Page 70 - Speedhorse June 2019

Martha’s pleasant personality makes it easy for her to get a good interview and make enduring friendships ...
Martha interviews Blane Wood, Lana Merrick Martha interviews
Martha with Tyler Graham
& Dr. Jim Bailey
Herloveandenthusiasmforthesportandthe people involved in it have had a tremendous impact on the industry. “Martha is so beneficial for the racing industry,” says Matt Crawford, with whom Martha worked at Sam Houston and who is now director of racing at Canterbury Park in Minnesota. “She’s just so pleasant and personable with everybody; it’s easy for her to get a good interview.”
“As an owner, knowing that we need more people to come into the sport to keep it alive, her job is one of, if not the, most important,” Rogelio adds. “She’s basically advertising for Quarter Horse racing. That’s what we need to help the sport expand, to get younger fans and eventual owners and trainers into it. I don’t think most people realize how big a role she plays in promoting Quarter Horse racing.”
Indeed, Martha has served as a racing ambassador all along. From 2010–2017, she coordinated the Q-Racing Aces, a fan education initiative created by the American Quarter Horse Association. She also makes appearances at Delta Downs (Vinton, Louisiana), Fair Grounds (New Orleans), Indiana Grand (Shelbyville), Louisiana Downs (Bossier City), Zia Park (Hobbs, New Mexico) and Evangeline Downs (Opelousas, Louisiana). And in addition to handling social media for the Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association (LQHBA), she also writes monthly features called the LQHBA Insider about notable people and events.
Manny Gutierrez
Her Other Life
When Martha isn’t in the winner’s circle congratulating and interviewing connections
or on the road promoting horse racing, you’ll likely find her on the tennis court. She captains a women’s team — which recently beat out 10 teams to win the division and move up in the league. “I play three times a week and am a very, very, very enthusiastic player,” she says. “I love my tennis friends and I love the competition.”
On the court, she excels at analyzing a situation and capitalizing on her strengths and her opponents’ weaknesses. “I play doubles, so the whole thing for me is to figure out what your opponent doesn’t like and give them lots of that,” she says.
At home, Martha and Don, her husband of 35 years, enjoy their Weimaraner, Bo. “Animals just restore your belief in good things,” she says. “They give you such tremendous comfort.”
They also have a daughter, Lindsay, 33, who lives in Dallas and uses her communication skills to excel in her career in technology sales.
Martha loves what she does and has dedicated herself to promoting horse racing by revealing
the fascinating stories of the horses and their connections, always with passion and in a positive light. “It just moves me,” she says. “I love being part of somebody’s story, somebody’s horse of a lifetime. They’re moments I’ll never forget.”
They’re also moments the people Martha interviews and writes about will never forget.
Martha with Richard Chamberlain & Susan Bachelor
Martha with Jerry Windham
68 SPEEDHORSE, June 2019