PREMIER - May 2023

kelley mundrick martin

Amateur Kelley Mundrick Martin of Loganville, Georgia may like to joke about her mare’s name—Hot Mess N A Dress—but despite all the irons Martin has in the fire, her life is anything but a mess. An amateur exhibitor, breeder, and business owner, Martin lives life fully immersed in the equine industry. A long-time competitor, she has earned some of AQHA and NSBA’s most prestigious titles.

Martin’s journey in the horse industry began in childhood. “My sister was taking speech therapy, and the therapist owned horses,” Martin shares. “Like most kids, I wanted to do everything my sister did. Before long Martin had her first horse and began showing in local and 4-H shows.

With the guidance of Christie Moss, Martin began showing on the AQHA circuit. “Christie taught me so much on the basics of becoming a great rider. She allowed me to piece everything together—I owe my strong foundation to her.” Eventually, Martin began competing at larger shows under the guidance of Moss’s daughter Carmen Mayabb and Jason English. Her main partner during her youth career was Tall Dark N Choclate, who Martin describes as an all-time great horse with a huge heart.

She also owned and showed the 2006 gelding Al Wana Be First under the guidance of Jay and Kristy Starnes, who was Reserve Congress Champion as a three and four-year-old in Hunter Under Saddle at the

Congress. “He was a super cool horse that just floated and was reserve behind Hot Ones Only that year at the Congress after a tie breaker.”

After selling Tall Dark N Choclate, Martin purchased Good Timin Lucinda, who would go on to become the matriarch of her breeding program. Martin and her family would later purchase the mare’s only daughter Good Time Blazer or “Sally,” a two-time Bronze NSBA winner. Though she was purchased as broodmare sound, Martin and Sally went on to place Reserve in Amateur Equitation at the Congress the following year. Sally now enjoys retirement at Martin’s parents’ farm and is bred to I Am The Party for a January foal.

The same year Martin was Reserve in Amateur Equitation, she was Reserve in the Two-Year-Old Limited Western Pleasure at the Congress and third in the Open Non-Pro with A Rage In Good Time or “Lenny.” He was Reserve in the Two-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure that same year. The 2012 gelding was one of only two foals out of Good Timin Lucinda and by Ziprageous. Martin describes the gelding as her heart horse. He also lives at her parents’ farm and enjoys life babysitting the young horses.

Following a successful youth career, Martin was recruited by the University of Georgia (UGA) to ride for their equestrian team. “It was an exciting time to be at UGA,” says Martin. “This was right after they became Division I. We had some of the best riders in the country on our team.” During her time at UGA, Martin competed on the horsemanship team. “We won the SEC’s (Southeastern Conference) every year I was there, along with two national championships,” Martin says.

In 2010, Martin graduated from UGA with a degree in financial planning. A connection with longtime AQHA exhibitor Beckie Peskin led to an internship and later a full-time opportunity in marketing with leading equine pharmaceutical company Merial, now Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.

Leap of Faith

Martin spent nine years in corporate marketing, the majority with Merial, before taking a profound leap of faith and purchasing the well-established equine business Kathy L. Williams Tail Extensions. “It was a lot becoming your own boss,” says Martin. “I’d left Merial in 2019, right before the pandemic, and had only been with my new company for six months when COVID hit.” It was close to that time when Williams approached Martin about purchasing the business. The two had established a friendship years earlier. Martin shares that she always enjoyed stopping in to visit

Good Time Blazer

Good Time Blazer

Good Time Blazer

Tall Dark N Choclate

Williams at shows and had bought numerous tails from her over the years. “Kathy told me she’d had me in mind for her business. I had no idea exactly what things would look like, but Kathy had seen a lot of ups and downs during her time as a top vendor and business owner in the industry. To have her guidance through the process and in the early stages of ownership was invaluable,” says Martin. She and Williams remain close and still talk frequently.

Martin and her husband Kyle closed on the business in the fall of 2020. Along with learning the process behind creating custom tails, Martin began focusing on putting her marketing background to use as she made the business her own with support from her family. Martin and her husband Kyle married in May of 2021, and today he’s an integral part of ensuring the business runs smoothly. She says, “I’m so blessed to have a team behind me, including Kyle and our families, that make sure we’re able to be successful. Kyle works remotely, which means he’s able to come to shows with me and help me set up and is a constant support system at the shows, from the business to me competing. My mom comes along and helps run the store, my dad makes all the weights for the tails, my mother-in-law creates tail bags and socks, and my father-in-law does the maintenance and building on all our rigs.”

Martin recently unveiled a new website, allowing customers to purchase tails online. And at the start of 2022, the name of the business officially changed from Kathy L. Williams Tail Extensions to Head to Tail Boutique.

Kelley & Kyle

“We really wanted to honor the legacy Kathy had created with the business, while also acknowledging the scope of what we offer. That’s how we landed at Head to Tail Boutique,” Martin says. “We were playing off the saying from head to toe.”

Along with guidance from Williams in the early days, Martin has been encouraged by the support she’s received from the industry. “Everyone has been super supportive of me taking over the business. And I love rooting for my customers,” she shares. “It’s so rewarding to see people showing and winning with my tails.” Even more rewarding than seeing customers succeed is getting to know them on a personal level. She says, “I love talking to people when they come in the store and learning their stories. From that person whose horse is overcoming an injury, to the kid who’s been saving for months and working extra shifts to buy a shirt, or the person who’s showing their horse for the first time—getting to know the people is what I’ve loved the most about this journey.”

Martin’s own story of horse ownership is not without ups and downs. “2022 was a trying year, on top of still figuring out how to run my own business. One of our broodmares died and another sustained a major injury,” Martin says. Early in the year, Martin

and her family lost their beloved mare “Whit,” Ima Mess In A Dress, after she delivered a beautiful filly by Hot N Blazing. To cope with the loss of her mother, Martin and her family provided the foal, whom they named Haley, with a giant teddy bear. Haley instantly bonded with the large stuffed bear. Images from the stall camera often showed her sleeping snuggled close to Ted. The family decided to name the baby Bless This Hot Mess in honor of how blessed they feel to have the final filly that will continue her dam’s legacy.

Now a yearling, Haley still can often be found snuggled up to Ted in her stall. Despite the loss of her mother, Martin looks forward to Haley’s future as a show horse and hopes to see her debut in a maiden event in the coming years. She credits Haley’s success to the veterinarians at Piedmont Equine in Madison, Georgia for their expert care. For now, Haley can often be found in the pasture with Martin’s first horse, Flash, who at 34-yearsold shows how life has a way of coming full circle.

Also continuing the legacy of Ima Mess In A Dress is Martin’s current show partner Hot Mess N A Dress or “Emma.” Her journey with Emma has not been without its own challenges. Unbeknownst to Martin, the mare suffered an injury early in life that wasn’t

Kelley & Hot Mess N A Dress

discovered until she began training her two-year-old year. Multiple vets urged Martin to simply turn her out or put her down. “We were unsure if she would ever have a show career. It broke my heart,” she says. But Martin is not one to give up easily. After six months of rehab, Emma came back strong and debuted in the Maiden Hunter Under Saddle in Ocala with Lori Augsburger of Pinetree Quarter Horses. They tied to win the limited portion of the class. For Martin, the success was about far more than the placing. “It was so emotional after being told a year prior that she needed to be put down,” says Martin. “I owe the majority of her comeback to Dr. Jarrod Younkin at Piedmont Equine.”

Today, the pair compete in amateur all-around events. In April, they earned a clean sweep in Amateur Equitation at the Georgia On My Mind circuit, placing first under all ten judges. They have earned success in multiple events, including Hunter Under Saddle and Horsemanship. For Martin, raising and showing homebred horses makes the success along the way even sweeter.

She credits the team at Pinetree Quarter Horses with supporting her through the challenges of breeding, showing, and business ownership. “Behind the scenes, I get up really early to ride before opening the store. The whole team at Pinetree make sure I’m able to make it all work,” Martin says.

It may be a lot to juggle, but Martin wouldn’t have it any other way. She and her family continue breeding and have two babies on the way for next year. One will be out of ShakeYourMoonieMaker or Selene, who had a promising start to her show career cut short after suffering a severe bone bruise and undergoing surgery. Martin still hopes she may return to the show pen someday. But for now, she’s

Looking to the Future

Today, Martin is gearing up for a full summer of showing and being on the road with her business. She has big goals in both areas of her life. “I’m definitely looking to grow the business,” she shares. “There is so much I want to do, especially in terms of putting my marketing background to use and maximizing social media, but I have to prioritize.”

For now, she’s focused on enjoying life with Kyle and their two dogs, rescue Pitt mixes Maggie June and Anakin Jace who come along to all the shows with the couple. “They’re our kids,” Martin says.

For the first time since owning the business, Martin plans to attend the All-American Quarter Horse Congress this fall as a vendor. It’s clear the sweat, blood, and tears that Martin has poured into all aspects of the industry are worth it “The horses are my inspiration to keep going,” she says, “They’re the reason I push so hard for Head to Tail Boutique to be successful. It’s definitely a work hard to play hard mentality. It’s what gets me up in the morning.”

Article Written by: Elizabeth Arnold

carrying a 2024 foal by Bank On The Best.

COMBINING COLORS SHOW

PROGRAM

This is a new opportunity to promote the Midwesthorse industry as a whole and support the betterment of the industry. We offer incentive breeding to nominated stallions and opportunity for cash payback and prizes to Midwest owners, breeders, and exhibitors.

CLASSES

PRICING + DEADLINES

a 4 show circuit series

THE GREAT 8 THE GREAT 8 MIDWEST CONNECTION

MAY 5-7

GREAT 8 ZONE-O-RAMA (4 judges POR) C BAR C ARENA | CLOVERDALE, IN

MAY 26-28

GREAT LAKES BREAKOUT (4 judges POR)

INGHAM COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS | MASON, MI

JULY 29-30

BORDER BASH (4 judges POR)

FULTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS | WAUSEON, OH

SEPTEMBER 16-17

HOOSIER BUCKEYE PALOOZA (4 judges POR)

HOOSIER HORSE PARK | EDINBURG, IN

Exciting Prizes for 2023!!

4 Series All Around Saddles (Youth, Am, Open, SPB) Adding SPB Saddle in 2023!

17 Division All Around Awards

17 Division Res. All Around Prizes

Grand Champion Halter Award Series Class Circuit Awards

* Must show at 3 of 4 events to qualify.

* Exhibitor AND Owner must hold memberships in MI, OH & IN to qualify.

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