Helen Michaelis (February 7, 1905, Junction, Texas USA – July 26, 1965, Kyle, Texas USA) was a key figure in the organization and development of the modern

Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...

. She was the secretary-treasurer of the

American Quarter Horse Association The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive even ...

(AQHA) from March 1942 to August 1946, and was the first woman inducted into the

American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum was created by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas. Ground breaking construction of the Hall of Fame Museum began in 1989. The distinction is earned by people and ...

Life and family

Helen Mary Hall, daughter of Fred S. Hall (1864–1946) and Florence Black (b1879), was born on a ranch in Kimble County, Texas. Her father, Fred S. Hall, had come to Texas from England to raise horses. Besides Helen, her parents had three boys, all younger than she. In 1917, the family moved to a larger ranch in Concho County, Texas, near Eden. Hall attended college at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, and spent the summer of 1928 teaching riding at Camp Ekalela near

Estes Park Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corr ...

in Colorado. When she returned to Texas, she rounded up a string of horses she had raised and trained on the family ranch, and drove them from Eden to Austin. She first rented at the Westenfield Riding Club, and later bought her own riding academy. In 1932, she married Max G Michaelis Jr., sold her stables and most of her horses, and moved to Mexico with him. Hall stayed active in the livestock business after marrying Michaelis, and continued to raise and train horses in Mexico. They later moved back to the

Michaelis Ranch The Michaelis Ranch is a historic cattle ranch located near Kyle, Texas, United States. The ranch was founded by Max G. Michaelis Sr. in the late 1890s, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The ranch was known in the early ...

in Kyle, Texas. Hall died on July 26, 1965, at St. David's Hospital in Austin, Texas, and she is buried at Kyle Cemetery in Kyle, Texas.

American Quarter Horse Association

As an expert on Texas horses, Helen was one of the founders of the

(AQHA) in the mid 1930s. She met some initial resistance and prejudice as a woman in the livestock industry, but ultimately gained the respect of her peers. She was elected as a director of the AQHA in 1940, and held the position of secretary-treasurer from March 1942 to August 1946. She was inducted into the

in 1985.

References

External links

Michaelis Ranch Website

AQHA Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaelis, Helen 1905 births 1965 deaths People from Junction, Texas People from Concho County, Texas People from Kyle, Texas University of Texas alumni AQHA Hall of Fame (members)