BIOGRAPHY

Liz Hughey is a mud puddle loving mom from Brookville, Indiana.  She has a degree in Geography from Indiana University and spent the better part of her twenties in the National Forests and Wilderness Areas of Northwest Colorado working as a horse guide and a mule packer.  She now resides in Southeastern Indiana on her family's Red Angus beef ranch with her son and their rather large family of pets.  Hughey & Son are the grazing managers to the ranch's grass-fed beef operation and spend most summer days with the herd.  Liz has a passion for educating children in animal husbandry, environmental stewardship, healthy eating habits, and an organic, simple lifestyle.   

Liz has enjoyed reading and reciting poetry since she was a child and dabbled in writing rhyme and meter on her horseback guiding and mule packing adventures. But she didn’t truly find her voice until she had something that needed to be said. Liz looked for illustrated children’s books to read to her young son about mules and mule packing. Searching for a vehicle to help relay stories from the winding trails of the pack string, letting kids know those trails are out there, led Liz to become a children’s author.

The main reason Liz chose to self-publish her work was to become a children’s author while her son was still a child. She wanted to be able to share the work with him while he was young.

There are many things, or people rather, that inspired “Reach for the Stars, Girl!”. This book was inspired by Liz’s best friends and peers, many of whom work in fields that would be considered atypical for a woman to work. The exact moment of inspiration came after having a conversation about women working in the outfitting and fire industry as mule packers and firefighters and with wildland firefighter, Abby Bolt.

She has been involved with backyard horses since before birth and has always been comfortable with equine.   However, she became sidetracked in her teenage years.  A longing to horseback ride in the Rockies after college led her back to horses and introduced her to mules.

In June 2002,  Liz attended the Colorado Outdoor Adventure Guide School, Victor, CO.  At COAGS she received her introduction into horse/mule packing.  After graduation, she went to work for outfitters, from Jackson, WY to The Flat Tops Wilderness Area, Northwest Colorado.  Finally, finding a home in J-Bar H Outfitter’s, Meeker, CO, and finished the 2002 Elk season packing mules with them.  It is at J-Bar-H where she fell in love with mules, sometimes working with over 50 different head in one fall season.  She moved north of Steamboat Springs, to Clark, CO the following summer and spent three of the next five summers working as a guide/packer and/or barn manager for outfitters and guest ranches in the area, always returning to J-Bar-H for elk season packing.

The biggest and best change of Liz's life came with the addition of her son in July of 2013.  As far as the type of work she does, animals and nature have always been a constant.  She still manages a small herd of horses/mule and rides as much as possible, it’s part of her job.  One major change in her career, has been the introduction to Red Angus cattle.  Liz moved back to Indiana knowing NOTHING about cattle.  With her help, the family ranch has moved their conventionally pastured Red Angus herd into a Management-intensive Grazing platform.

Liz worked for outfitters in Northwest Colorado for 10 years on and off and feels confident in her packing skills to this day.  She thinks of the trail and mule packing daily with a very warm heart, and is so glad to know the knot tying art.       

Liz wants children to know there are trails to be ridden, places to explore, and even unconventional dreams are attainable. She will meet her goal by reaching one child, her son.

Readers of Liz's work will learn about mules and horses, basic equine vocabulary, and about the life that can be built around ‘working’ horses and mules; the equine that she knows to be the happiest.  Liz wants her readers to learn about the outfitting and guest ranch industry and know that it is a real life that can be lived. Readers will also learn ecology, geography, and environmental stewardship through the simple poetry of her children’s books.  She feels that reaching young minds, is the best way to plant a seed and bring people back to nature.        

There are many developmental studies highlighting the number of different words heard by a child in their first three years of life and correlating that number to academic performance and vocabulary skills. The more words and ideas introduced to a young child, the better for that child’s mind and future.  When Liz looks back at the media that she was exposed to as a young child, it's easy for her see how it has influenced her life to become the equine and nature loving person she is today.

Liz's mind is always working on children’s books, but also cowboy poetry, and magazine/e-magazine articles on mule/horsemanship.  She has a series of articles published in Western Mule Magazine, Summer 2017, which are centered around being courteous to your riding and pack animals, keeping yourself and animals safe while handling them, and giving yourself and your riding/pack animal an enjoyable day on the trail.   

Much of the inspiration for Liz's writing comes from her past experiences with mules and horses.  She finds raising her child in a rural life on the family ranch and watching him interact with the animals to be very inspiring.  Her imagination is sparked by spending time in nature and watching her son discover our natural world.  She also loves the inspiration that comes with reading to her son.   

Liz Hughey & Son's second book, Pack String Problem, is due out November 2017.  Also illustrated by 'The Mule Artist', Bonnie Shields, Pack String Problem introduces children to an entire pack string of mules and the different personalities that accompany them.  It transcends the equine world with messages of teamwork and forgiveness. 

​Where can I read more of Liz's writing or hear more about her work?

• Liz is published by and currently writing columns on mule/horsemanship for Western Mule Magazine.

• You will also be able to read about her work on the family farm in Rural Heritage Magazine . 

• Liz's poetry can also be read in Cowboy Poetry Press, State of the Cowboy III, October 2017.

• Tune into "SPARK:Careers in Agribusiness". A podcast series, hosted by Paulsen President Sara Steever, featuring in-depth      interviews with successful leaders in agribusiness careers and hear an interview with  Children's Book Author, Liz Hughey.

• Check out Small Town Big Deal, Season 7, Episode 22, "Missiles and Mules" and see an interview with Liz and "The Mule Artist" Bonnie Shields at Mule Day, Columbia, TN, 2018.

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