Page 121 - August 2019

Q: What is the strangest personality quirk you have ever seen in a horse? A: They are all such individuals. We’ve had a few that knew when they lost a race; one of our horses used to stand dejectedly in his stall with his face in the corner when he lost and could not be consoled.
Q: If you were not in the horse
racing business, what job would you like to have?
A: Growing up, I watched open space, wetlands, and farms (including my family’s) be sold and developed and I felt strongly about fighting sprawl and advocating for sustainable urban growth. I studied urban planning a bit in college and was preparing to apply for a master’s pro- gram in the field when my mom called and told me about the Race Track Industry Program.
Q: What is your favorite thing about living where you live?
A: We live 10 minutes from the track on the edge of a major metropolitan area (3.5 million), so we have the best of both worlds. I can be in the city for a football game or a show just as easily as I can get to horse farms, lakes or running trails. Just don’t ask me about winters in Minnesota.
Q: If you could vacation anywhere on the planet, where would it be & what would you do there?
A: My dad is from northern Spain and I’ve never been, so I would love to visit where
he grew up and spend some time hiking, exploring and eating in the Basque region.
Q: Do you have a favorite quote and, if so, what is it?
A: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”
Q: If you could sit down and visit with anyone, past or present, who would it be?
A: I spend a lot of time researching
my family history, so it would be fascinating to visit with my own family generations ago. Some of them immigrated in the 1600s and I would love to hear their stories.
Q: What drink would your friends describe you as,
and why?
A: Bourbon, neat. You are what you drink, right? No-nonsense and I tend to sit back, observe and take things in.
Q: Who’s your favorite athlete of all time, and why?
A: John Stockton. I’m a basketball fan and grew up in Salt Lake during the Stockton-Malone era of the Utah Jazz.
Q: If you were making a movie about yourself, who would you cast to play you, and why?
A: I’d pick Reese Witherspoon for her ability to play strong characters like
June Carter in “Walk the Line” or
Cheryl Strayed in “Wild”. Others have sug- gested Annette Bening and Ashley
Judd, also.
Q: What’s one thing you don’t like about Quarter Horse racing?
A: I wish we could do more to promote ourselves on a national level. There are so many good things about the sport, like safety and racehorse retirement, and countless human interest stories to share, but it has been difficult to break through and reach people on the same level as Thoroughbred racing.
Q: What’s one thing you like about Quarter Horse racing?
A: I am proud to be part of a sport where I truly believe in the breed and its versatility. We can breed for racing, but Quarter Horses have long, useful careers off the track, and I feel confident that we are contributing to the breed and to the overall horse community as breeders
and owners.
“My family has been involved with horses for at least six generations.”
SPEEDHORSE, August 2019 119
THE LIGHTER SIDE