Our Team
Mindy Smith
Finding and facilitating the perfect connection between horse and human isn’t just an occupation for Mindy Smith; it’s her passion. On any given day, she can be found hard at work on her 50+ horse ranch, which specializes in breeding, training, and selling Rocky Mountain Horses.
Hundreds of equine matchmaking successes into her career, Mindy sought out another way to help connect rider and horse— the saddle. Based on her countless hours of riding, she knew a better saddle was possible. She partnered with Nathan Bair, a biomechanical engineer with a similar love of trail riding, and the Union saddle was born.
Nathan Bair
When Mindy approached Nathan with the idea of creating a revolutionary saddle, he was working for a high-tech medical device company. However, he was intrigued enough by her idea to start studying horse anatomy and comparing it to current saddles. A few force diagrams and physics equations later, Nathan became convinced he could do better than what was on the market.
The first horse to test run the saddle was Nathan’s very own Rocky Mountain horse, Churro. Churro loves people but has “opinions” on the tack that he wears. The first ride wearing the Union saddle was a success! The connection between Nathan and his horse had never been stronger. It was time to bring this new saddle to the broader community.
Jackie Heimel
Jackie is our talented production manager. A long-time Central Coast resident, she has traveled the world designing and making elaborate costumes and 3D designs. She was part of the opening team of costume creators at Universal Studios Singapore, and then, as if that job wasn’t fantastic enough, she maintained the arena-sized dragon puppets for DreamWorks' “How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular” world tour. A desire to be near family again in Morro Bay led her back to California and through contacts in the textile fabrication world, she found Sage Equine. The company was a natural fit; besides her passion for creating and inventing, she has always adored horses.
Sonja Bair
Sonja takes care of the details for Sage Equine— website, newsletter, and those endless forms that come with owning a small business. When there is extra time, she loves to explore the back country trails around San Luis Obispo with her horse, Aspen.