Saginaw woman’s love for horses keeps her young

By Abigail Blonigen

Kit Davis grew up on a farm in Duluth. She felt a connection with horses from a young age and always dreamed of owning one.

“From the time I can remember, we'd be driving in the car with my parents, and I was like 2 or 3 years old. If I saw a horse outside, my heart just leapt.”

Davis saved her babysitting money to buy her first horse, a little black mustang, at the age of 14. The horse was somehow accidentally delivered to the zoo with a load of buffalo, and Davis’ neighbor ended up with it.

Davis visited the horse at her neighbors often until she had saved enough to buy it for herself. She had this horse until she was 18: riding it, taking care of it and teaching it tricks.

After graduating from high school, Davis got married and started a family on a farm in Gnesen. She and her husband had six children before she decided to go back to school to become a teacher.

At the age of 30, Davis started college and she gave birth to her two youngest children while earning her degree in special education. Also while attending school, Davis and her first husband separated after 17 years together.

She remarried three years later to her second husband. She taught for 29 years, from elementary school to high school special education, before retiring at the age of 64.

Throughout all that time, horses remained a constant in Davis’ life. Notably, she got into Norwegian Fjord horses in her 50s after falling in love with them on a trip out West.

“They’re a very nice breed to work with,” she said. “They're smart and they're hardy, and they used them in Norway for everything.”

Davis and her husband raised Norwegian Fjord horses for about 20 years, attending sleigh rallies as close as Lester Park and as far away as Montana. The couple showed their horses at these events, toting the animals, a two-team wagon and their own sleigh across the state and region.

Tragically, Davis’ husband passed away unexpectedly in 2004. His heart gave out while out for a walk. He was only 57 years old and the couple had been together 29 years.

At the time of his passing, the couple had about 20 horses. She couldn’t take care of them all on her own, so she had to farm them out.

One of the horses she kept was a special stallion that liked to goof around with kids at the Minnesota State Fair.

“He was the sweetest guy. He would pull kids' hair when he was in his stall and they would reach in to feed him stuff, and he had such a comical sense of humor,” Davis said. “He was a great horse.”

Davis also continued to do horse shows and weddings after her husband’s passing, learning how to drive the horse trailer and handle the team on her own.

She also got a riding horse after he died, and rode up until two years ago when she was thrown off in an accident, breaking several ribs and puncturing a lung.

“I've actually not ridden since then — not because I'm

Continued on page 8-9 scared or anything, but I love taking care of the animals as much as anything.”

Davis now has three of her own horses, and three of her daughters that live on her farm in Saginaw, in addition to two dogs, four cats and over a dozen chickens.

Aside from the accident, Davis credits the horses for keeping her in shape at her age.

“I go out every day and feed them hay and do stuff with them and clean the barn,” she said. “It doesn't matter if it's 30 below — I'm still out there doing that stuff.”

Davis said she takes 6,000 to 10,000 steps a day just doing chores. In the winter when the farm is less active, she goes to the Y a couple of times a week to walk and do some weight lifting.

Davis has also been able to go on several international trips in the last decade or so with her sister. So far, she has been to

Antarctica, Ireland, England and Iceland. She found Antarctica, in particular, to be amazing.

“It is so unique,” she said. “I don't even know how to describe it. The penguins were delightful. (My sister and I) still send each other penguin Christmas cards because they were so delightful.”

Despite being a caretaker of animals, children, students and others her entire life, Davis said she has never felt drained because she finds the work rewarding.

“I've been described as having super patience,” she said. “I am very patient with children and people.”

Davis’ family continues to grow with her eight children, 17 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

“I've had a very interesting life actually,” she said. D