Thank you Amy for touching lives. You will be greatly missed!
My life changed forever at Rolex 2005 when I was able to track down (others say stalking, but I disagree....), on the Smartpak Course Walk and start my career with Amy as a working student. My plan to be there for a year quickly turned into six. Amy started as my boss and my coach, but quickly became my mentor, my inspiration, and most of all my friend. She will be greatly missed by SO many! As I coast through all of the amazing posts on Facebook, forums and websites I see that there are sooo!! many lives that she has touched just as significantly as she has mine. And not just on the west coast, or even all of America, but all over the world. Thank you Amy for touching every aspect of my life in such an amazing way! You are the voice in my head and also in my heart. So many of the most cherished and special things in my life came from you, right down to my terrier and my mom’s. Now back in Louisville, KY, I look down the aisle at the row of horses and two bounding terrier(ists) that have all come from you. You gave me every great thing that I know about horses and eventing and you have helped me to start my career. I have felt since moving home to Louisville that I need a bracelet that says “WWAD”.... What would Amy do? Whether I am on a horse, or teaching a lesson, or just in the barn you are the voice that guides me which is such a privilege. I have always admired you so much and cherish the wonderful memories that I have. I smile thinking of the fun, the adventures and the laughs that we had so often. You taught me the value of being a flexible person, taking things in stride, finding a reason to smile about something and to always look for the good. Your integrity and class are ones to be reckoned with, and I hope that I can be even half the person that you were. You were so fearless and there was nothing you couldn’t accomplish! You taught me that hard work, fierce dedication, and a lot of class would take you a long way. I always admired your ability to get right up and try again when you would get knocked down, and you would never give up because, as you always said, anything is possible if you keep trying. You faced and overcame anything you put your mind to, and you always had an uncanny ability to make it look easy. You taught me to never quit. You made both the horses and their riders the best that they could be which was a truly amazing gift. And then I think about your dedication to your horses and how you loved them just because they were. You had no expectations of them and saw value in each and every horse that you came into contact with. I remember when it would unexpectedly start raining in the middle of the night (weather forecasters are just brilliant, as well as rain being unexpected in WA was sort of amusing in itself!...) and the next morning I would find that you had gone out in that rain to change all of the horses clothes so they wouldn’t be wet and cold. I’m not sure that it is possible to find someone who loves their four-legged family members (or two-legged) more than you. You were and will continue to be such an amazing role model, really a movie star of sorts, to all of us in the eventing world. Right now I am picturing you reunited with your beloved “Sparky”, up there, galloping and jumping happily and that does bring a smile to my face combined with tears to my eyes. And... of course the Regal Beagle is out hunting:-) I will never forget the manis and pedis, long drives, truck issues (!) to solve with amusement, and long hours of watching a full season of Grey’s Anatomy in one rainy afternoon while on the road. Most of all I will take with me the most important lesson ANYONE has ever taught me: “Enjoy the process! Its not the result that matters. It is only the journey you take to get there! In the end the result will match the journey.” Your results were amazing, but its with your journey that that you touched the world! I love you. Rest in Peace. You will be missed forever!