Kate Poulin and her family suffered a huge loss when their mother, dressage rider and beloved instructor Sharon Poulin, died in 2022 after a years-long battle with breast cancer. The Poulin family is a big name in dressage, and Sharon’s death hit everyone in her community hard.

This January, Kate realized she was eligible for additional medical screening, and her OB-GYN referred her to a breast specialist who ordered an MRI with contrast.

To Kate’s shock, the results revealed that she had Stage 1 hormone-receptor-positive (ER+) and human epidermal growth factor-receptor 2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer. It wasn’t genetic, and she’d had no symptoms.

A 2007 Pan American Games (Brazil) team gold medalist, Kate runs an active boarding barn with her amateur client Liz Ritz in Hiram, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. When she realized the journey ahead, she was worried. Aside from needing to teach to make a living, she had a new prospect, Legato, an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Cupido, who could be a handful and needed all her strength.

“Being diagnosed with cancer really puts your life in perspective,” said Kate, 45. “Legato was a lot of horse, and I loved him. It’s the first time in my life as a trainer that I realized he wasn’t the right horse for me, and I couldn’t do it, and he deserved to have a great rider and to be shown off. I knew what my journey was going to look like for the next eight to 10 months, and I wanted him to be ridden and trained with the right person.”

Kate connected with an old acquaintance, Pennsylvania-based professional Alex Robertson, known for his expertise with more complicated rides. Robertson said he found a kindred spirit in the gelding.

“We’re athletic, we want to play and have fun,” he said. “He’s a very spirited horse on the ground. I love being a part of [the journey with Kate]. I don’t get back to people sometimes because they send me tough horses. He’s just complicated; he’s not tough. He’s a high-level horse. If there’s no good future, I don’t want to do it. If there’s no good future, most people just want you to duct tape and get rid of them. We want him to go the right way.”

In April, Kate started going to the hospital every three weeks for a chemotherapy infusion, and she began a five-year course of hormone therapy. The chemo left her weak and unable to ride.

“I have my barn family, which I’m so grateful for,” she said. “I wish more barns were like ours. When I was diagnosed, as a trainer one of your worst fears is, I can’t teach, I can’t ride, [so] who’s leaving? I didn’t have that. I had to make some tough choices about sending Legato away and some choices about what I could do in the barn, so Liz and I talked. We had to let some people go and restructure how we ran the barn, but in the end, it’s worked out well. My clients all supported me. Every single one offered to take me to chemo, and it was 12 weeks of chemo. Every Tuesday somebody new signed up. It’s about an eight-hour process. I have two other trainers [Ali Schueler and Patrick Cooper] at home that offered to come and ride for eight weeks when I had surgery and couldn’t.”

Meanwhile, Legato was thriving under Robertson, and Kate made trips to see him when she felt well enough. “I don’t get to watch my horses show ever, so to be a part of that and watch Alex and root for somebody, that was huge for me,” she said. “It’s fun to stand on the sidelines and cheer somebody on.” 

At home, Kate taught lessons as she could and eventually started hacking her horses just to “get out” of her head. As a result, her perspective on riding changed.

“I have a new body now,” she said. “I couldn’t even pick up a brush. Having your lymph nodes removed—I had a major nerve cut in my armpit [that caused] so much pain and weakness. I was so grateful to be able to pick up a brush and brush my horse one time. It totally changes your perspective when you’re faced with life or death. 

“I’m also a lot more relaxed, which has been an interesting journey,” she added. “Before this I had a lot of anxiety and was really worried about things in my life. It just changed me; I’m much more relaxed, I’m much more joyful. I’m more playful with my horses, and I’m just grateful to be alive and to sit in the saddle. My body is still doing its job, even at 50 percent. I’m getting stronger every day.”

Kate and Robertson thought the U.S. Dressage Finals in November in Lexington, Kentucky, would be a good goal for Legato, and they qualified for the open third level championship but didn’t get off the wait list. Even so, they made the trip to Kentucky to compete in the open show at fourth level.

Ritz, who co-owns Legato, came along for the ride and enjoyed the dynamic between the two trainers developing the gelding.

“They really connected,” she said of Robertson and Kate. “I think in a sport where you don’t see a lot of collaboration, nothing makes me happier than having two cool people come together and collaborate and make something really wonderful happen out of that. Our circumstances brought us to this, but I feel so enriched by bringing Alex into our lives, and I know it was the right thing for the horse, and it gives me hope that this is what the sport should look like. I feel really lucky and grateful.”

Kate was able to show twice this year after her diagnosis, including on Ritz’s Grand Prix horse Fairmount, known as “Jonah” in the barn. The pair competed in the open Grand Prix class at the GAIG/USDF Region 1 Championships (Virginia) in October. Having that goal helped Kate get through the worst days.

“This is not just a physical game but a mental game, having cancer, and knowing I could go and ride Jonah every day helped me heal and get me strong,” she said. “I’d get on a horse and walk in the beginning, and it was like I’d run a marathon. The breathing has been really hard for me. I rode that whole Grand Prix, and I was not gasping for air at the end. It was not our best, but I was proud of my body, and I was proud of my horse. It was good for us, and it’s just the start.”

Legato will head to Florida with Robertson this winter while Kate continues to grow stronger and heal, and she’s looking forward to what comes next. 

“This has been the most challenging year physically of my life,” she said. “I’ve put on 20 pounds, I can’t breathe, I have neuropathy. When I went to visit Alex in May, I could barely walk. I use my body for a living, and I’ve always been really tough and had a lot of grit. People can tell you all day that this is going to change you, but until it hits you—I feel 70 years old. It’s really hard, but I know it’s getting better, and next year’s going to be a different story. I’ll be a different person next year.”