Equestrian Professional Member Spotlight - Jackie Hale of James Hale Stables

Jackie got her start in the horse world as many young riders have - with a nasty little pony that taught her everything!  And let's not forget Mom and Dad acting as trainers, truck drivers and grooms. She began showing at age 8, competing in and around Alabama, having grown up with her Mom being involved with Saddlebreds.

Upon graduation from Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in English and Communications, Jackie continued her professional career path in Advertising and Marketing.  After college, she returned to horses and became involved with the Saddlebred show horse world in 1990, exhibiting across the Southeast and teaching riding lessons part-time.   

She immersed herself even more deeply into the Saddlebred industry by meeting and marrying James Hale in 1996.  James is a professional trainer with over 25 years' experience. He began exhibiting American Saddlebred horses as a family hobby when he was 7 years old. With no formal instruction, he "figured things out for himself" and successfully exhibited across the Southeast as a Juvenile exhibitor.

Jackie is an active member of the United Professional Horseman's Association, the American Saddlebred Horse Association and the United States Equestrian Federation. She has served ASHA as the Region 10 Charter Council Representative and UPHA Chapter 8 as Secretary. She was named the UPHA Chapter 8 Horseperson of the Year in 2007.  Jackie competed in the first UPHA Pink Ribbon Ladies Five-Gaited National Championship at the UPHA/American Royal in 2008.  

At home, Jackie works with James at their James Hale Stables in Columbiana Alabama, just outside of Birmingham.  The stables were constructed in 1997 with 42 permanent stalls.  Jackie is responsible for the "business end" of the organization, and takes care of the marketing and advertising responsibilities and helps James out in the barn.    James Hale Stables was an early player in the World Wide Web, having launched their website, www.jameshalestables.com in early 1997.  "I remember James saying that the Internet was 'just a fad' and he laughed at me trying to create a website," Jackie recalls with a smile.  "He stopped laughing when we sold 2 horses to someone in California as a result."  Today their website is the cornerstone of their Consignment Program.  "About 50% of the horses we have in training were sent here to be marketed and sold."   Jackie maintains the website herself.  Each horse for sale has a page with photos, a video clip, as well as their registry and show record.  "We also use print ads and direct mail marketing to generate leads and drive traffic to the website."

One of the Internet contacts in 2004 was with a German couple that wanted to come over to the United States to take riding lessons from Jackie for a week.  On the third day, the gentlemen suffered a brain aneurism and was rushed to emergency surgery.  Jackie and James were kind enough to offer his mate a place to stay while he recovered.  "We kind of adopted her until her husband was better and we became close friends.  When they returned to Germany, I was invited to visit in 2005, which led to a long-term relationship."  From that visit, Jackie and James have returned several times to give clinics to Saddlebred riders in Germany.

The next step in this international relationship was with Jackie becoming the coach and James the Manager to the first ever German team entering the Saddlebred competition in the 2010 World Cup.  The event was held Oct. 6-8, 2010 at the Kentucky Fall Classic Horse Show in Shelbyville, Kentucky.  Their debut performance was well received by the crowd.  They will be returning to Germany this fall for another clinic.

The American Saddlebred Horse Association honored James and Jackie with the Gordon Jenkins International Service Award in 2010 for their work with the ASHA of Europe.   The award is given to the honorees whom have gone the extra mile to introduce and promote the American Saddlebred horse to other countries.  Because of Jackie's long time support in Germany, the award was given to honor her work in Germany even before she coached the team at the World Cup.  Seems to be to be a well-deserved honor.

Why Does Jackie Use EquestrianProfessional.com?

"Equestrian Professional's website is a regular source of information for us in operating our business," Hale said.  "Whether it's equine law updates or marketing ideas, we learn something from every newsletter and seminar."

If you'd like to learn more about Jackie, please contact her at 205-862-8851 or visit James Hale Stables at http://www.jameshalestables.com/James_Hale_Stables2/Home.html