A life on horseback

Like a lot of young women, Kimberlee Tarter wanted a pony when she was six years old. Back then, there were only 10 houses and a lot of wild mustangs in the Johnson Lane area of the Carson Valley. Tarter's Dad rode and was very comfortable around horses, so he accepted the gift of a gray-and-white Shetland pony for Kimberlee, who named her "Candy."

Tarter's first experience with Candy - with any horse - was when her Dad plunked her down on Candy's bare back without a bridle.

"My parents said, 'Have fun,' and set me off to ride around the corral while they attended to chores," recalls Tarter. "Candy was a smart pony, independent and stubborn as they typically are. That's part of the reason we got her for free. She proceeded to walk over to the fence, shinnied under it, and peeled me off in the process."

But her tenacity both on horseback and in business is paying off as business at her Noble Ranch near Minden grows with the neighborhood.

Her bad experience with Candy didn't stop Tarter or her Dad. They always took on the ponies no one else wanted, and consequently, she learned to ride and handle a variety of horses. After Candy came Thundercloud, then Cinnamon, then finally Midnight. That was when she was just 10, and they bought Midnight, together with her first saddle, for $100.

Outside of school, Tarter's life revolved around horses. Eventually she got her first half-Arabian mare. Her family looked into purchasing an Arabian stallion, but they had a reality check on just what having a stallion meant and chose instead to breed her mare. Then there was the young mustang stallion she befriended and caught, followed by an Appaloosa gelding. The list goes on.

Tarter started showing horses in 4-H, both locally and at the regional level. She participated in high school rodeo and in the speed-riding events of gymkhanas. She also apprenticed two summers with a trainer.

As an adult with a lot of time to dedicate to her family, as well as her "other" job as deputy administrator for the State of Nevada's Purchasing Division, Tarter's life still revolves around horses and the equine industry. Noble Ranch, her business in Minden, is a full-service boarding and training facility, which she owns and operates in addition to raising and training quarter horses for sale and show. She has a slew of equestrian accomplishments to her credit.

Having spent her whole life in the Carson Valley, Tarter is well connected in the equine industry. At one time or another she has been actively affiliated with the American Quarter Horse Association, the United States Equestrian Federation, the Sierra Nevada Show Horse Association and several others.

"At Noble Ranch we teach both youth and adult riding skills in addition to training horses focusing primarily on dressage, hunters, and jumpers over fences," she says. "We have a wonderful group of students, but there's always room for more. We're a smaller, personal facility. We have the ability to board and train more, but it's a heavily saturated market right now. There are lots of ranches in this area, and we all try to distinguish ourselves."

"The good news is that the demand for our services is slowly increasing because many developing properties are becoming subdivisions," she adds. "Homeowners can no longer board their own horses. What's key to remember is wherever you board, horse ownership is an expensive sport or hobby. It is a significant investment and commitment. When you get a dog, it's a 10- to 20-year commitment, max. With a horse, it can be a lifetime. I wouldn't want it any other way."