Libby Gorman Williams’ stables sit on a hill wedged between fast-growing developments. The stables provide a quiet sanctuary for Gorman Williams’ life with her 14 horses.
Gorman Williams began riding horses in the third grade at the suggestion of her mother’s friend.
“We started taking lessons, and we were riding over Old Durham-Old Chapel Hill Highway, actually near where Wegmans is now,” she said.
Now, 52 years after her first horse show at the North Carolina State Fair, Gorman Williams was inducted into the N.C. State Fair Livestock Hall of Fame’s Equine Category.
N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler said the Hall of Fame was created in 1980 to honor outstanding participants, volunteers and program directors involved with the fair’s livestock shows.
Gorman Williams has trained hundreds of students for horse shows, and has competed nationally. Additionally, she continually contributed to the fair’s livestock events.
While her love for horses began early, her passion never faltered.
“I knew that Libby got her first horse at a very young age, and it was an Arabian named Silver Shadow,” Troxler said. “And she actually took that horse, and her twin sister took her horse to college with her so they wouldn’t be separated from the horses.”
Gorman Williams predominantly works and trains with Arabian horses and has won several national titles in categories ranging from dress to side saddle with this breed.