Finding the Colors

Spurs. I can hear them. The sound they make with every step is echoing through the barn corridor. “Clink, clink, clink.” Horses are neighing and hoofs are stomping as the barnyard cats run amok between the horses legs. “Clink, clink, clink”. I see the spurs now, attached to the boots of a cowboy. He is greeting his horse like one would their child, showing affection and speaking softly. The Quarter Horse is a palomino named Dorothy, and rightly so, as her face carries a marking reminiscent of the tornado in the Wizard of Oz. She is a champion in training, one day to be in the center ring of the finals at the Quarter Horse World Championship.

“I see what she can become,” says the spur-laden cowboy as he begins to saddle up. “I don't see a ‘before photo’ with my horses. I only see the after.”

The cowboy's name is Garth Hystad, and he owns and trains dozens of show horses. I watch him as he guides Dorothy around the ring, communicating with each move he wants to make, leading the choreography like a graceful dancer. A stunning three-year-old mare, Dorothy is a Quarter Horse, bred for showing. She is at once a powerful and graceful creature that leaves her audience in awe as she runs full speed (up to 55 miles per hour!) across the ring, only to stop dead still on a dime. Garth has gone to the world championships before with his one-eyed horse named Painted by Hollywood...and they won 1st place. Dorothy is next on his list of trophy earners.

As I watched Garth in the ring, I wondered how this cowboy lines up with the business owner and TV star I was supposed to be interviewing. Chuckling inwardly, I once again chide myself for putting people in a box based on my limited knowledge. I am happy to discover the tie between these personas — cowboy, TV star and businessman — and learn something new. Garth’s comment about seeing the “after” photo instead of the “before” resonates with me in an instant. As the afternoon progressed, I was given the opportunity to step foot into his world and see things from his perspective...the “after” photo, if you will. I suggest you sit down and buckle up because this story will not only evoke emotion, it will inspire you. You will want to revel in its uniqueness and beauty.

The Freedom of a Cowboy

Garth officially decided to become a cowboy in his mid-forties, although the dream began decades before, while locked in a room as a child, reading books about cowboys by Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey. “In these books, I was there in the mountains, riding horses, hunting for food. I was with them in the stories and I could feel it. They allowed me an escape.”

Wait ... locked in a room as a child? Hold up.

Garth and his two younger sisters became wards of the state in Washington when Garth was five years old, following a drug deal gone bad and shootout between his parents and law enforcement. (Check out the movie, “Drugstore Cowboy,” which is based on the life of his dad). The kids were sent to a foster home that eventually adopted the two sisters but left Garth in the care of the state. “I remember sitting in the backseat of a car, driving away from the home where my sisters were adopted, and watching them as they stood on the front porch. I knew I would never see them again and I wanted to look at them as long as I could in order to never forget them.”

Filling half of a brown paper grocery bag with his life’s possessions, the social worker drove Garth to yet another foster home and dropped him off. His newest foster mother made things very clear from the get-go by telling him, “You are not welcome here. My husband wants to help a foster kid and you’re it, but I do not want you here.” The foster father was in the military and stationed overseas for long periods of time, leaving Garth in the home, enduring severe abuse. He was beaten, starved and locked in his room or outside in the cold for days at a time.

It was during this time of his life that he began to find beauty in any little thing he could, and see the positives in his world and derive joy from them. “I was lonely. I had no clothes, no food, I am at a place I am not welcome. But I loved Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey books. They allowed me to escape when locked in my room. I watched out the window people doing things I loved to do like play sports. At first it made me sad, but then I told myself that instead of feeling sorry for yourself, I will give you one thing: I will open the window and let the sun hit my face. I will allow myself to take one deep breath and draw into my lungs all of the air I could. In one breath, it filled me with euphoria, joy and contentment. Now, I’m good. I would get back on my bed and read my books. Today, when I ride, it's me as an adult living out the things I read. It is freedom. That's what I like about horses — they make me ... free.”

Bitterness vs Belief

“I had never heard the word “God” before in my life. I had no idea who or what that was. My foster family took me to Sunday School and church during the years I lived there and I learned stories about God.” My obvious questions to him at this point were if he blamed God for the hardships in his life and how does he reconcile the dichotomy between evil people and a Higher Power in his mind. His answer is profound and one that we can all learn from: “These people are taking me to church but I am coming home to beatings, being starved and locked up. I could recognize that there is a difference between God and human beings. I could make that distinction. Humans do not represent God. Just because they are bad people doesn’t mean the God who made them is bad. I learned to forgive. I do not have moments of bitterness. I just don’t go there. I am … free.”

The Businessman

Garth’s foray into business began at the ripe old age of 10. He is telling me the story, looking at the painting on the wall, but his eyes are not seeing it. With a faraway look, he is back in school, sitting at his desk. “For lunch we would file into the hall, get our tray of food and bring it back into our room and eat at our desks. My foster mother did not send me to school with food and I had no money to buy a lunch ticket. I was hungry, very hungry, every day. I would lay my head on my desk and wait to hear a sound. I waited and waited until the girls started talking. I knew once they began talking, they were done eating. I would then get up and go ask for their leftover roll, a leftover cracker. Just a bite of the leftover food would ease the hunger pains in my stomach.”

He knew the kids in his class loved chewing gum. One day, a girl gave him one piece of Bubble Yum. Looking at the single piece of gum, Garth recalled a story he had heard at church about Jesus feeding 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. He recalls, “I had parked that story in my mind as a small child, and now at 10 years of age I stared at the gum and asked God to take my life and change it. With this one piece of gum.” He carried the gum with him throughout the day and as school drew to a close, the kids had chewed all their gum and wanted more. Garth sold his single piece for 50 cents. That 50 cents allowed him to purchase a pack of gum, which he then sold by the piece the following day. Day in and day out, he bought and sold gum until he had more money than his 10 year old self knew what to do with, other than buy food. He was no longer starving. He had taken his need and a small opportunity and created a business that gave him confidence and … freedom.

The Freedom of Forgiveness

As a ward of the state, a child can be moved at random to different homes and schools at any time. Garth found himself at a boys home in his teenage years. Most of the boys in these homes have families, and when the holidays roll around, they go home. Garth had no family to go to. He reached out to the director of his boys home and mentioned a friend he had years ago in elementary school. Was there the possibility of Garth spending the holidays with him and his family? It had been many years since he had seen him, but could it happen? The director contacted this family and they said yes! Garth was more than welcome to join them. Garth was ecstatic, even though his friend lived across the street from the foster mom that abused him. His friend saw the beatings that Garth had endured. But that had been many years ago and Garth was just excited to spend the holidays with a true family.

Once he arrived, his friend made it very clear that Garth had a right to get even for the years of abuse he endured. “My friend took a rock and put it in my hand. He said I was to throw it through the window of my former foster mom’s home. I looked at the window. I looked at the rock. I thought about all the grace I had been shown in my life. The forgiveness I had been given. I opened my hand and I dropped the rock. I have experienced forgiveness and now I was going to forgive.” That day was pivotal in the life of this young man as he decided to step beyond revenge and bitterness and instead let go of the rock. He continues, “There are times in life you can pick up that rock. But if I can drop the rock as a child, I will not pick up the rock as a grown man. I don’t drag around rocks. I don’t have extra weight in life. I am free. I like to be free. When you can forgive, you can be...free.”

Freedom from Fear

There are many elements in the life of Garth that I would consider scary. These experiences not only defined who he was but how he was going to live his life. Faced with the option of being fearful, he made a choice. “Fear is a tiger with no teeth. When I have fear or problems, I lean into them. I keep going. I don’t change my course but I keep looking ahead. I have a mission. It doesn’t change! If you want to win, look where you're going. Look ahead to that position. In life, people have trouble. All kinds of things happen in a day. Navigate your life in such a way that you set your eyes there to where you are going and don’t look around. Look ahead. Keep looking ahead. My perspective is not to just deal with the moment, it is only a part of life, but keep looking ahead.”

There was a time when he was young that he dug through dumpsters looking for food. He was so hungry that he was willing to try and eat pretty much anything he could find. The dumpster had yielded no food, and in desperation, he looked up to heaven and begged God to help him find something to eat. He lowered his head and his eyes fell upon a $10 bill. He took that money and bought himself food for another day. “In my most trying times, I am never alone. I know that whatever I go through, I am not alone.”

Finding the Colors

In high school, Garth heard about lessons in carpentry. He laughs as he tells me, “I remembered that Jesus was a carpenter and figured that sounded cool and if Jesus did it, it was probably a good idea!” Garth took classes in carpentry and once he graduated, he had already learned how to build a home. This skill brought out a talent Garth had for discovering beauty. At 18, finally on his own and not a ward of the state, Garth was able to combine his business sense and penchant for building and start his own company. After two more years in architecture school, he was beginning to create. “I see beauty in life. I love to bring out the beauty in life. I had the confidence to not only run a business but to do what I love and that is to pull out the colors of my clients. The things that make them smile. I pull out their beauty. I take their own colors and apply them. It is this beauty that makes them smile.”

It was in the mid 80’s when Garth started his first outdoor living company. Over the next 30+ years, he worked with many different families on creating spaces for them to live their dreams. He eventually sold his first company and started his latest company called Masterpiece Outdoor Living and Remodeling. His clients are continually amazed at his knack for designing and producing an indoor and outdoor living area that is beyond their wildest dreams. I spoke to one such family about the unorthodox approach taken by Garth and the beauty that ensues: “Garth came to our home for a consultation and barely glanced at the outdoor space we were wanting to transform. Instead, he said that we should all take the dogs for a walk, so we did. During this time he asked questions like ‘how do you like to live your life? What do you value about where you live and your home?’ It was this mindset that changed the idea of what we thought we were looking for.” Once their project was complete, it exceeded all the expectations their imagination had conjured. “His business is his art. When he sees a client he can paint the picture of beauty, freedom and the outdoors. He takes that young boy wonder with him when he creates.”

The ability to pull beauty out of the ordinary not only captured the attention of those of us in Colorado, it captured the eyes of Hollywood. In 2015, the DYI Network began a TV series called Mega Decks, featuring Garth and the company he built. HGTV filmed his projects and outdoor living areas for almost 5 years in order to showcase his inspirational creativity. Masterpiece has since launched another facet in adding the option for indoor remodeling that flows to the outdoors as well. Garth explains, “My life is not compartmentalized and neither is my work. My inspirations run from one room to the next — indoors to the great outdoors. Everything I do is linked together. Riding, designing, building, business ... it all ties in together. My childhood and things that could have destroyed me ended up making me who I am. I love beauty. I love creating beauty. I love pulling beauty from people. I look at how lucky and fortunate I am to do what I love and my team — we are a family. I am blessed to take my life and inspire people with what I do. I don’t see the before picture — I see what it could be. I see the after.”

With the current real estate market at an all time low with inventory, you cannot buy a home that you love, one that has life changing indoor and outdoor spaces. However, Masterpiece can create a dream space for you in the home you're in. Garth started Masterpiece to be much more than outdoor living. He wanted to transform the entire home into a place where the family can enjoy Colorado year-round, each room flowing into the other and ultimately, bringing people closer together. A total home transformation.

We live in Colorado. We get to live HERE! This place of exquisite beauty is where we chose to spend our lives. Garth is not only vidly aware of this, he uses that as is inspiration for each client. “I want to hear why they live where they live. What drew them initially to their home? People buy their homes in an area that they love. There is hidden treasure in their backyard -It’s hidden gold! They need someone who can see what things can become. When I go to a home, it may not be pretty on the outside. I see what it can become. It is all about transformation. My life on the outside had no value. No beauty. I look beyond the before photo and I have eyes that see what it can be after. I know how to pull the colors from my clients. I get to know them and what makes them smile. Between the elements of Colorado and their home, I can take those colors and make them what they were not before- just like my life.”

The parting words from this cowboy businessman artist left me deep in thought and profoundly grateful for my time talking with him. He said, “Sometimes you fall off your horse. Don’t live life trying to not fall off. I don't care who you are, but you’re going to fall off at least once in your life. Get up! And don’t take forever to get up. Just GET UP.”

“Sometimes you fall off your horse. Don’t live life trying to not fall off. I don't care who you are, but you’re going to fall off at least once in your life. Get up! And don’t take forever to get up. Just GET UP.”