See This Cowgirl Transform Into The Headless Horseman!

Not many cowgirls can say they’ve had the chance to dress up as the infamous Headless Horseman, but Kellie Rettinger, owner of Whispery Pines Percherons, has! Her story of how she came upon the opportunity to dress up as the spooky mythical character is the perfect Halloween tale for horse lovers.

“I received a phone call from a local town who was having a Halloween parade. They wanted the parade to start out with a bang! The lady in charge had once seen the Headless Horseman at Disney World and asked if I could do something like that. With Halloween being one of my favorite holidays I was definitely up for the challenge. I made my own costume and designed the tack for my horse. We were such a hit at the parade! I started to receive phone calls for appearances as the Headless Horseman. I have performed at Lake Erie College School of Equine Studies, Road to the Horse, and for Horse Fest at the Lake Metroparks Farm Parks in Kirtland, OH.” – Kellie Rettinger

Speaking of Lake Erie College School of Equine Studies, the dean, Pam Hess, had some special words to say about Kellie’s recent performance, “The Headless Horseman is a familiar October and Halloween character, but never has it been represented with such power and stunning beauty as by Kellie Rettinger and her horse Candyman. They captivated the audience with the massive big black horse and its tall headless rider with her black cape lined in crimson.  The haunting music boomed as the impressive big black draft horse trotted and cantered through the ring. Finally, the haunting figure came to a rest and all the families and students were invited to come down to the center of the ring for photographs with the big black gelding and its headless rider. The well-trained Candyman was amazing, standing perfectly still for a long photographic session with the riders and families.”

Kellie has some spectacularly trained horses that she uses for her public appearances, which is helpful since she has so much to concentrate on when she’s in costume, “The Headless Horseman has had 3 different steeds since I started this 4 years ago. Ace, Octane, and Candyman. The costume is by far one of the most difficult outfits I have ever rode in. Try riding a 2,000 lb Percheron draft horse and not being able to see! It feels so weird to ride with extremely limited vision. However, I still enjoy this costume so much, any opportunity that I have to share my horses with people is so important to me.” – Kellie Rettinger

Learn more about Kellie and Whispery Pines Percheron here.