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SIDELINESMAGAZINE | September 2026
ate Chant was 15 and coming home from
school on the Toronto subway in 2006
when a photographer approached her. “He
asked if I had ever considered modeling. I wasn’t an
especially mature or beautiful 15-year-old, so it was
not something I expected at all,” she laughed.
That chance meeting led to signing with a
Toronto agent and then a contract with New
York Model Management. One of Cate’s first jobs
was walking the runway in Milan for the Italian
designer Prada. Today, Cate remembers that
she had never worn high heels before. “I had to
practice before I went,” she admitted.
Cate’s “discovery” on the subway was fortuitous,
since she had always been obsessed with horses
and knew how expensive life as a committed
equestrian would be. “Honestly, I saw modeling as
a way to gain my own income and stay involved in
riding,” she said. “I was about 6 or 7 when I started
taking lessons and after many years of begging, I
finally convinced my parents to buy me a pony.”
CATE CHANT
AND MIKE
RICHARDS
From the Runway and Rink
to Their True North
By Helen Townes • Portraits by Melissa Fuller
Cate and Mike met via Twitter in 2015, the
year before Mike retired from the NHL.