Hey Hey!!! The Wranglin' Mama blog is back! We have an amazing line up of ladies for this month. Let's get to this months feature. This month we bring you Cait Luca, also known as, Cowgirl Cait. Cait has a non profit organization dedicated to helping rescue horses. She was gracious enough to answer some questions for us. Let's get to know her.
Cait has her horse rescue but she also owns a rescue shop that benefits the horses. "We try to utilize western artists and graphic designers for all of our pieces." Her main goal is to try and raise awareness around the plight of slaughter-bound horses in the US while also promoting and supporting the western way of life and small businesses. Before Cait started her non profit she had a trail riding business called, Corral West. "My business started out a small, for-profit, seasonal trail ride business which rescued horses with our profits. Today, we have closed the for-profit portion and are only a 501c3 so we can focus on saving more equines. We have saved over 450 animals and counting. I do have a full time career and several side clients for fundraising and marketing."
The western community has an impact on all of us and we asked Cait what kind of impact the western community has on her. She said that being a first generation cowgirl and she was always inspired by the "grit and tenacity of western women and how community focused its members are." I have to agree with her here. There are so many women in this industry that have a huge impact on me and inspire me to do better. Cait's inspiration also comes from the women who take the bold leaps to go after their dreams. She comes from a line of strong women. Cait said, "My mom is highly educated and has a heart of gold. Before she retired she worked with at-risk teens as a guidance counselor and an adjunct professor. Growing up and watching her excel in her own career - while still being a wonderful mom - really inspired me. As women it is so important to maintain our identity. She also instilled a love for rescue animals at a young age...I truly believe everyone deserves a second chance. My great-grandma owned a bar in Des Moines when that was certainly male-dominated after Prohibition, and my grandma (her daughter) was a career woman after WWII and I hope my future kids see the same in me."
Let's talk more about Lucky Break Rescue. What is the most rewarding and most successful thing about getting to do something you love. "Transformations are undoubtedly the most rewarding piece of what we do. Many of the horses come to us broken, defeated, starved or abused and watching them gain confidence, strength - and ultimately find their forever person - has been one of the greatest privileges of my life", Cait said. The time she felt the greatest success with the rescue was when her first dude string (of 12 rescue horses and 2 rescued wrangler horses) hit the trail for the first time. She said she got teary eyed. I can't imagine how amazing that must have felt. Just hearing about it makes my heart happy and wish I could have been there to witness this amazing event.
There may be some questions on how Cait keeps her rescue going. What she does is sell merch and fundraising. When it comes to the merch she likes to work with western artists and graphic designers. There is a small business in Wickenburg who does all of the merch for her and happens to create designs for her as well.
Let's get to some fun questions to get to know Cait a little more. We asked Cait if she could do the splits? Her favorite restaurant? What she and her family like to do for fun? And what animal she thinks is the biggest party animal. She said she can only on the right side these days lol. Her favorite chain restaurant is Texas Road House, BUT has a very "unpopular opinion". She eats the rolls with regular butter. WHAT? That's right! Not the popular cinnamon butter. That's ok though because we still love her :) Cait and her husband love to travel with their GSPs and rescue horses. The love to hunt and Cait loves to read. Her favorite book is, Game of Thrones series.
Some advice that Cait leaves us with about owning a business is, "I don't think a lot of people (who have never owned a business) realize how much work goes into owning a business. Business owners are always "on" and sacrifice their time and personal money to compete with bigger brands with less "heart."
Thank y'all for joining me for our first blog feature back! We decided to team up with Cait for the weekend and she has picked out 10 of her favorite pieces. We added them to a collection. A portion of the sales from this collection will be donated to Lucky Break Rescue. If you want to learn more you can find Cait on Instagram @cowgirl.cait is her handle. You can also visit Lucky Break Rescue Instagram page @luckybreakrescue or visit the website Lucky Break Rescue.
