Helen Michaelis

Infobox Person
name =Helen Michaelis

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image_size =200px
caption =Helen Michaelis
birth_date =birth date|1905|2|07|df=y
birth_place =Junction, Texas, USA
known_for = Secretary-treasurer of the American Quarter Horse Association, pioneering female horse breeder and trainer, American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame inductee
death_date =death date|1965|7|26|df=y
death_place =Kyle, Texas, USA
occupation =Rancher, Horse Breeder and Trainer
spouse =Max G. Michaelis Jr.
parents =Frederic Savignac Hall (1864–1946) and Florence Black (1879–?)

Life and Family

Helen Michaelis (February 7 1905, Junction, Texas USA - July 26 1965, Kyle, Texas USA) was a key figure in the organization and development of the modern Quarter Horse. She was the secretary-treasurer of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) from March 1942 to August 1946, and was the first woman inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.cite web
title = Helen Michaelis
work =
publisher = American Quarter Horse Association
date = 1985
url = http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helen_Michaelis&action=edit&section=1
format = pdf
doi =
accessdate = 07-08-2008]

Helen Mary Hall, daughter of Fred S. Hall (1864-1946) and Florence Black (b1879), was born on a ranch in Kimble County, Texas. Her father, Fred S. Hall, had come to Texas from England to raise horses. Besides Helen, her parents had three boys, all younger than she. In 1917, the family moved to a better ranch in Concho County, Texas, near Eden. [Denhardt, Robert: "Quarter Horses: A Story of Two Centuries", page 155. University of Oklahoma Press, 1967.]

Helen attended college at the University of Texas, and spent the summer of 1928 teaching riding at Camp Ekalela near Estes Park in Colorado. When she returned to Texas, she rounded up a string of horses she had raised and trained on the family ranch, and drove them east from Eden to Austin. She first rented at the Western Field Riding Club, and later bought her own riding academy. In 1932, she married Max G Michaelis, Jr., sold her stables and most of her horses, and moved to Mexico with him.

Helen stayed active in the livestock business after marrying Michaelis, and continued to raise and train horses in Mexico. Helen had one son, Max G Michaelis III in 1938, and raised him on the Michaelis ranches in Mexico and Texas.Fact|date=August 2008 Helen died July 26, 1965 on the Michaelis Ranch in Kyle, Texas.

American Quarter Horse Association

As an expert on Texas horses, Helen was one of the founders of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) in the mid 1930’s. She met some initial resistance and prejudice as a woman in the livestock industry, but ultimately gained the respect of her peers. [Denhardt, Robert: "Quarter Horses: A Story of Two Centuries", page 157. University of Oklahoma Press, 1967.] She held the position of secretary-treasurer of the AQHA from March 1942 to August 1946, and is listed in American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* [http://www.michaelisranch.com Michaelis Ranch Website]
* [http://www.michaelisranch.com/Michaelis_Ranch/Letters_to_a_Cowlady.html Letters to a Cowlady]
* [http://www.aqha.com/ AQHA Website]