Meet the Author

Tammy Holsey

Author • Horsewoman • Animal Advocate • Storyteller • Speaker

Some people spend their lives searching for extraordinary experiences. Tammy Holsey has discovered that sometimes, the extraordinary is waiting just outside the back door.

A Texas horsewoman, author, and lifelong animal lover, Tammy has spent years building relationships with horses that others might have overlooked, misunderstood, or given up on. Her passion for rescue has led her to save horses from uncertain futures, including animals destined for slaughter. Over the years, she has helped rescue fifteen horses, each with a story, a personality, and something to teach.

But one horse changed everything.

His name was Checote.

A spirited brown-and-white horse with an independent mind and a remarkable capacity for connection, Checote became far more than Tammy's riding partner. He was her best friend. Their relationship developed into an extraordinary bond built on trust, communication, and mutual understanding.

Then came the accident that nearly took his life.

What followed would challenge Tammy's understanding of what was possible. As she fought to save Checote, extraordinary events unfolded - experiences involving angels, unexplained interventions, and independent witnesses whose accounts revealed connections Tammy could not easily explain.

Those experiences became the foundation for her first book, Checote's Angels: A True Story of a Horse, a Miracle, and the Angels Who Surrounded Us.

Yet the book is about more than a horse surviving a catastrophic injury. It is about the power of love, the courage to persevere when hope seems impossible, and the profound connections that can exist between humans and animals.

A Lifetime of Listening to Animals

Tammy believes animals communicate far more than most people realize. Through decades of working with horses and other animals, she has learned that listening involves more than hearing sounds or watching behavior. It requires patience, observation, respect, and a willingness to recognize that animals have thoughts, preferences, and personalities all their own.

Today, her Texas ranch is home to a colorful collection of rescued horses and other animals, each with an unmistakable personality.

From clever horses who understand far more than they probably should, to a mischievous little goat named Stella who seems determined to become the center of every adventure, life on the ranch provides an endless supply of laughter, lessons, and stories.

Those everyday experiences have inspired additional storytelling projects, including The Stella Chronicles, a growing collection of humorous tales about a goat with an oversized personality and absolutely no respect for anyone's carefully planned schedule.

Sharing Checote's Story With the World

Since publishing Checote's Angels in 2026, Tammy has shared her experiences through fifteen podcast interviews (and growing) with hosts in the United States and all over the world.

Her conversations explore the remarkable relationships between humans and animals, the power of perseverance, the possibility of divine intervention, and the extraordinary events that can emerge from seemingly ordinary lives.

Readers have described her book as emotional, inspiring, and impossible to put down. Many have shared that Checote's story made them laugh, cry, and reconsider what they believe about the connections between the living world and the unseen.

For Tammy, those responses are among the greatest rewards of becoming an author.

More Stories Still to Tell

Writing Checote's Angels opened a new chapter in Tammy's life.

She continues to develop creative projects inspired by Checote's legacy, including plans to bring his story to the screen and to narrate the audiobook herself.

She is also exploring new ways to share the humor, wisdom, and sometimes astonishing experiences that come from living among animals.

Through it all, one belief remains at the heart of her storytelling:

The animals who enter our lives are not always there by accident. Sometimes, they come to teach us something we never knew we needed to learn.

Tammy lives in Texas, surrounded by the animals she loves, where the next story is usually unfolding somewhere between the barn and the back porch.