Donna Moore (1931-2014) was an

American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. This breed is referred to as the "Horse America Made". Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Nar ...

horse trainer. She trained horses for

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

at his

Belle Reve Farm Belle Reve Farm is a horse farm located in Versailles, Kentucky that was owned by actor William Shatner, a breeder of American Saddlebred show horses. His stallion Sultan's Great Day was a two-time world's champion performer, and the farm's p ...

, and owned her own stables near

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...

Life

Moore was born January 28, 1931, to Ray and Iva Hobbs, and grew up near

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. She married fellow horse trainer Tom Moore, of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in 1961. The couple had two daughters, Melinda and Melissa. She died January 18, 2014, at the age of 82.

Career

Moore started out in the horse world by getting involved in

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

and trick riding at a young age. She bought cheap ponies at the local auction, rode them for a week and then resold them at the same auction for a profit. At age 13 she was riding in a rodeo practice when she saw an American Saddlebred and was attracted to it. She was mentored by fellow Missourian Jane Fahey and began training professionally at 19 years of age. She and her husband moved to Kentucky from Illinois in 1970. She trained horses for actor William Shatner at his Belle Reve Farm, among them the stallion

Sultan's Great Day Sultan's Great Day (March 22, 1981 – March 22, 2004) was a black American Saddlebred stallion sired by Supreme Sultan, out of the mare Supremes Cassandra. Great Day, as he was commonly called, was a twice World's Champion Fine Harness Stallion ...

. In addition to training for Shatner, Moore had her own stables at Versailles, Kentucky. While her main focus was on American Saddlebreds, she trained

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

s as well. Besides training horses, Moore exhibited them, judged shows and bought and sold horses and farms. She trained many champions and competed in the

National Horse Show The National Horse Show is the oldest continually held horse show in the United States. It was founded in 1883 in New York and held there until 2002, when it moved to Florida and then to Kentucky. The National Horse Show offers competition for hu ...

and the

World's Championship Horse Show The World's Championship Horse Show, held at the Kentucky Exposition Center, Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville, Kentucky, in Freedom Hall, is a large horse show that includes the American Saddlebred, Hackney pony, Dutch Harness Horse, and ...

. In 1988, she became the first woman to judge the latter event. The same year she was referred to as "the most successful woman in the Saddlebred industry." She once said in an interview for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "I can't stand not to be near a horse show. I went to Hawaii once on vacation and I darn near went crazy."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Donna Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri American Saddlebred breeders and trainers 1931 births 2014 deaths