Georgia Draft Horse Association

Rickey Daniel
President

I live in a small town called Cohutta, GA and I am humbly blessed to be a part of this association and look forward to providing an enriched experience every time you visit a show, or we meet. My passion is God, and to serve him and the communities that he blesses me with. My second passion in my Wife and 2 beautiful children, and of course, our horses! My wife actually got me in the showing world years ago when we first met, and it is a wonderful gift that we get to share with others. We currently own Belgians and show at the spring and fall shows. I have been in public safety for 9 years. I am currently employed at Calhoun Fire Dept. Current rank is Lieutenant, which is an officer position at my department. Current AEMT and PRN at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, GA. During these 9 years in public safety, I have been blessed to gain skills and knowledge that can be applied to any aspect of life. Servant leadership is my top priority!

Cathy Hackle
Treasurer

I live in Jeffersonville, Georgia, where I was born and raised. I retired from the State of Georgia after 30 years as the Director of Human Resources of a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Center. My employment there would bring me into the Draft Horse world upon my retirement in 2015, when a co-worker asked me to be the Bookkeeper at the Georgia Draft Horse Show in Perry, Georgia. I accepted and the following year had the pleasure of working with a new Show Manager, Rebecca Cannon. Upon Rebecca’s death in 2021, I was elected to fill her unexpired term on the Board and to be the Show Manager for Perry. I have been a member and actively involved with GDHA for the past ten years. I have made many friends in the draft horse world and grew up loving the gentle giants. I appreciate this opportunity to once again serve on your Board and look forward to an exciting and successful year.

Let me introduce myself- My wife and I own Southern View Farm. We raise and train registered Percherons, and we are located in Shelbyville, TN. We try to raise the very best quality, while also providing a versatile animal for its next owners. We are a family operation with my mother, Mary Anna, who is actively involved. We have been members of the Georgia Draft Horse Association since 2009. We have also had 22 years of volunteering with our local 4-H, and for a time I set on the Board of the Percheron Horse Association of America.

Since entering the draft world I have always loved how draft people are always like family. If your neighbor needs help you help him, and most of the time if you need help your neighbor helps you. I enjoy helping others in their draft horse journey with the knowledge I have collected through my life.

Meghan Hayden, along with her husband Seth, owns The Croft at Bucksville in Conway, South Carolina—an equine farm focused on the breeding, development, and promotion of Gypsy Vanner and Drum Horse breeds. She is also the fifth-generation owner of Goldfinch Funeral Home, continuing her family’s 120-year legacy of service.

Meghan has been involved with horses since the age of six. She began in hunter-jumpers, later owned and competed Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods, and eventually discovered her long-term connection to the Gypsy Vanner breed. Her interest in the light draft breeds deepened after purchasing a Drum Horse mare who arrived in foal—an experience that inspired the start of a dedicated breeding program. Today, her focus is on producing sound, versatile, well-minded Gypsy Vanners and Drum Horses supported by proven, quality bloodlines—through the foals they raise and the stallions they stand that are open to outside mares.

Meghan and Seth share a blended family with four stepchildren, two donkeys, three dogs, eight draft horses, and a sizable flock of chickens. Her ongoing priorities include responsible breeding, active involvement in the show community, and contributing to programs that support and advance the Gypsy Vanner and Drum Horse breeds.