Education:

·         Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, University of Wisconsin, Madison

·         Master of Arts Degree in International Relations, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

Married to: Michael Molland, Attorney and Senior Partner at Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius, San Francisco, CA

Children: Maria Molland, Jake Molland, Ben Molland

American Saddlebred Involvement:

Owner since 1997 of Far Field Farm, American Saddlebred Breeding Farm in Petaluma, CA. Home to 30 American Saddlebreds and including the broodmares: WC Party Train, Junior Bridesmaid (only full sister to WGC Radiant Success), Litany (full sister to WC Absolutely Exquisite) Party Party (by Talk of the Town) full sister to Colors Flying, dam of Phlags Phlying, Colorful Tale, and other noted futurity colts, Skyrim’s Lady of Note (dam of WC Jaunty Janette), and other well bred mares. Young stock sired by The Mystery Writer, Reedann’s Top Gun, County Treasure, It’s Hammertime, and Phlags Phlying. Home of breeding stallions: Times Roman, Commander In Charge (leased from Bob Ruxer) and King’s Black Ace.

Memberships and Voluntary Positions:

·         Member of Board of Directors of Northern California American Saddlebred Horse Association, for the past six years

·         Coordinator for the past nine years of NCASHA’s breed promotion effort at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, CA

·         Member for three years of Board of Directors of Pacific Saddlebred Association.

·         For two years in late nineties board member of the California Saddle Horse Breeders Futurity Board

·         Lifetime member of the American Saddlebred Museum

·         Current ASHA member and member for 15 years

·         Current member of the Advancement Committee For the Future of the Breed

·         Current member and Co-Chair of the ASHA Charter Club Council

·         Liaison to the ASHA Board of Directors from the ASHA Charter Club Council

·         Member of the Sonoma Horse Council

·         Member of USEF

·         Regular contributor and writer to American Saddlebred Magazine, Ride Magazine, and www.equestmagazine.com (online magazine)

·         Writer and photographer for our farm website www.farfieldfarm.com

 Background:

I grew up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, a small town in West Central Wisconsin, about an hour from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I attended elementary and high school. For as long as I can remember, horses have been a part of my life, a characteristic in all likelihood inherited from my grandfather. Because my parents were not horse-familiar people, they were kind enough to help me buy my first horses when I was nine years old, but the care of those horses was up to me. From grooming to stall cleaning to getting to local horse shows, the responsibility was all mine, and occupied many hours of my time well into high school. Breeding horses was an early interest. At the age of 12, I bred my first Saddlebred mare to a local Arabian stallion, (the only stallion close enough to ride her to), and that was the start of a lifelong involvement with breeding Saddlebred horses. 

American Saddlebreds were fairly common horses in the part of the Midwest where I was raised. I saw them being used in many ways in addition to the show ring, and this perspective has remained with me. Two of my high school friends owned Saddlebreds, and the three of us showed our horses in 4-H shows, local open shows, and when we wanted a whole lot of diversity and excitement, created our own horse shows. Trail riding our horses through the rolling hills of the countryside near our homes probably consumed more of our time than anything else we did with them, but the most important thing I learned about Saddlebreds from this time was that they were capable of many different uses, including helping the local dairy farmers round up their stray cattle.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin, I moved to Northern California where my future husband was attending the University of California at Berkeley.  After finding a small ranch to buy in the Sierra Foothills, we began a search for another Saddlebred for my own riding use, eventually buying a nine year old former breeding stallion and five-gaited show horse named Beau’s Courage. Together this horse and I explored the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and most of the time I rode alone, completely trusting this animated horse to take care of me. With Beau never tiring, we rode unfenced mile after mile of the old historic Donner Trail across the Sierra Nevada. During the years when our three children were born, and while my husband was in law school, this long distance trail riding became my chosen form of relaxation. It remains today my favorite way to use my riding horse though I am a bit more careful than I used to be about just how far off the beaten track I am willing to ride. My husband who started with no background in horses has now successfully ridden two of our Saddlebred mares as endurance horses and thoroughly enjoys the sport.

 In 1983, after my husband took a job with a San Francisco law firm, we moved to Marin County, CA. We purchased a small ranch there with a five stall barn, and I once again began breeding Saddlebreds, one or two a year. During these years I also worked as first an Admissions Counselor and later as an Associate Director of Admissions at a private college in the Bay Area known as World College West. A large part of my responsibilities at the college was to market and promote its unique international curriculum involving a study abroad program. I created brochures and wrote copy for advertising materials directed at prospective students, and it was during these years that I learned the importance of being able to “see” through the eyes of someone who might not agree with your own perspective. I have found that experience invaluable as I have done my own marketing of horses in California where I have had to learn to look at the breed as an outsider might see it.

When our daughter, Maria, reached middle school, we purchased a show horse for her, and she began to show Saddlebreds,   participating up and down the west coast at Monterey and Santa Barbara, as well as other smaller shows in the state. We sold that horse when she graduated from high school, but still had several other Saddlebreds which my husband and I continued to ride.  In 1997 we bought our current 235 acre farm in Sonoma County and began to assemble our current group of broodmares. We now have 30 Saddlebreds on the farm, and continue to breed, raise, and sell horses both locally to a general market as well as keeping show prospects in training with Dr. Alan Raun at Reedannland in Iowa. Callaway’s Happy Endings, three-gaited mare and winner of the Two year old Park Pleasure Sweepstakes class at the All American was one of our show horses.  The Party’s Here, out of our broodmare, WC Party Train, was also shown successfully in recent years, then sold to a client of Bill and Nancy Becker. Both horses were owned in partnership with Dr. Alan Raun of Reedannland. Several other horses including Guided By Magic, have been owned and shown and sold by us.

 I have a great interest in the history of the American Saddlebred, and believe that this history sets it apart from other horses. My husband and I continue to support the American Saddlebred Museum as part of this interest.

There is perhaps no one more aware than someone who breeds horses year after year just how important it is that we find alternative ways to market and use those young horses that do not have the ability or attitude to become show horses in the traditional sense. Anyone who has taken a business class would say that throwing away 80 % of your product is a losing business proposition, and so it is with our American Saddlebred breeding industry. Clearly, speaking from a practical economic as well as a public relations perspective, neglecting to market these young horses not only harms the pocketbooks of breeders, but does little to encourage the rest of the general horse owning public to regard the American Saddlebred as an athletic horse, capable of competition in other venues. It is vital that we do not “specialize” our horses into extinction.

Speaking as someone who has used the Saddlebred for recreational use as well as for the saddle seat show ring, I believe strongly that without familiarity with the breed itself, few horse buyers will know enough or have enough exposure to choose an American Saddlebred . After more than 50 years of first being introduced to my first Saddlebred by answering an ad for a “riding horse” in the classified section of our local newspaper, my husband and I are now owners of a 235 acre farm in California devoted to the breeding, marketing, and showing of American Saddlebred horses on a national scale. Just as I found Saddlebred show horses by finding an American Saddlebred to simply ride when I was just nine years old, other people will do the same. That introduction can come about through academy lesson programs or through using the Saddlebred in diverse ways that reveal its athleticism and suitability, exposing it to people who would not otherwise know anything about it. Simply put, without an introduction, there will be no lifelong involvement with the breed.  That has become my goal as a breeder and a promoter: to introduce to California horse owners a Saddlebred that can do the work and perform in the discipline of that person’s choosing. In this way, all aspects of our industry will grow.