Who We Are: Founder, President & CEO

The PAHC founder, Sally L. Lasater, has been involved in the horse world for more than seven decades as a horse owner, breeder, competitor, horse show organizer, and promoter of equestrian education and media.

Her leadership in equestrian event organization began at an early age. When she was fourteen, she created and managed what became the largest all-breed junior horse show in the United States. The show was notable for being organized and operated entirely by teenagers, all under the age of 18.

In October 1960, Sally was featured on the front page of the Houston Chronicle’s Sunday Feature Magazine with a full-page photograph portraying her -- at age sixteen -- as a young teenager who “aptly symbolizes the renewed interest in horseback riding as a sport.” The article highlighted the growing popularity of horseback riding and recognized her leadership among young equestrian enthusiasts in the Houston area. When she was 18, the American Quarter Horse Magazine recognized her as the youngest manager and organizer of an AQHA‑approved horse show for the “Horses of Houston” event. The same year, she was the first woman to compete in the Rodeo Houston Queen Contest riding an Arabian mare against Quarter Horses in a reining contest, finishing up as one of five finalists.

Over the years she has organized and managed numerous sanctioned breed shows and competitions representing a wide variety of disciplines and breeds, including Arabian, Appaloosa, Saddlebred and Hunter/Jumper competitions as well as dressage, combined training (eventing), cutting, and even rodeos.

Lasater also played a significant role in the development of equestrian video and educational programming. In 1973 she co-produced The American Horse and Horseman, the first nationally syndicated television series devoted to horses, hosted by actor and horseman Dale Robertson. She later helped pioneer the distribution of equestrian educational media through a series of innovative video and television initiatives including EquiVid, The Discovery Trail and Equestrian Vision US. She helped obtain video rights to the equestrian events of the Olmpics, enabling tack and feed stores to make them available to horse lovers in America. Her award‑winning documentary, The Complete Mule (1992) was recognized by Equus Magazine as one of the top equestrian videos of the year.

In addition to her work within the equestrian industry, she founded and led several media and information‑distribution companies. As founder and CEO of Sallyforth, Inc., doing business as The Video Schoolhouse, she built a company that was one of North America’s largest distributors of educational and instructional video programs, distributing more than 10,000 titles across 36 subject categories to libraries, schools, and retail markets. Her work in educational video distribution led to consulting engagements with organizations such as The New York Times, PBS, Readers Digest and other major media and publishing companies. She also authored a book - "The Knowledge Collection" - on educational video publishing for McGraw‑Hill.

Lasater was also an early innovator in the use of digital and Internet technologies within the horse industry, helping to create HorseNet.comin the early 1990's, one of the first equestrian Internet portals, featuring online discussion communities, news and early e‑commerce platforms for horse‑related products including books and videos.

Today, Lasater is semi-retired and a preservation breeder of old world Polish Arabians. As the founder of the Polish Arabian Heritage Conservancy, she hopes to promote and lead public understanding of the Arabian horse’s influence on modern equestrian culture. The PAHC initiative reflects a lifetime of experience in organizing equestrian events, promoting the horse industry, and developing innovative programs that celebrate the heritage and achievements of the horse world.