By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

After almost three decades, Marion and Donna Schmidt’s Blue Sky Ranch will be sold at auction Saturday.

The Schmidts’ miniature horse farm was host to thousands of visitors from the Hays area and even internationally. Marion Schmidt, a former teacher and Thomas More Prep-Marian coach, in all his endeavors on the farm tried to emphasis the importance of the bond between animals and humans, two of his children said in recent interviews with Hays Post.

The family collectively decided to sell the ranch after Marion died in August. Although the ranch will be in new hands, the family said Marion’s and Donna’s legacy will carry on in the horses they bred and the joy they brought to so many people in the tours they gave at Blue Sky.

Garret Schmidt, Marion and Donna’s son, said his father’s love of horses was sparked at an early age. Marion Schmidt grew up on a farm 5 miles north of Hays where his family also had horses. He said his father also enjoyed teaching and coaching and interacting with young people.

“He kind of felt like his calling was the combination of the animals and the youth,” Garret said. “So what he decided to do was raise and breed championship miniature horses and put on what he called, ‘tours.’ ”

Busloads of youngsters visited the ranch, and Marion gave an hour or two presentation about the horses and what it is like to take care of an animal. He hoped to educate children who grew up in the city and did not have contact with animals.

“What he found was that children who were maybe hyperactive — the energy kids — when they got out there and they got out there around the horses and were grooming the horses and petting the horse and in their presence, many times they would calm down,” Garret said. “They would focus on the horse, and it would relax them. A well-trained horse is a very relaxed animal.”

The Schmidts found the elderly also benefited from contact with the horses, and Marion also took horses into elderly residential facilities in Hays.

Marion and Donna from the time the horses were born spent hours with the horses getting them acquainted with human contact.

“You have to gain that horse’s trust, and that is what he did from day one after these foals were born,” Garret said. “He would hold them, touch them, brush them, get them to understand that he could be trusted. So when the children came out and the horses were very calm, it would have a calming effect on them.”

Garret said this was one of the reasons the family decided to re-home the horses and sell the ranch. Although the family had help to feed and water the horses after Marion died, they did not have the ability to give the horses the one-on-one human contact they were used to.

Garret said he thought the best tours his dad had was his first tour.

Dan Johnson, one of Marion’s and Donna’s neighbors, was an expert on local history. He joined Marion on the tour and talked about Custer and Historic Fort Hays. Custer was known to take his men on excursions north of the fort, and it was believed based on historical accounts, Custer camped at what is now Blue Sky.

“It was a beautiful day and a good turn out, and the people just really enjoyed the horses,” Garret said. “That is probably one of my fondest memories.”

Although Marion was the one who liked to speak and give the tours, Garret said his mother was an integral part of the ranch. She kept up the horses’ registration paperwork and dedicated many long hours to grooming the horses.

Pam Schmidt, Marion’s and Donna’s daughter, said Blue Sky was always a part of the larger family. Garret, a vet, handled the medical needs of the horses. Pam and her other two siblings helped with events, and all of the grandkids spent showed the miniatures at some point.

At its height, Blue Sky had about two dozen horses. To be classified as a miniature horse, the animal has to be 34 inches or less measured from the withers. The Schmidts’ horses were Class A, which is the smallest class of miniature horses. Garret said his dad dreamed of breeding a record small horse. Despite some very small foals, he never quite reached that record.

All of the horses were double registered with the two major miniature horses associations in the United States. In more recent years, the Schmidts had about eight to 10 horses in their stable.

“They were all kind of members of the family,” Pam said of the horses. “They were all very, very gentle. … In his talks and tours, Dad tried to help young people and adults have empathy for animals and understand how to care for animals and see what richness animals can bring into our lives by caring for an animal and training an animal.

“It was something that was very important to him,” she said. “We really did call him the ‘Horse Whisperer,’ because he really did have a bond with the animals and he really understood them.”

The Schmidts showed the horses in several categories, including halter, pleasure driving, and obstacle course and had several horses that achieved national champion status. Her father was able to train some of the horses so they responded to voice commands, Pam said.

She said she remembered being very touched during one particular tour.

“One of the young horses who was still getting trained did everything perfectly in front of a tour. When my dad called him in, the horse came in and instead of reaching for grain or a reward, the horse put his head on my dad’s lap, just nuzzled up to him,” Pam said.

“It showed how much of a bond he had with them, how much trust all of the animals had in him. They knew they were safe. They knew they were cared for.”

Several of the horses have been re-homed to Allen and Brett Schmidt. Marion was Allen’s uncle, and Brett is Allen’s son. Allen and Brett are partners in Resurrection Vineyard, and they hope to include the horses and cart rides in wine tastings at the vineyard. Resurrection is located on the original Schmidt farm, where Marion grew up.

Brett also runs the intergenerational preschool at Via Christi and hopes to bring the children to the vineyard for visits with the horses. Brett and Allen are trying to get the horses settled in to their new home, but they also hope to breed the miniatures and continue the bloodline.

Several other horses were sold to area residents. The remaining two horses went to the ROARR program in Calgary, Canada. This program is similar to the Schmidts’ in that youth from metro areas as well as seniors are able to come to the ranch and spend therapeutic time with horses.

“We were very happy to place the final two at the facility, because that is exactly what dad would have wanted,” Garret said.

Garret said he hopes whoever buys the ranch will continue its legacy of promoting animal and human companionship.

“It doesn’t have to be somebody who wants to carry on the program, just somebody who enjoys the property and uses it for a purpose that promotes animal/human bond,” Garret said.

“I think that is one of the strongest things that dad wanted to promote — about how integral animals are in our lives. With more people being in the city and less in the country, fewer people are having the opportunity to be exposed to that bond. Anything along that would be wonderful. We don’t expect anyone to do it as well as dad. If they can enjoy the property as much as he did, then that’s enough.”

You can learn more about the Blue Sky Ranch auction at Farmland Auction & Realty.