Kate Ballard with her son, Noah
Photo courtesy of Australian Bleu Media Group
Kate Ballard is a big name in the equestrian world. She’s one of only two Master Saddlers in the United States and has crafted saddles for elite Olympians and Paralympians.
While Ballard’s résumé would impress most, this Loxahatchee Groves resident says her biggest accomplishment will always be her 16-year-old son, Noah.
As a baby, Noah was diagnosed with a rare pediatric cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Knowing that the survival rate at the time was less than 40%, Ballard and Noah lived in a Chicago hospital for a year while doctors worked tirelessly to save him.
Some of the children they met on that ward did not survive. But Noah did.
“I thought I was going to lose my child,” the single mother, who turns 51 this month, says. “I’m really good at what I do, but I’ve lived in a life and death situation, and the saddle is not life or death. At the end of the day, it’s just a saddle.”
Yet, for Ballard, each saddle is more than leather and stitching — it carries purpose. A portion of the proceeds from every saddle Ballard sells through her Wellington-based company, Westhill & Son, goes to pediatric cancer research. It’s her way of helping other children struggling with the same disease.
Ballard’s saddles are in high demand, as is her expertise. A gold medal graduate of London’s prestigious Cordwainers Technical College (now a part of the London College of Fashion), she spent nine years studying saddlemaking and the biomechanics of a horse and its rider. She has done saddlery work everywhere from Tokyo to Paris, and many of those clients know Noah.
“Noah is more famous than I am,” Ballard says with a laugh. “The first thing people say to me is, ‘How is Noah?’”
Noah has autism and faces ongoing medical challenges, including skin issues and cardiomyopathy. Through it all, though, he is joyful: He attends online school, helps his mom at work, loves football and enjoys making people laugh. On days when she feels overwhelmed, Noah is often the one lifting Ballard’s spirits.
“He’s so positive about life,” she says. “He is my world. It’s just been me and him. We’re both in it together.”