Page 20 - New Mexico Horse Breeder, Fall

MARY BARBER
The longtime registrar takes over the reins as NMHBA executive director by Michael Cusortelli
Mary Barber, the registrar for the New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association since 1993, is the association’s new executive director.
Mary takes over from Anna Fay Davis, who served as the NMHBA executive director from 1995 until her retirement effective June 22. She is the wife of longtime New Mexico-based Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred trainer Mike Barber and the daughter-in-law of longtime horseman and current SunRay Park director of racing Lonnie Barber.
Mary’s is a familiar face to anyone who has visited the NMHBA office in Albuquerque, and her voice is familiar to anyone who has ever phoned. She has been employed in the racing industry her entire adult life, but she came about her interest in the sport relatively late in life through the late Ken Newton and his wife, Lourdes.
Newton was the longtime Santa Fe entrepreneur who, with two other investors, purchased The Downs at Santa Fe in ’77 and later founded The Downs at Albuquerque at the state fairgrounds.
Mary’s first job in racing was as a mutuel teller at Santa Fe.
“I was in college at the time and I didn’t want to attend summer school, so I went to work at the racetrack,” she recalls. “At that time, horses were just numbers (in the program) to me, but
I made 50 new friends and about a hundred dollars in tips on my first day on the job. I was definitely hooked.”
A lifelong Albuquerque resident, Mary is a graduate of the city’s Del Norte High School. She majored in music at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 academic years, but she eventually switched her emphasis of study to business and transferred to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Mary soon started working in racing full time, so she never graduated from UNM. From the mutuel line at The Downs at Santa Fe, she moved to the track’s money room. From 1989- 93, she served as the horsemen’s bookkeeper
at Santa Fe, The Downs at Albuquerque, and the New Mexico State Fair. It was this job that introduced her to the horses and their caretakers.
“I started watching the races and paying more attention to the horses themselves, and they
were no longer just numbers to me,” Mary says. “It was exciting, and I just fell in love with the people. It was like another world to me because I had so much to learn. I didn’t know much about horses. I’d loved horses when I was a child and wished that I’d had one, but I was a city girl. I didn’t get to spend much time with horses.”
As much as she liked working as horsemen’s bookkeeper, it was a seasonal job, and Mary was looking for something year-round. In 1993 -- 25 years ago -- she was hired by Murph Palmer, then the NMHBA’s executive director, to be the association’s registrar.
As NMHBA registrar, Mary’s primary responsibility was registering New Mexico-based stallions and broodmares and the New Mexico-
bred foals they produced. She also handled new memberships and renewals, kept track of the accomplishments of New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses in racing competition, and helped Ms. Davis monitor how much money the association paid out in purse supplements and bonuses to New Mexico-bred racehorses.
“I feel very fortunate the way my life has turned out,” the one-time music and business major said. “I love the people I work for and work with, the horse people. I enjoy talking to them on the phone, helping them when they come to the office, and visiting with them when
I’m at the racetrack. I love being a part of the horse racing industry.”
In her new position as executive director, Mary knows she has big shoes to fill.
“Anna Fay served as executive director of the association for a long time, and during that time she built up a lot of knowledge of the industry in the state,” Mary says. “She also developed a lot of close relationships with the people in the industry.
“She’s very smart, and she handled all of the challenges of her position as executive director well,” Mary adds. “She was well-respected in the industry, and she represented the industry well. She often stressed the importance of the racing industry to our state -- the jobs, the economic impact on agriculture and tourism, the green space. Anna Fay really taught me a lot about the breeding industry.
“After 25 years as registrar, I’m looking forward to serving the association in the future as its executive director.”
18 New Mexico Horse Breeder