KALISPELL — Jan Gibbons has been a judge at Rebecca Farm for over 30 years. And these past four years her daughter Catherine Bran has joined her, and to say those two are having a blast together might be an understatement.
"We'd sit and giggle all day," Gibbons said.
"I just have to keep her on track, most of the time," added Catherine.
If you asked his mother and daughter duo what they find the most joy in, they will tell you it's watching over the obstacles.
"We are in charge of the carrot, all morning. The dinosaurs, for a period and then the hot dog all afternoon. And we're taking good care of them," Gibbons said with a laugh.
What they also discovered judging together is that your horse might perform better depending on your color scheme.
"We've discovered it is always the riders that matched that had trouble, you know, the saddle blanket match the shirt," Gibbons said.
Equestrian has been something that these two have bonded over since the beginning. So agreeing to volunteer together was an easy yes.
"I've always been involved with horses," Gibbons said. "As a kid I had horses, for young adult I had horses. As a mom, it always had horses, Kate always had horses."
"With the event at Rebecca Farm we just decided to jump in and set a fence together," added Bran.
What keeps them coming back year after year to Rebecca Farm is how great this event is. The equestrian triathlon has almost 600 participants now. Rebecca Farm has also hosted the World Cup Qualifiers and the North American Youth Championships.
"I love this event, this so much fun," Gibbons said. "It's a beautiful venue, beautiful area, it's just gorgeous, lovely people, beautifully organized event."
"It is a beautiful venue," Bran added. "We've got amazing horses that come from all over the place and it's just so fun to come and watch and participate."
How many more years, will they be volunteering together? Well they said they're in it for the long haul.
