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From the left – Isreal Siltman,
Nelson, Joe (aka Jelly) and Ruthie (Ruhl) Siltman – The first
picture taken of the two horses that started the couple's journey.
The love of horses started when Ruthie’s parents took her trail
riding when she was incredibly young around two to three years old
and wouldn’t stop talking about horses. Finally, around age five,
and because she wouldn’t stop professing her love for horses, her
parents got her involved in riding lessons, sometimes traveling for
an hour or more to get her to and from. By age eight, Ruthie found a
place that fit her like a saddle fits a horse, where she learned
more than she ever could imagine, and found not only a genuine
mentor but a life-long friend, Lori Nelson.
Throughout Ruthie’s teenage years, she worked for
Lori cleaning stalls, making connections, and teaching others
everything she soaked up throughout the years. She still bounces
thoughts and ideas off of Lori today.
Ruthie’s senior year of high school proved to be a turning point in
her life that she did not expect at all. Her plans for attending any
type of college was just not in the picture for her, so she thought!
Towards the end of her senior year of high school, she received the
Iva Mae Blaum Scholarship in Agriculture in Logan County, which
meant that she needed to go to college! Her mom talked her into
visiting all the local colleges and universities, hoping for her to
stay close to her Mt. Pulaski native home.
Even though her parents had thought she should stay
close, she found her heart’s desire when she took a road trip with
her grandmother more than 1,025 miles to visit the College of
Central Florida. Ruthie had always had a desire to live in the Ocala
region, and it just so happened that was where the college was
located.
After a rough start to her new college career, breaking her foot
meant that she couldn’t work with or ride horses. To make ends meet
those first few months while healing, she worked for Door Dash, an
up and coming home delivery service.
Ruthie questioned her purpose and thought maybe she should just put
riding on the back burner and concentrate on finishing college.
However, while surfing the web, she ran across an ad from someone
who wanted a ‘barn sitter’ for a weekend and Ruthie applied. This
led to her meeting another person, Mike Huber, who was looking for a
permanent barn helper. Huber was a 1980 Olympian who was very
instrumental in determining how the Equestrian competitions are run
today. Ruthie spent the next two years working for Mike and his wife
taking care of all aspects of the barn and its animals.
Over the next several years, Ruthie worked extremely hard holding
down two jobs while going to school at the same time. She said it
was the toughest, hardest physical period in her life getting up at
4 a.m. and cleaning stalls for those getting ready for the Winter
Circuit. The Winter Circuit is twelve weeks of international
competing in major equestrian events where premier competition and
diverse opportunities for riders and their horses of all levels come
together for an unforgettable experience at the World Equestrian
Center.
On a trip home to Mt. Pulaski at the end of the summer in 2023,
Ruthie’s best friend, Audrey from Canton offered to sell her “Joe,”
a pony that Ruthie had been eyeing for quite some time. Ruthie
wanted a project horse, but Joe was a little more of a project pony
than she wanted.
Ruthie went back home a couple of months later to help her childhood
trainer, Lori, with an annual charity horse show in Springfield. She
rode Joe again and this time decided to buy him with extra
scholarship money awarded by the college. This meant that she was
still going to school, working, and caring for Joe, not to mention
planning for her wedding all at the same time!
Six days after Israel and Ruthie marry, she finalized the purchase
of a horse from West Virginia. Going up a steep mountain, in three
feet of snow pulling a trailer with the brakes smoking because of
the pull, they get their second horse ‘Nelson’.
Nelson, the first horse Ruthie
started by herself from scratch. She said “He was able to teach me
more about all aspects of riding and horsemanship than any other
horse I’ve had so far. I only had him 13 months. He wasn’t my
‘heart’ horse, but I will never forget him and everything he taught
me.”
Nelson was the game changer for Ruthie and Israel. You see, Nelson
was only five years old and had already had back surgery. Ruthie
said, “I knew I was gambling, and I was gambling hard”.
Unfortunately, after 13 months Nelson had to be put down, but not
before he taught Ruthie that she was capable of so much more. She
credits him giving her confidence in her training abilities and
teaching her about equine medicine.
Ruthie now has seven horses and has a passion for
finding “diamond in the rough” horses and giving them a second
chance. She teaches them to ride, makes them family friendly and
finds them their next riders.
In asking Ruthie her suggestions on how to guide others who are
interested in learning more about anything equestrian, she says to
get involved with 4H and other horsemanship programs like the USHJA
horsemanship quiz challenge. Both programs have manual after manual
full of knowledge that she references today. She believes for any
youngster remotely interested in horses these are the best ways to
learn all aspects of the life cycle and various ways of
collaborating with horses. The second thing she suggests is that
nothing can replace a good mentor.
Ruthie was very candid in her struggles through
working and college but will be graduating in May and now has a
business, “Faodail Equestrian LLC” that has exploded since September
of last year beyond their imagination. Ruthie and Israel currently
have two part-time employees who are helping with the day-to-day
operation. They are hoping to expand with a few more horses and have
a waiting list for people who want to bring their horses to their
facility.
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However, they plan to slow down a little bit so that
they can step back and take a look at where the trajectory is
heading, what that looks like, and how they want to tweak it. Ruthie
would also like to eventually compete at the Grand Prix level, while
still finding forever homes for her furry friends.
Curious as to what Faodail means? Ruthie ran across this word in
high school. In Gaelic it means ‘Lucky Find’. She feels like that is
the perfect verbiage of the path she has traveled since high school.
The pieces have fallen into place better than she could ever have
planned or imagined.
For those wondering how to start their own equine business, Ruthie
said, “have a network of people that you trust, that you can learn
from, and that can learn from you, because you are never going to
know everything!!.” She added “you have to have something to offer.”
What she means is that she is always willing to help others. If
someone needs transport for horses, help with hurricane evacuation
efforts, or if something breaks down, she is always there. The
give-and-take relationship is real. She learns from her mentors,
leaders, and teachers and she in turn helps where she can and
teaches others under her all that she has learned.
Day one to day 60 with Ruthies
favorite rescue/rehab, Roxii.
“Roxii telling me exactly how
high she should be jumping.”
Ruthie bought Cayden, Mr.
Steady Eddie from a picture on social media.
Baxter is Ruthie’s latest project. He is an imported five year old
from Germany. She hopes to bring him back to the sport after giving
him a much needed vacation. Photo taken by S&H Photography in Citrus
Springs FL.
Ruthie wants others to know that she started this business debt-free
on a “hope and prayer” and that, along with the hard, hard work that
she put in all those years to get to this point, she feels, is what
has made the business so successful thus far! She even goes as far
as calling herself crazy for moving over a thousand miles away to go
to school and start a business with little to no capital.
Wonder what happened to Joe? He is now living with
a four-year-old who had trouble saying “Joe.” So “Joe” is now
“Jelly” living happily ever after with his new owners.
[JA Hodgdon-Ruppel]
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