- March 30, 2025
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It might seem odd that Rebecca McCullough, the owner of Herrmann's Lipizzan Stallions in Myakka City, can't stand romance novels.
She obviously has had a lifelong romance with her family business, which has been in Myakka City since 1962.
When McCullough's mother, Gabriella Herrmann, died in 2021, McCullough took over operations on the 20-acre ranch while also continuing her regular job, as a medical technician. Her main help on the ranch is her daughter, Sydney, who is now 16.
Oh, by the way, McCullough is a single mom and Sydney is home schooled.
She has a lot of her plate. So how does she do it all?
"Caffeine," she said with a laugh. "I am not going to say that I am not exhausted."
With everything buzzing around her — McCullough cares for her 15 horses and puts on shows and practice sessions for the public — she still wants to make room for another career.
She wants to be an established author.
Her self-published book, "Planet of Equus," became available this week on Amazon or by going to HerrmannsRoyalLipizzans.com.
It's not a romance novel.
"I have been writing my whole life," McCullough said. "I like to write sci-fi, and I gear toward the super natural. It always has been kind of a hobby."
"Planet of Equus" is her first novel, sort of.
Back in 2010, McCullough originally decided she wanted to write a fiction novel. However, she thought she also could use the novel as a way to promote Herrmann's Lipizzan Stallions, She put so much historical information in the book about the stallions and her family, that her fictional story became bogged down. She self-published the novel for a short time, but ultimately decided it was a failed effort and yanked it.
"It was too technical, and it had too much history about what we do here," McCullough said.
A decade later, she took her original writing, and started to make changes. She made so many changes that the story went in such a different direction that her first effort was no longer recognizable. She is much happier with the current version.
"The whole planet is nothing but horses," she said. "The horses have evolved to be the dominant species, I took humans completely out of it. The entire book is just animals."
The main character in the novel is Thracis, a Lipizzan stallion. Other characters, horses, are made-up breeds from McCullough's imagination.
"The book is about a young stallion who wants to become a knight (a Hippeus in the book) and who wants to uphold those ideals," McCullough explained. "He finds out that it is more about who you know and becomes disillusioned. He becomes an outcast."
Thracis finds another place where those ideals are upheld and where he can protect the ideals of the equine society.
McCullough took a break from talking about her novel, and walked into the barn to check with Sydney. She walked past the stall where Jagger, a Lipizzan stallion, was peering over a stall door, checking out the visitor. Jagger is one of the stars of the regular Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at Herrmann's.
"Jagger is Thracis," said McCullough, who modeled her fictional hero after the 9-year-old in her barn. "He is clumsy, and impetuous."
But his integrity can't be questioned.
With character development in the book related to the horses on her ranch, the novel contains a lot of the history behind Lipizzan stallions and, of cats as well. If you look around McCullough's ranch, you will find six family cats.
In the book, it's not a dog-friendly planet.
McCullough can smile now about the process of publishing a book, but it has been a frustrating learning experience for her.
"I had such a bad taste in my mouth," she said of the initial process of trying to find a publisher. "It was like I was applying for a job. I got extremely frustrated trying to win over somebody's opinion."
Eventually, she decided to publish the book herself so she could stick to her ideals.
"The book is geared toward kids, and it was fun to write," she said.
Of course, she wanted Sydney's approval before the book was finished. Sydney read it, then issued one request — that the main characters did not die.
McCullough was OK with the request.
"I write fantasy to get away from reality," she said.
She already has finished two sequels to "Planet of Equus," but isn't sure when they will be published. Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions is in the homestretch of its busiest time of year with too many big events upcoming.
McCullough, her daughter, and volunteer Donna Sagonowsky handle all the riding in the show, and there are no alternates in case someone doesn't feel up to riding that day. The show literally must go on in Myakka.
"The show crowds are down a bit," McCullough said. "But the crowds are down everywhere."
It is interesting how McCullough became the caretaker of Herrmann's legacy. As a student at DeSoto County High School, she took creative writing and at the University of South Florida, she scheduled "artsy, drama" classes. Eventually, she veered toward medicine as all her friends, who knew her interest in writing, asked, "Why medicine?"
"Because I want money," was her answer.
Still, she read "everything Stephen King wrote." And she still found time for riding and writing.
Years later, it appears as if she can have it all.
But it's not without a lot of work. She said the ranch is doing well, but it has been a struggle. The 2024 hurricane season was hard on her facilities, and her home on the property still is being made livable after suffering heavy flooding and wind damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022.
"I would love to have a year without a hurricane," she said.
She lives in a small second home on the property with Sydney and she is hoping to get back into their main home later this year. She hopes the show season finishes strong, and then she plans to breed Lipizzans this year as her current crew is aging.
She said her current show has more variety than in the past and gives the crowds a taste of the Lipizzans' many talents. Along the way, Sydney shows off her whip-cracking talent.
And that's non-fiction.
