Our next Woman of the West is a lady with a heart bigger than Texas itself, she is one strong, encouraging, and selfless friend, momma, wife, daughter, business owner, horse trainer, and more. She is one all around incredible woman, who loves the Lord and shows it in the way she lives her life. Katie Shaffer spent her childhood going back and forth between Central Florida and South Texas. Her dad was in the race horse industry but she had solid roots in the western industry as well. Katie and her siblings grew up going to rodeos. Katie was even Little Miss Florida Rodeo USA! Check out more about Katie below.
What does homestead mean to you?
To me, homestead means where your family is. Where your heart thrives and where you feel most protected. It’s where you survive.
Where do you live and how long have you lived there? Where did you grow up?
I live in north-east Texas with my husband and 3 girls. We are blessed to live in close proximity to Justin’s parents and his sister and brother in law who have three boys. The kids love being able to spend time with each other and having such a large support system is incredible too. Not only do they support us and us them with the big and obvious things, like succeeding with Rodeoing—- but we hold each other accountable in our faith and health, mentally and physically. There’s always SOMEONE to help with the kids and there’s always ears available to run ideas by and gain inspiration from. We’ve lived in East Texas for about 7 years. Before that I spent my life bouncing between south Texas and central Florida. We moved a lot with my dad’s job in the thoroughbred racing industry, but also had a strong western background as well. Living in south TX was incredible. We lived in the Texas Hill Country. Everywhere you turned there was a STUNNING view. Plus, I loved the seclusion. We lived 30 minutes from the nearest store apart from my grandma’s small general store. We lived with what we needed instead of what we wanted and spent a lot of time in the arena and taking care of things on the ranch.
What are some of your favorite things about living a western lifestyle (on a ranch or in the country, small town living, with horses, farming, the community, etc.)?
I love the western lifestyle because it’s demanding of so many lost qualities. Responsibility, respect, awareness... I think a lot of people have let those things disappear in their homes or think that their kids are too young to be asked to do things and have BIG responsibilities around the “homestead.” Also— I think it gives kids the opportunity to hear “No.” No, you can’t go do this today because you have A, B and C to get done... I believe it helps them to appreciate the small things in addition to the big things because they’re appreciative of getting the opportunity to do something or have something when you’ve been told no, or not right now. I feel like kids that have a western background are respectful children. They respect elders, kids their age, people of all races and genders. They value the role that each person plays in the world because I would venture to say it’s nearly impossible to have a ranch or to have a farming family without having help—- without every person having a job. Lastly I think having animals to care for helps kids to have compassion, and to be aware of small changes; body language— they can listen with more than their ears when it comes to taking care of horses, cows, dogs, cats etc.
In what ways do you see God in your homestead?
If I slow down enough, I notice God in every part of our Homestead, but usually I’m running too fast to count ALL of my blessings. Some things I see that MAKE me stop or slow down are breathtaking sunsets. When I first moved from the Hill country to East Texas I thought it was awful. I hated the trees and missed the rocky hills that bordered our ranch. I remember exactly where I was standing the first time I thought of East Texas to be pretty. The sun was setting over our arena and I thought to myself, “thank you God for giving me this beautiful place to live, where we have everything we need and where we can feel safe.” I’ve looked at East Texas a little different since then. I also see God in the patience of my husband with horses and our children. It’s something I have always admired about him and thank God for often. It’s a quality that is heaven sent and the most admirable quality for a dad with three girls. I’ve also seen God so much in the creation of our children... I’ve never felt closer to God than when I gave birth to our first child and it made me look at everything, even the growth of our garden and the birth of our animals totally different. It is incredible to me that God has created every detail of how bell peppers, cantaloupe, fillies, colts, calves, Blakely, Abilene, Ellie and all other things grow and thrive and somehow he knew I was capable of raising all of them. The cycle of life and death within this world and the promise of everlasting life in eternity are the center of our homestead and it definitely keeps me in awe.
Who did you learn the most about life from?
One of the things I’ve tried implementing throughout my entire life is to pay attention to EVERYTHING someone does. If you like what they do, note it. Keep it in your back pocket for when you’ll need it. I’ve learned so much from my parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws and some of our closest friends. There is no possible way to list a person that I’ve learned the most from because I’ve learned so many different things from so many different people.
What is a life challenge you have faced and how did you overcome it?
Justin and I had our first daughter when we were 19 years old. It was terrifying, but also felt right. Justin and I have had to grow a lot together over the past seven years all while trying to figure out how to be good parents too. We have had endless support from our families and have had some people close to us speak love, grace, support and positivity into our lives. I know people prayed for us when we didn’t even know. I honestly do not believe that we would have survived as a family had we not kept turning to God and asking, “what do we do now.” The most important thing after that question was to listen and act, and while we felt cautious or clueless I firmly believe God placed people in our lives to hold our hands through those journeys and they’re still standing with us today. We had to learn as a couple to sacrifice a lot of things.. that was so hard for me to do and it’s something I still struggle with today... but hearing tiny voices pray to God every night will always make me thankful I sacrificed so much.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned from horses or from living in a rural place?
Horses will humble you! Golly. They will. Some days I get done riding and think I’m the baddest cowgirl in the greater East Texas area and some days I feel like I’m doing everything wrong. I’ve learned to pay attention to the little things. I’ve learned to be patient and to be kind/understanding, but also be consistent with cues and in asking for what I want. I’ve also learned it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help *GASP*! Yep. I actually think it’s a strength. It’s taking a step back, finding the weakest chink in your armor and saying, I’m going to make that stronger. I still struggle with asking for help and can be stubborn, but in transitioning from riding rodeo horses to riding more colts I’ve realized I will always have something to learn and something to perfect and to do that I have got to ask questions or ask for help.
Tell us one or two of your favorite stories about ranching, horses, or life in general.
A few super proud moments I’ve had is winning the “iron woman” ranch rodeo title the same day Justin won the “Iron man” on a horse Justin trained. Seeing my daughter ride and ROPE makes me so dang proud. I also will always remember the times riding on the ranch and just kicking the reins and letting my horse go wherever he wanted however fast he wanted... it was incredibly “freeing.” There’s so many great memories from my youth. I rode through the red rocks in Gallup New Mexico with my dad one time and it totally felt like taking a step back in time. I loved it.
Another favorite memory was the time my grandma rode with me and my three girls to Cheyenne so I could rope at the Daddy in 2019 that was an awesome moment and it was so special to share that with her.
What is your favorite recipe?
I am the master of cooking chicken fried steak. I don’t know why or how and I don’t think I do it much differently than anyone else but it’s one of those recipes where I’ve done it so many times I don’t measure anything out or follow any directions.
What is the name of your all-time favorite horse?
My all time favorite horse was Short Stack. This was a hard one. I’ve had so many great horses. Short Stack taught myself and all of my siblings how to ride/rodeo. He took care of us and we rode the hair off him. I also had a horse named Chief that we bought as a barrel horse and I turned him into a pole, goat, breakaway and every now and then heel horse as well. He had a huge heart and carried me to the THSRA state finals in 4 events every year.
Who is someone who has inspired you?
My husband inspires me. My family inspires me. Some other people are Rope Myers, Lari Dee Guy and countless others. Again, there’s no way to list a single person who inspires me most or to even list every person who inspires me. I’m inspired by every person in some small way.
Don’t you just love her?! You can catch Katie on social media or catch her and the girls cheering on her husband, Justin, at a rodeo. Be sure to reach out to her if you’ve got any special skin care needs! She has some great products she can help you with.
Thank you, Katie, for sharing more about yourself with us! Your story is inspiring and your wisdom about paying attention to the small details is so needed in this fast-paced world we live in! Katie’s words about noticing the East Texas sunset and her attitude turning towards gratitude brought me to tears. We all truly have things to be so grateful to God about!
Love you friends. As always, if you need something, please reach out and let me know!
xo,
Sara
Katie has had a love of horses from a young age. Her and Justin are now sharing their love of rodeo, animals and homesteading with their three girls.
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