Hutchinson Performance Horses: Building Rail Stars With Patience And Purpose
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188 – January/February, 2026
By Jessica O’Connor
Blue hour on the farm is a sacred time for Kelby Hutchinson. It’s his favorite part of the day, he says, swinging his leg over the first couple horses on his daily schedule before the rest of the world is fully awake.
As sunrise begins to overtake the shadows, the horseman patiently guides each colt and filly under his tutelage toward the dawn of a successful show career. It’s a niche that has just come naturally to Kelby and his wife, Kaitlin, while working together as a team on their Orrum, North Carolina farm.
A Foundation from Down Under
Originally from Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia, Kelby has had a hand in horses virtually his entire life.
“I was just kind of born into it. I’ve been riding since I had diapers on,” he chuckles. “My parents always had horses around. We did Arabian riding ponies, and I played polocrosse. If it had four legs and a tail, we were riding it.”
Kelby credits one legendary horseman with piquing his interest in pleasure horses. “The first guy who got me to really pay attention to Western Pleasure was Mark Shaffer,” he recalls. “I did his clinics when he came to Australia, then I was picked up by Winderadeen.”
The tenacious young cowboy started his career in earnest, riding for Travis and Natasha Humphries at the acclaimed Winderadeen Quarter Horse Stud, which was inducted into the Australian Quarter Horse Association’s Hall of Fame in 2007. Travis, he says, was the first trainer to take him under his wing. At the age of 16, Kelby traveled to the United States, where he worked with Steve Heckaman for a year. He then returned to Australia, where he rode for Warren Backhouse, gaining experience in the reining pen.
In November of 2015, Kelby returned to the United States to join the team at Starnes Quarter Horses. The decision would take his life to new heights beyond just his career.
A Delaware Girl with Big Dreams
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188 – January/February, 2026
