Horses have been a part of Rachel Ukkestad’s life since she was a child. Growing up outside of Rushford during the Great Depression, she had always wanted a pony, but in those times “if it didn’t milk or pull a plow, you didn’t feed it.” So as a kid, her experience was with the work horses that were still commonly in use on farms at the time.
At age 18 Rachel married husband Glenn and moved to a property south of Rushford, where she still lives today. As her own family grew, she was able to fulfill her childhood dream of getting a pony. It turned out her daughter Elizabeth shared her natural bond with horses, and the mother-daughter duo began to connect with other horse enthusiasts in the area.
The family joined the Root River Saddle Club, which brought together horse owners from the Rushford, Harmony and Preston areas. The group would get together to ride local trails and put on small shows. As the Saddle Club grew, they faced a challenge: they needed a place to hold events. Thus in 1984 ground was broken on an open air arena at the Ukkestad Homestead. Ukkestad Area was born.
The years wore on and Beth had kids of her own. Her son Phillip didn’t have an overwhelming interest in horses, but daughter Julia was single-minded about them. Every day after school she would come home to practice riding, and every weekend, the family would attend shows, as many as 30 to 40 shows each summer. Julia described the different types of competitions that take place at a horse show – some focus on the appearance of the horse, some on showmanship (how the exhibitor presents the horse). Then there are “pattern” competitions, where the exhibitor takes the horse through a series of movements as instructed by the judge. There are also timed events, where the goal is to complete the pattern in the least amount of time.
With the mentorship of her mom, Julia started judging horses herself. She became a 4-H judge in 2009 and was certified through the Western Saddle Club Association in 2018. As a judge, she tries to be approachable and help the competitors grow, especially when she’s judging youth or 4-H events. She emphasized how rewarding it is to see the kids improve – giving them pointers on what they could do better, but also letting them know what they’ve done well.
Julia now has her own kids, Madeline and Samuel, ages 10 and 7. While they have somewhat more diverse interests, they still love coming to their great-grandma’s Rachel’s place to ride. “Its great therapy for me and the kids to come to the Arena and spend time with the horses” Julia said.
Seeing kids develop a bond with the animals is one of the family’s favorite things about operating the Arena. Today, they work with the Rushford-Peterson Community Ed Program to provide local kids the opportunity to ride in a non-competitive setting. Rachel emphasized that its really about giving kids the chance to be around a horse.
Today there are four horses residing at the Ukkestad Arena. Rachel and Julia’s philosophy is to “let their horses be horses.” This means that during the growing season, the horses are allowed to spend time on pasture and engage in natural grazing behaviors. This is in contrast to some folks who keep their animals in stalls and on feed all the time. And they don’t participate in shows year round – during the winter months, the horses are allowed to rest and enjoy big round bales of hay.
At one time the family had aspirations of breeding horses, but it’s quite challenging and they chose not to focus on that. Rather than raising horses from birth they buy animals that are already broken in, and get to know them. Rachel described the intelligence horses have; they are extremely affectionate and develop deep bonds with humans. They can live to be more than 30 years old if they are taken care of well.
Over the decades, the family has witnessed significant change in the world of horse judging. In the early days, there weren’t a lot of trailers or fancy equipment – oftentimes participants would simply ride their horses down to the Arena. Participating in competitions used to be a relatively accessible and affordable thing for a family to do, but now its become hyper competitive and flooded with money. For some, horses have become just another status symbol, and the two way relationship between horse and rider has faded. And while there was always a spirit of competition, today many events are intense and it sometimes feels like there’s something that’s been lost. Even so, there remains a deep sense of comradery in the horse community.
Beth passed away in December 2023 after a battle with cancer. Even in her last year of life, she was there at the Fillmore County Fair, finding something to do with horses. At her visitation and funeral, there was an outpouring of love from the multitudes of people she had met and influenced over her lifetime; she had been deeply respected and admired by so many. Julia expressed that she can see the influence of her mom and grandma Rachel in her own children’s connection to horses. It’s a family legacy that looks set to continue for generations to come.
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