There’s a moment in a horse sale when the barn noise fades, the bids start to climb, and you realize it’s about so much more than a number on a board.
Keily Stewart knows that moment well.
At the 2025 Art of the Cowgirl Invitational Horse Sale, Keily consigned the high-selling horse, Soul Ridge Lamont Flame, known to many as “Ben.” But ask her what that moment meant, and she won’t start with the price tag.
She’ll start with the part that hits you in the chest.
“Two minutes into the sale, I started bawling,” she said. “It didn’t really have anything to do with the price climbing. It was more… the unknowns and the grind and the effort it takes to stay hooked. It’s a huge risk. It’s a gamble. It’s a wild way to try and make a living.”
Raised in northern British Columbia on a horse training and breeding ranch, Keily grew up inside a program built on horsemanship, not hype. Her father, a respected horsemanship clinician, shaped her foundation early. The philosophy was simple. Take care of your horsemanship, and it will take care of you.
“It doesn’t matter what the discipline is,” she explained. “There are so many basic fundamentals that are key.”
For Keily, that means showing up daily. Staying present. Remaining a student. Believing you never truly arrive.
“Every day, there’s something new,” she said, “You never max out.”
Ben represented years of that mindset in motion. Early mornings. Uncertain outcomes. Staying committed when the results were not guaranteed. When the board finally climbed and the gavel fell, what overwhelmed her was not pride. It was reassurance.
“A moment where it all came together,” she said. “Reassurance to go, okay, you’re on the right track. Keep persevering.”
Her family stood beside her in that sale ring, sharing the pride and the bittersweet reality of letting a good one go. For Keily, selling is not about moving inventory. It is about entrusting a horse to the right next chapter. This year, she returns to Art of the Cowgirl with a horse that carries even deeper roots.
Governor.
Born when Keily was just thirteen, Governor is an Azteca cross by a Lusitano stud her parents brought from Brazil and out of one of their northern broodmares. He was not purchased as a prospect. He was raised at home, part of the Stewart family from the very beginning.
“This is sentimental for the whole family,” she said. “He’s been a big part of our lives.”
Selling Governor is not casual. It costs something.
“Gov’s been a huge part of the family,” she said. “It’s gonna be tough on my dad.”
And yet, Art of the Cowgirl is the one place she believes a horse like him belongs.
“One of the reasons I really love the sale is because everyone sells their best,” she said. “People are bringing the best horse out of their string.”
That standard matters to her. So does the community. Over the years, Keily has consigned multiple horses to the sale. The first one helped buy her first truck and trailer, shifting the trajectory of her life. The buyers she has met have become friends. She still stays in touch with them. That longevity and shared commitment to real horsemanship is what sets this sale apart.
Ask her what Art of the Cowgirl truly provides, and she does not say spotlight. She says community.
“The vendors are top notch. The people are top notch. The competitors, the horses,” she said. “If people haven’t gotten the chance to go and be immersed in it all, they absolutely need to make the trip because it’s downright inspiring.”
Selling the high seller was a milestone. Bringing Governor this year is another chapter. But for Keily Stewart, the real reward has never been the number on the board. It is the journey. The grit. The horses that change your life, and the kind of sale that reminds you why you chose this life in the first place.
