STORIES FROM THE HART WITH KATHY BLACK
vol. 2
This time instead of heading south, we loaded up one car and one truck, film crew in towe and set out north towards Hurricane Mills, TN. Simulteneaously, Kathy Black was heading west with her 50th anniversary Hart trailer and her seventeen year old mare, Taffy. Instead of extremely cold weather, this time we would face humidity that rivaled that of the gulf. The drive was rather easy and the ever changing terrain kept us entertained. It was late on Friday night when we finally arrived. With an early morning in store and lurking right around the midnight hour we were all eager to get into our cabins and call it a night.
We had booked two of the Cozy Cabins at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch (where we would be filming) a few weeks prior. Our cabins weren’t unlocked just yet but Kathy, who had already had quite a day herself, helped us get in contact with the manager and get into our cabins in no time. Not only did she assist us in making the right contacts, she also personally showed up at our cabins to introduce herself and see to it that we were all taken care of. Having never met Kathy in person, we immediately ‘clicked’ with her. Kathy was so down to earth and so appreciative. Here we were trying to do something nice for her and she was the one showing us five star hospitality. It is not hard for us to remember ‘why’ we do what we do. It is in the moments such as this that we are reminded of our ‘why’. With a six a.m. call agreed upon we all dismissed and settled in for the night.
Six a.m. comes early for most. It comes REALLY early when you’ve spent ten hours on the road the night before. As we stepped out of our cabins and into the heavy morning air we were greeted by rays of diluted sun light as it filtered down through the tops of the towering trees that seemed as if they were an entire world away. Though the air was heavy it was not yet warm. It still possessed a soothing cool to it. Even the most anti-morning person could appreciate the breath-taking beauty of the ranch in the six o’clock hour. The film crew packed up their gear and we made our way to meet Kathy at the office. Kathy is no stranger to Hurricane Mills or to Loretta’s ranch. She and her husband Hayward Black have been coming to the ranch for twenty-seven years. This turned out to be a huge blessing for us because at the office we were given official permission to film on the front porch of the old Homestead! As if just being allowed to film on the ranch was not enough.
Kathy is a warm person and she isn’t hard to get to know. She is one of those people that when you meet her your swear you’ve known her your entire life. Even so she seemed ever so slightly concerned about being in front of the camera. Any concerns she may have had quickly fled and were not at all evident as she told us her story.
In 1991 Kathy purchased her very first Hart trailer. A 1991 two horse, steel, Hart trailer. Kathy would haul that trailer for SEVENTEEN YEARS. Later she would purchase a 2002, three horse, aluminum Hart trailer. Finally she would fall in love with her very own, brand new, 50th anniversary Hart trailer. These days there are many people who will tell you that they fell in love online. Honestly, Kathy is no different. When she came across her trailer on our Facebook page she knew it was the one. In all Kathy has pulled a Hart trailer for more than twenty-seven years. That is almost longer than I’ve been alive. That is someone who is passionate about what she pulls. Not only that, she believes in what she is passionate about. Kathy, thank you. Thank you for being an extension of our values and our passion.
In terms of passion it doesn’t take long to see where Kathy’s values are. You find out rather quickly that she is passionate about God, her family and friends and her horse Taffy. Kathy acquired Taffy as a yearling. Now Taffy is 17 years old. Kathy has raised and trained Taffy and at three Kathy brought Taffy to the ranch for her very first ride. As the day wore on and we were getting different shots of Kathy and Taffy, their bond was more than evident.
Funny the things that we give to one another after any amount of time together. They say that couples begin to look like one another after years together. Expressions become morphed together and mannerisms soon become a blur because you can’t remember who started it but now you both do it. Animals are much the same. If Taffy were a human, Kathy would finish her sentences. I’m not sure how many conversations the two had throughout the day and I have no idea what they were about but one thing I am positive of is this: they were there. There were moments when Kathy would look down at Taffy with all of the love in the world and you just knew that Taffy understood every single unspoken word. Kathy never lost sight of what we were asking her to do. She was in sync with our film crew the entire day. Even so, she was even more in sync with Taffy. She would repeatedly reach down to reassure her and at times to say ‘thank you’.
Filming takes time. We started early and we finished just before dinner time.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible, we couldn’t do this without you! (Lazy B Trailer Sales, Intellego Media, Loretta Lynn’s Ranch). The VIDEO is available on our website: www.harttrailer.com.