Sarah Hoffmann was first introduced to horses when she was six years old in Pompano Beach, Florida. Since then, horses have been an integral part of her life, guiding her, humbling her and inspiring her.
Sarah graduated with a degree in elementary education and went on to teach after college. But she never strayed too far from horses. She continued to train and ride in Florida and during her summers off, she’d head west to Jackson, Wyoming to work on horse ranches. In the shadows of the Tetons, she continued to hone her skillset and spend time doing what she loves – riding, training and caring for horses.
The landscapes and riding opportunities in the Jackson Hole valley captivated her. Around 2018, she decided to leave Florida and move to Jackson full-time. She picked up work as an adaptive riding instructor for Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding. She also found work teaching horsemanship clinics and working with “problem horses” who either had their own challenging characteristics or had owners with unrealized expectations. Either way, Sarah’s talents and expertise work toward helping owners find the right approach to reaching their equestrian goals.
“If you’re the best horse trainer in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”
A willingness to learn and a humble attitude towards the process might be Sarah’s greatest strength. She isn’t afraid to admit the learning process never ends, and if she forgets, there’s always a horse to remind her otherwise.
From training horses to teaching clinics, Sarah’s life has never strayed too far from the saddle. She’s invested her mind and her heart into learning everything she can about these animals and is looking for ways to pass that knowledge on to her students.
Chihuahuas don’t duck hunt. You wouldn’t take a lap dog hunting, for the same reason you wouldn’t take a racehorse trail riding. Sarah’s an expert at reading a horse and figuring out what it wants to do and was made to do. Many people buy a horse with the expectation that it will obey their orders.
Sarah feels this is the wrong approach; it usually ends with a frustrated horse owner. Whether the horse wants to race, trail ride or pull a carriage, Sarah will figure it out and equip her students with the skills and knowledge to make that horse the best it can be.
Her dream has evolved from teaching these clinics on local ranches in Jackson to doing it on her own property. She recently built a horse arena where she teaches horsemanship lessons and mentors intermediate and advanced riders on how to train their own horses.
Sarah isn’t a huge fan of snow and spends her winters traveling home to Florida or teaching clinics in warmer climates. Shortly after she got settled in Jackson in 2018, she began to explore summer business ideas.
After working as a bartender in an old airstream for a local event, she decided to convert an old horse trailer to a bar on wheels. The Wild Wagon Saloon was born. Today the trailer provides the perfect venue with a western flair to serve cocktails for weddings and events.
Wearing the small business owner hat always comes with more responsibilities. Bookkeeping, wedding planning, business planning – it’s all been a huge undertaking and she’s lucky to find a few days a month to do what she wants.
The business has grown to the point where they have renovated a second horse trailer to meet demand. This makes it possible to run bars at two locations on the same day and keeps up with the growing demand in the area.
Sarah continues to grow her passion in the mountains and runs the business to support her long-term goals. Like KÜHL, her independence has laid the groundwork for doing what she loves, how she wants to do it.
Besides growing her ranch and her mobile bar business in Jackson, Sarah has bigger dreams beyond the cowboy state.
Horsemanship is a skill and passion that has evolved over centuries in cultures around the world. There are different techniques and training methodologies and Sarah wants to find a way to spread and grow that knowledge with riding retreats organized in various parts of the world.
From the gauchos in Argentina, to the vaqueros in Spain, Sarah hopes to unite people from different backgrounds and beliefs with a common bond – a love for horses – and a desire to spend time in the beautiful places horses can take us.
Meanwhile, she’ll be hauling a horse trailer to weddings in Jackson Hole to sling drinks and trail riding or training horses in her free time, if she can find any. Keep up with the Wild Wagon Saloon on Instagram or book them for your next event in the Jackson Hole area.
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