Page 122 - Speedhorse March 2019

“Do a job you love, and you’ll never work adayin your life.”
by John Moorehouse
People enter the world of horse racing for all kinds of reasons. Some follow in the footsteps of family members and some have a lifelong passion for horses.
For Loretta Brasher, all it took was falling in love with a cowboy. A self-proclaimed city slicker to that point, she married Quarter Horse trainer Wayne Brasher in 1981.
“I was a city girl and didn’t even ride a horse, but I took to the life easily and quickly and worked in the barn alongside him for over 34 years,” Brasher said of her husband, who passed away in 2015.
Brasher made the transition to a greater
role in the sport in 1998, when she became Executive Director of the Arizona Quarter
Racing Association—while still running Brasher Racing with her husband. The latter organization produced many race leaders, with Wayne training Champions Sign It Super and Rylees Boy, as well as Pies Royal Request and other top runners across the country.
Brasher has picked up some lofty honors along the way. In 2016, she received the Mildred N. Vessels Special Achievement Award from the AQHA. The following year, she was enshrined into the Arizona Quarter Racing Hall of Fame, joining her husband, who was inducted into the Hall
in 2001. In an example of serendipity at work, Brasher’s AQRA Hall of Fame award was designed by her granddaughter. The person who nominated her for the Vessels award described her as “the
backbone of the racing program in Arizona.” “It’s a privilege to do what I do each day,”
Brasher said. “I’m proud and hopeful that, in some small way, I have made a difference.”
Brasher took time out of her day to answer these questions.
Q: Where were you born?
A: Mena, Arkansas.
Q: What are your hobbies outside of horse racing?
A: I love movies, crafts, fund raising and travel. I love doing all these things with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I love being involved with their lives and events.
Q: What is your favorite movie and why?
A: Gosh... I love movies so this is hard, but today I choose “Casey’s Shadow.” Such a feel-good story.
Q: What’s an interesting fact about your family?
A: My son is a world-famous big game hunter and scout.
Q: Do you have a nickname and, if so, what is it and how did it come about?
A: Only endearments from my husband. I’m going to keep them private, though.
Q: What is the strangest personality you have seen in a horse?
A: We had an old-class gelding in the ‘80s named Shift N Time. He had a few problems that kept us from training him real hard. He would drag the walker around for a few days after he raced. But when he was ready to run, he’d run off with the walker and we knew it was time to enter. He won us more races over the years than just about any we had. He was retired as a family pet.
Q: If you were not in the horse racing busi- ness, what job would you love to have?
A: I’d be a writer. I love writing short stories and poetry.
Q: Do you have a favorite quote and if so, what is it?
A: I actually stole this one from my husband. He always told his children, “Do a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That’s so true, I love my job.
LORETTA BRASHER
John Moorehouse
118 SPEEDHORSE, March 2019
THE LIGHTER SIDE