Page 97 - May 2016

rubbed his nose on his cannon bone he would win the race. It happened over and over again. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Q: If you were not in the horse racing business, what job you like to have? A: A scenic tour guide. I love to show people around our beautiful state of Oregon.
Q: What is your favorite thing about living where you live?
A: Oregon has four distinct seasons. From the Salem area, where I live, we are one hour away from the Pacific Ocean, two hours away from mountains for snow and skiing, and three hours to the desert. Our winters are wet, but usually mild and our summers are warm, but always cool down at night. In case you didn’t know it, Oregon is the Grass Seed Capital of the world. In fact, the grass seed in your lawn or pastures probably came from Oregon.
Q: If you could vacation anywhere on the planet, where would it be & what would you do there?
A: We just had a vacation of a lifetime. In July of 2015, my husband and I, along with our two grown daughters, went to Taivalkoski, Finland, to meet face-to-face with second cousin family members on my husband’s side that we had meet online the year prior. After many e-mails back and forth, we finally were able to meet
with family in the town of Taivalkoski, where my husband’s mother was born. She came to America by ship in 1913 with her mother when she was 15 months old. Her father came a year earlier with four of his brothers to begin a new life in America. We also met other second cous- ins while we were in Taivalkoski. We found our Finnish relatives to be very delightful people, very curious about our life in America, and very eager to share their Finnish traditions and cul- tures. We visited the Arctic Circle in Lapland, visited the Russia border, and observed 24/7 daylight - never seeing darkness for two weeks. We continue to communicate with our new- found family on a regular basis. We are hoping some of them will come to visit us in Oregon. It was the best two weeks of our lives!
Q: Do you have a favorite quote and, if so, what is it?
A: “The buck stops here!” President Harry Truman, circa 1945.
Q: If you could sit down and visit with anyone, past or present, who would it be?
A: Bill O’Reilly. I would like to know more about his personal feelings about things he can’t talk about on his TV show. Anne Nelson - my mother-in-law. I have lots of questions I would like to ask her, now that we have been to Finland, that I didn’t think about asking her while she was alive.
Q: What drink would your friends describe you as and why?
A: Iced Tea. The reason is because I often order iced tea.
Q: Who’s your favorite athlete of all time and why?
A: Dorothy Hamill. She always inspired me when she was ice-skating. After her ice-skating career, she continues to be an inspiration to people.
Q: If you were making a movie about yourself, who would you cast to play you and why?
A: Meryl Streep. I think she is such a good actress; she could play any role to perfection.
Q: What’s one thing you don’t like about Quarter Horse racing?
A: The fact that some states won’t address the issue of performance enhancing drugs or they may recognize that there is an issue, but won’t conduct testing.
Q: What is one thing you like about Quarter Horse racing?
A: That the performance enhancing drug issue is being addressed. Also, for the most part, owners and trainers are great people. On the track they are competitors, but off the racetrack they are friends and would do anything for each other.
Check Us Out Online
www.speedhorse.com
SPEEDHORSE, May 2016 95
THE LIGHTER SIDE