Biography
Ted Robinson of Oak View, California, rode into history aboard Katie Starlight in the first-ever running of the NRCHA World's Greatest Horseman. The competition was conceived to identify the most complete horseman in the reined cow horse world — someone who could excel across herd work, rein work, steer stopping, and cow work with a single horse in a single bridle. Robinson and Katie Starlight answered that call from the very first year.
Katie Starlight, a Colonel Freckles-bred mare, demonstrated the kind of versatility that would come to define WGH champions. She was athletic enough for precise reining maneuvers yet instinctive and bold enough to control cattle. The combination of a well-prepared mare and a skilled, experienced horseman proved unbeatable in the inaugural championship held in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
Robinson's 1999 title was more than a first — it set the standard against which every subsequent WGH champion would be measured. By winning the very first championship, Robinson and Katie Starlight wrote the opening chapter of what has become one of the most prestigious legacies in western horsemanship.