses’ various developmental needs. As a nice counterbalance to the green mounts, Hardin loves bringing her veteran international jumper Platinum’s Pedro to carefully selected competitions. “He had a bad reputation all over the world when I bought him seven years ago,” she says fondly. “It’s nice that he’s turned into the horse I thought he would be.” A consistent high placer and/or winner in small Grands Prix, including the recent Jumper Classic at Woodside, Pedro is now “very easy to ride.”

Hardin’s success in sporthorse breeding is matched only by her passion for it. Her five stallions include two Warmbloods: the Holsteiner Cortez, a Cor de la Breyere grandson famous for siring the noted hunter Estrella, and Harley Brown’s former Grand Prix mount, the Irish Sport Horse, Blue Diamond. Stallion stablemates Showgun PGN and a Section B Welsh pony stallion named Priceless are equal stars in their Arabian and Welsh constellations.

The trainer is particularly excited about the fifth and newest stallion at Kristin Hardin Stables. Owned by Emily Bridge and purchased in Argentina, Cheveaux DuPont’s HJ Otto-matic is “in my opinion, the nicest 4-year-old jumper in the country,” Hardin states. The Baloubet grandson debuted in Arizona this winter and will sire his first foal this year.

The biggest debut at Kristin Hardin Stables, however, may be that of Tyler Holiday Hardin, who was preparing for her first show at presstime. Pictured on the cover of this issue, Tyler and her pony Lady Hawk love riding on the beach as much as readying for the Walk/Trot world. And that’s just the way mom likes it. “I want my kids to love their horses and to love showing, and also to understand that there are so many things we can enjoy doing with our horses.”

For more information on Kristin Hardin Stables, please visit www.kristinhardin.com or call 805-350-0776.