Page 110 - August 2015

“I can’t imagine having a job not in horse racing that I would like as much as I like the job I have right now.”
by John Moorehouse
With multiple tracks running jam-packed meets every single year, not to mention the thriving breeding program that produces a slew of competitors on an annual basis, life stays pretty busy for Debbie Schauf as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association.
“For the last 20 years, I’ve had a job that was pretty much 24 hours, seven days a week, and because most
of the time I really like what I do, it is almost a way of life for me,” Schauf said. “There is so much that goes on behind the scenes to make the racing industry tick that you really have to know a little about a lot of things.”
Schauf has had many positions over the years with many organizations. She was a legislator in Kansas.
She worked as the executive director of the Kansas Horseman’s Association. She was the first female executive director of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association. She was the director of racing and then the executive director of the Texas Quarter Horse Association. Whatever she does and wherever she does it, she strives to make a positive difference. Get to know a little bit more about the head honcho of the OQHRA here.
Q: Where were you born?
A: Born in Wichita because that was where everyone went to deliver their babies back then, but I was raised in Mulvane, Kansas. Five generations of my family lived in and around Mulvane, so we were considered an “old family.”
Q: What are your hobbies outside of horse racing?
A: I don’t think I have any traditional hobbies anymore. In past years I used to ride, run barrels, paint with oils, crochet, sew (made lots of fancy western clothes, pants and shirts with fancy yolks, etc.), camp, fish, travel, raise and groom dogs, and participate in
a number of professional realtor and political groups. Today, I mostly work (which is the best of all the hobbies), and follow my grandkids to their rodeos. I did buy a motorhome, “Pearl”, last summer and I am looking forward to spending more time traveling in her—probably from racetrack to racetrack!
Q: What is your favorite movie, and why?
A: I’m not a big movie watcher... never have been and I guess if I had to name a favorite right now, it might be “Crazy Heart” with Jeff Bridges—mostly because I like the soundtrack and I can remember the name of that movie.
Q: Give an interesting fact about your family/parents/grandparents/etc.
A: My dad was the “world’s best fisherman”... at least that was what he told me all my life! My Grandpa and my Dad were hard workers, very honest and ethical men, very respected in the community, and they always taught me that your word and your integrity were your most valuable assets.
Q: Do you have a nickname and, if so, what is it and how did it come about?
A: I always wished I had a nickname, but never did... at least not one that anyone used to my face!
Q: What is the strangest personality quirk you have ever seen in a horse?
A: I had a Paint pleasure horse one time that LOVED drinking orange pop.
Q: If you were not in the horse racing business, what job would you like to have? A: I can’t imagine having a job not in horse racing that I would like as much as I like the job I have right now. I had a lot of jobs when I was younger: a circulation manager for a major newspaper, a homebuilder, a certified real estate appraiser, a realtor, a mortgage loan officer, an elected official, but nothing I liked as much as working with the horse racing industry.
DEBBIE SCHAUF
108 SPEEDHORSE, August 2015
THE LIGHTER SIDE