Kentucky Hidden Wonders

Hoofprints on the Heart: A Couple's Path Through Kentucky Horse Country

• Kentucky Hidden Wonders • Episode 13

Share episode

Judge Dan Ison and Debbie Holloway Ison share their journey through Kentucky's horse country, from thoroughbred racing dreams to quarter horse breeding and equine therapy programs. Their 36-year marriage has united their complementary passions for horses while building careers in public service, professional speaking, and community development.

  • Judge Dan Ison has served as Shelby County Judge Executive for 10 years after 30 years in corporate America
  • Debbie has been a professional coach and speaker for 25 years, now focusing on training speakers and women's events
  • Debbie rescued her first horse at age 12 when she convinced a farm owner not to put down a paint draft horse
  • Judge Ison's childhood dream of owning racehorses was motivated by a teacher telling him it would never happen
  • The Isons met at a Derby Festival board meeting almost 40 years ago
  • Debbie breeds quarter horses with championship bloodlines for reining competitions
  • Judge Ison has owned approximately 15 racehorses throughout his career
  • Debbie conducts "Join Up" demonstrations at Horse Sensing to help recovery patients through equine therapy
  • Judge Ison rescued two horses including Player, who remained his confidant for 30 years
  • Throughout his corporate career, Judge Eisen worked with celebrities including Dolly Parton and John Wayne

To learn more about ShelbyKY Tourism and to start planning a visit, head to visitshelbyky.com.

Send us a text

🎙️ Kentucky Hidden Wonders is presented by ShelbyKY Tourism.

🥃 Plan a visit to Your Bourbon Destination® at www.visitshelbyky.com. Located in the heart of central Kentucky and less than an hour from Louisville and Lexington, ShelbyKY is the perfect Kentucky getaway. Complete with two great distilleries, action-packed outdoor adventures, and the best vacation rentals near Louisville, put ShelbyKY at the top of your list when planning a Kentucky Bourbon Trail® trip, romantic couples retreat, or a whole-family vacation.

🎙️ Kentucky Hidden Wonders is hosted by Janette Marson and Mason Warren and edited by Ethan Fisher.

📲 Follow Kentucky Hidden Wonders:

© ShelbyKY Tourism, All Rights Reserved.

Janette Marson:

Welcome to Kentucky Hidden Wonders. I'm Jeanette Marson and I'm Mason Warren. Together, we're uncovering the secrets, stories and hidden gems of Shelby County.

Mason Warren:

Kentucky From unforgettable places to off-the-beaten-path adventures. Join us as we explore Kentucky treasures and Shelby County's best-kept secrets.

Janette Marson:

Today's guests are Judge Dan Ison and Debbie Holloway Ison. Welcome to Kentucky, hidden Wonders. We're so glad to have you, thank you.

Dan Ison:

Thank you, it's great to be here.

Janette Marson:

Well, I know you both have a lot of things you do in Shelby County. But first let's, just one at a time, tell a little bit about yourself, just a little bit of background, what you're doing right now, and then we'll get into the real meat of it. I wanted to know about your equine, but first tell me a little bit about yourself.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

I've been a professional coach and speaker for 25 years. I've retired mostly from the coaching. I just trained speakers now and I work with the horses. I'm getting ready to—I'm not getting ready to, but my quarter horse in reigning is getting ready to drop a baby in the next two or three days, so that's pretty exciting.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

So, I'm working with that and I do women's events. I've got a women's event in a couple of weeks in Oregon wine country where women get together and talk about women's issues as it relates to balancing work and personal life and home life, oh that's.

Janette Marson:

I knew you were a wonderful speaker and you traveled all over, but that's wonderful. So, and then real estate as well.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

I've been. I was in, I've actually been in real estate for 40 years. I still have a license. I don't actively sell now. I typically refer people to some really great agents here in Shelby County. But I do invest and I flip properties and I'm getting ready to plant a subdivision I'm going to build.

Janette Marson:

Oh, that's amazing. Oh, my goodness, I think I would love to sit in one of your women's, one of the speaker events that you have for women. I think it would be wonderful.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

I would love for you to. In fact, you can join Women Impacting Real Estate. If you go onto Facebook Women Impacting Real Estate, you can join that page if you want. Typically, or someone in my group will do something, and then I'm hopefully going to be doing a women's event this fall here. Oh, my goodness.

Janette Marson:

Well, I will, and listeners. There you have it. We will all be joining that group. Thank you, judge.

Dan Ison:

Ison. Well, I've been the county judge here in Shelby County for the past 10 years. It's one of the highest honors I've had. Life has been very good to me. I've had very broad-based life corporate life, military. I'm a combat veteran from Vietnam. Corporate life, military I'm a combat veteran from Vietnam.

Dan Ison:

Debbie and I met almost 40 years ago. It was an interesting meeting. We were both on Derby Festival board and met at that meeting. We've been married for 34 years now 36. 36. I was close 36. And we both have love for horses and being here in Shelby County, the saddlebred capital of the world, they've let a cowboy and a cowgirl come in Debbie with her quarter horses. I primarily stay over on the racehorsing side of it. I've always loved the racetrack, going back to the early 60s where I was an usher at Churchill Downs and would wipe seats out. But I would sit there and think I want a racehorse, I want to be at Churchill Downs. Well, I've accomplished that and nothing feels better than to walk into that winner's circle with your horse, and our partners in racing are great. Debbie and I have a great deal of fun. I've become very good at mucking stalls and she's become great at having wonderful baby horses on the farm.

Janette Marson:

Oh well, that's wonderful. I wish it was video because I wish the listeners could see your faces. I know there's more of a story about how you two met because I was watching your faces. I know there's more of a story about how you two met because I was watching your faces. But I do want to say when I first started my job here in tourism, I was so excited to meet you our first meeting and you were wonderful. I knew that you knew marketing and advertising because of your career. It was so refreshing to have a judge executive that knew exactly what tourism was supposed to be doing and you knew marketing, so that was fantastic.

Dan Ison:

Well, I spent 30 years in the corporate world working government relations, community relations. I've been very honored to be with everybody from Tom Cruise's mother and I worked together, Dolly Parton, many country stars.

Mason Warren:

You worked with Dolly.

Dan Ison:

Parton, dolly Parton. I'll tell you a great story. I was producing a concert. Dolly had just finished up. I put her in the limousine and I jumped in and it was a jump seat and it was on her leg and I jumped in and she said oh, oh, you're on my foot. You're on my foot. I couldn't get up. I could not get up. And finally, I got over foot and her husband, Carl, was with her, and it was the first time Carl had seen her perform.

Dan Ison:

And he hit his arm around her. They were in the corner of the limousine and she turned to him and she says was I good tonight? And he says, honey, you were so wonderful and I'm sitting there thinking you're the number one female country music star. You couldn't be anything other than wonderful, but it was so great to share those moments.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

Oh, that's a great story Just what we want to hear. Well, he produced that show for many, many years during Derby Week. Well, he produced that show for many, many years during Derby Week and we've met so many celebrities and politicians and generals and he's got so many great stories. It was a lot of fun. Oh, I bet.

Dan Ison:

Lee Greenwood introduced at my show God Bless the USA, and he stood on the stage and sung that song to General Schwarzkopf, who was the guest of Philip Morris at the Derby. So many neat things that we've done, oh that's amazing.

Mason Warren:

So you said you kind of got your. You know you piqued your interest in the horse industry when you were working at Churchill Downs.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

But how did you, debbie, get? How did you get started in the horse world? Well, as I've said before, when I was about four years old, I guess, because there were four of us kids, we were talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up and I said I want to be a horse and luckily that did not work out. But when I was 12 or 13, a friend of mine at school said you know, there's a horse farm over the hill, down the road from where you live, and it was very country. I lived in Middletown and my mom was busy with the other kids and I thought, well, I'll sneak over there and see. So I did and there was a huge barn. Nobody there, I thought, except all these horses. And I'm just in awe.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

And all of a sudden I hear the stall door creak and this man walks out with a horse. And I'd always wanted to have a horse like Scout from the Lone Ranger Tonto's horse, because he was white and black. And he walks out with a horse that looks just like Scout, only huge. He was part draft. And he's walking towards me like what are you doing here? And I said, oh my gosh, is that your horse? He said no, I'm getting ready to go put him down. I said put him down, he goes. Yeah, he was a companion for one of our thoroughbreds and that one died, so we're going to kill him too.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

And I'm like you can't kill this horse, I'll take him, give me your horse. And I can't imagine what that man was thinking of a 12-year-old begging for a horse. And a few minutes later he came back and I'm just standing there looking at this huge horse and he goes, all right, look, you can have him, just leave, don't come back. And you can't bring him back either. And I'm like, okay.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

So I'm walking down the road to bring him home and it was getting dark and I thought that's going to be great. We've got a barn, even though we've got cows in it, I can make this work. And then it dawned on me. You know, I'm going to have to tell my mother when I get there. So I snuck in the back of the field, snuck all the way around the edge, put him in the barn. You know I'm thinking okay, I'm going to say to mom look, they eat grass. That doesn't cost anything. They drink water. That doesn't cost anything. He will cost nothing for us to have him Practice, and then practice and and get to the back door and she's standing there with her arms crossed. Did you really think you'd get that thing in here without telling me she was so mad? All I could think of is she's telling me this isn't going to work, I've got to take him back. I said I can't take him back. I don't want to have to tell her I can't take him back.

Mason Warren:

But she finally, let me keep him, wow so that's what started it and you.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

For a long time I had him. Well, he was old and he was foundered and very large. I mean you could sit four of us. Sitting on his back was like sitting on a table. About six years later he passed. But I just learned so much from him because he was so gentle and that just started it from there and from that point on I felt like I needed to have a horse in my life all the time point on, I felt like I needed to have a horse in my life all the time.

Janette Marson:

Oh, and you have, I think. So you have two very different equine experiences.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

I believe Debbie tell us a little bit about your quarter horses and what you do with them. Well, because I started with Patches, my first horse. I know he had Draft, I know he had Quarter Horse, I'm not sure what all he had in him. I just fell in love with Quarter Horses, their size, their agility, the way they were built.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

And I stumbled on a horse in Vermont on a farm where my friend lived, and these, there were two actually, and they were being neglected. And she said you know, both of these are the daughters of the most famous reigning horse in America, colonel Smoking Gun. And I at that point was like okay, that must be good. And she said, yeah, we should buy him. So she bought one, I bought the other for just nothing, brought her down here and that started my breeding for reigning and she had seven babies. And now I've got another Colonel Smoking Gun granddaughter that I've bred to a vintage smoke for those people that know reining and she's due any day now. So I've bred for many years. Probably 10 years now I've been breeding oh that's amazing.

Mason Warren:

That is amazing. I'm always curious where, like how horses get their names and things like that, like it always. Just sometimes it feels like it's a full sentence.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

Well, it is because you want to combine the dam and you want to combine the sire. You want both of those names in there, like, for example, one of my horses. I put it on facebook and for people to pick out names and the winning name was gonna stop for a blonde. Okay, it's a long story, but there's always different names, so I have to figure out a name for this one, okay, and I said to my granddaughter you know, I'll let you help me name him. And she said well, let's name him Jabooty. I'm like Jabooty it's a made up name that she, as she, used to play when she was younger. She'd play this game and Jabooty was her friend. I'm like, well, could we maybe think of something else? She said, nope, jabooty to do, I've got to make that work with something you could be doing business as Djibouti.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

You call that horse Djibouti. I'm going to have to come up with something else. So we will combine Annie's sparkling gun with a vintage smoke. So if anybody's got an idea of a name, I haven't decided on one yet, so you just combine the names like Annie's sparkling smoke.

Mason Warren:

I was going to say like vintage gun of Djibouti or decided on one yet. So you just combine the names, like Annie's Sparkling Smoke or you know. Yeah, I was going to say like Vintage Gun of Djibouti or something like that. So I'm trying to think, I'm trying to work that in for you, for your granddaughter.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

Oh yeah, so I've got to work on a name.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

Okay, and when I started with horses, what got me into really doing the groundwork with them was something called Join up.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

That I learned many years ago from a clinic I went to and I do it now out at horse sensing as a volunteer and any like. There's a group coming out next Tuesday and a lot of tours will stop by and if they request it, I can do a join up demonstration, because horses are really very much like people. People typically don't fight, they flight, they run away from trouble and they run away from their problems and you have to get them to want to come and get help. And I work through this process where they bring a horse in the ring that is completely bucking and kicking and running and wants nothing to do with anyone and by the time I'm done he is following me around without a halter, just following me. He'll back up with me, he'll walk forward, and join up is a wonderful thing to do for horses to calm them down and bring them into your herd, because they want to be part of your herd. They just don't know how.

Mason Warren:

I've seen you, I've seen a demonstration of that, when you were at Horse Sensing. There was a bus group that was out there. It was fascinating. I grew up in Shelby County.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

I did not grow up around horses so I'm still a little like I'm going to keep a distance. And so we got done and this is what made me realize this is something we should do more often, because it was the first time we did it. We do a one hour meeting afterwards and one of the women said I felt like Debbie was God and I was the horse and she was telling me just come sit with me and you'll be okay, just join up with me. And she's crying and saying now I get it, now I know it's okay to ask for help and something like that is so deep for someone in recovery that it's important for them to see that you do this with others and they can connect.

Janette Marson:

Oh, that is amazing. So many things you can do through that equine industry therapy. And then, Judge Ison you have a completely different experience with horses and I am just dying to know like what was your first horse? What got you started in to making your Churchill Downs dreams come true? Tell us, Tell me the story. What was that path?

Dan Ison:

Yes, there's a couple of parts of it. When I was I want to say four or five years old there was a racetrack in Louisville called Douglas Park and at Douglas Park was a racehorse that was named Sergeant Bill. I would go over morning and give a sugar cube to Sergeant Bill and he and I took up and I loved Sergeant Bill. There was a racetrack fire. Sergeant Bill died in that fire. Bill, there was a racetrack fire. Sergeant Bill died in that fire and it was very emotional as four-year-old to five-year-old to lose my horse, but it showed the love I had for horses. In about the sixth grade I was in school, the teacher said what do you want to be when you grow up? I said I want to own a racehorse farm. And the teacher said and it was one of the greatest motivations I've ever had be realistic, danny, you'll never have a horse farm.

Dan Ison:

That drove me to have my horse farm.

Dan Ison:

It drove me to have my horses. I've had probably 15 racehorses. I love the track. I worked on the racetrack for four years. I was the track photographer in what was called the film patrol when you see the running of a race. I used to take those movies Now to show my age. It was 16-millimeter film that I did this with, but I was going to be a professional photographer on the races. I was traveling all the Kentucky circuit. I was getting ready to go to Florida for the winter, for the circuit, and Uncle Sam said I'd rather you come to Vietnam.

Dan Ison:

I joined the Air Force with the understanding I'd go to photography school. I got out of the basic training and they said you're going to be a policeman and I told the assignment sergeant. I said I'm a photographer, I'm supposed to be taking pictures and I'll never forget. He said, son, we don't need people to take pictures of this war, we need people to fight it. That ended my working career, but I still wanted to have horses.

Dan Ison:

Debbie and I got married. We came out here and bought a farm. I had rescued a horse. I went to buy equipment for a farm and I found two horses in 10 by 10 stalls that were not being treated properly and I said to the lady I said can I buy that horse? She said you have to buy them both. I said I don't want two horses, I just would like this one. She said if you're going to buy them, you have to buy them both. And I thought, okay, I'll do it. And I rescued them both, both. And I thought, okay, I'll do it. And I rescued them both and I called Debbie and I said I need some help. She said what'd you buy? I said I bought two horses. She said you went to buy pitchforks. I know, but I bought these horses and I don't know how to get them home.

Dan Ison:

So we literally walked these horses two miles to get them home. One of them was an appendix which is part thoroughbred, part quarter horse. Player was his name. Player and I became dear friends. If I had a problem I went to the barn and Player and I talked. I had promised Player, as long as I was alive Player would have a good home. Player passed away about a year ago. We hadn't played for 30 years.

Mason Warren:

Oh, wow, wow.

Dan Ison:

And to this day, when I walk to the barn, I can see Player with his head hung over the stall saying where you been.

Mason Warren:

Yeah.

Dan Ison:

But horses, as Debbie says, they can mean so much in your life. Player, gave me somebody to confide in, somebody that I could go out and say it's been a really bad day. Player, how are you doing? Yeah, that's the enjoyment of our horses. Now I've got a three-year-old that's on the racetrack. Partners and I are getting ready to take it out to Churchill, get him all certified and we'll probably take him to California.

Dan Ison:

I've always wanted to race in California and California has a wonderful deal they will pay our shipping costs for our thoroughbred, really, and the first race we run in, if we win, they will add 40% to the purse. So $100,000 race becomes $140,000 race.

Mason Warren:

Wow.

Dan Ison:

I can't wait to fly to California to see my horse run.

Janette Marson:

I bet, oh my goodness, so have you ever had a horse in the Kentucky Derby?

Dan Ison:

I haven't gotten there. That's always a horse owner's dream. I have been in a movie. I was at a bed part where I stood in the winner's circle with the Derby trophy, and that's as close as I've come to a Derby horse.

Janette Marson:

Oh well, I say it's in your future. I definitely and shame on that teacher, some people that would break somebody. You know if you're in elementary school to hear that. But I'm so glad that it fired you up to make your dream come true.

Dan Ison:

Best motivation I've ever had.

Janette Marson:

A lot of times people will be discouraging and it will motivate me as well. But yeah, I'm so glad it didn't discourage you. Is there anything that you have not told that a hidden secret not a secret, but a hidden fact or something that you have always wanted people to know about you? So I was very interested about the Tom Cruise story and the Dolly Parton. That was wonderful. Maybe something now California's coming up. Anything else that's big for either one of you.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

Well, I will say and I don't know, I'm pretty sure everyone here knows this he is a huge John Wayne fan. If you go in his office at the courthouse, he's got more John Wayne sayings. Go in his office at the courthouse, he's got more John Wayne sayings. I won't repeat some of them. He loves everything, John Wayne. We've got a cutout, stand-up, full-size cardboard image of John Wayne in the basement. He's just a huge, huge John Wayne fan.

Janette Marson:

Well, so the question is did you ever meet John Wayne? I did meet John Wayne. Okay, there we go.

Dan Ison:

And it was so interesting. I'm standing out at a country club under a tree having a bourbon, when a friend brings John up and introduces me and I said Mr Wayne, it's such an honor to meet you. He said please call me John Wayne and I said no, mr John Wayne.

Debbie Holloway Ison:

He said call me John. He's like okay, Mr John Wayne.

Dan Ison:

And we stood there and I said, john, nobody's going to believe that I stood in Kentucky drinking bourbon with John Wayne. I said can I get a picture? He said how you want to pose it. I said, man, just stand beside me, don't move. But his philosophy that he conveyed in the movies is something that I truly love. I was giving a speech the other night when we're talking about roads in Shelby County and accidents that were occurring and I said I must quote John Wayne when I make this statement you just can't fix stupid. So you know we can repair the road, but if you're going to drive down the road with your iPhone up and you're trying to text, it just can't fix stupid.

Janette Marson:

Well, we could end right there. Thank you both for being on our program, kentucky Hidden Wonders and Debbie, thank you for all that you do for therapy for the women of the United States, not just here in Shelby County. And Judge Ison, I can't tell you thanks enough for being a great judge, for leading our county, for making us prosperous, for being a friend, for me being able to talk to you and Mason as well.

Dan Ison:

We adore you both and thank you so much for being on the show. Thank you, it was an honor.

Mason Warren:

Kentucky Hidden Wonders is a Shelby KY Tourism production. Your hosts are Janet Marcy and Mason Warren. To learn is a Shelby KY Tourism production. Your hosts are Janet Marson and Mason Moore. To learn more about Shelby KY Tourism and to start planning a visit, head to visitshelbykycom.

Head Shot

Janette Marson

Host
Head Shot

Mason Warren

Host