Crabtree Stables, which she ran with her husband Charles and son Redd, produced 75 World Champion American Saddlebred horses and 22 winners of the National Equitation Championships.
They trained horses at Clayton Riding and Hunt Club in St. Louis, Missouri, before moving to Arkansas, then Tennessee and ultimately to Kentucky.
[3] Helen Crabtree became a notable equitation coach and taught many young girls to ride, including Mary Gaylord McClean.
Crabtree preferred to teach children in groups, pairing less skilled riders with more talented ones, and did not allow longe line riding.
At her passing, it was said that she helped make Shelby County, Kentucky the "Saddle Horse Capital" of the United States and "changed the face of the Saddlebred industry.