4 SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
tale of traveling to Europe to fnd
a horse for her daughter. I want
to hear your story so drop me an
email and maybe you will get a
chance to write “Your Story” for
a future issue of Sidelines. This
issue is jam-packed with wonderful
articles and profles as well as a
Hot Horse Area section on Aiken,
South Carolina.
By the time this issue reaches
your mailbox, the 2012 London
Olympic Games will almost be
over and many of the equestrians
will have medals hanging around their necks. Over the years I have
had a chance to interview most of the United States equestrian
Olympians – from Reed Kessler when she was younger to Rich
Fellers just a few months ago to McLain Ward, Tina Konyot,
Adrienne Lyle, Boyd Martin and many others. One of my favorite
interviews was with Olympic gold medalist Beezie Madden. She
was in Europe showing when I called, so I left a message. The
next day she called me back from Europe and when I answered
the phone she said, “Hi, it’s Beezie.” I certainly didn’t need any
more of an introduction than that. There is only one Beezie.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Sidelines and my chat with Amy
Ebeling below. Her husband Jan Ebeling is also an Olympian – at
long last! Stay in touch with us on Facebook, visit our website and
drop me a line at editor@sidelinesnews.com.
-- Jan Westmark-Allan
e
Letter From The Editor
When I was younger, one of my favorite
television shows was “Magnum P.I.” I loved
Tom Selleck in his Hawaiian shirt, driving
around in his red Ferrari while sporting his
trademark mustache. If you were a fan of
Tom’s then - or maybe you watch his current
show “Blue Bloods” - I do believe you will
be equally smitten by his lovely daughter,
Hannah Selleck, who graces our cover this
month.
I thoroughly enjoyed
interviewing
Hannah, getting to know this talented
young horsewoman. She isn’t your typical
Hollywood kid; but she is your typical barn
kid. She loves her horses and, like most young riders, one of her
favorite things about showing is having her parents siting on the
side of the ring watching. While Hannah might have supermodel
good looks, she has no interest in heading to Hollywood. Her
favorite place to go? You guessed it – the barn!
Speaking of supermodels –Sidelines held aSupermodel Contest
on our Facebook page and we received hundreds and hundreds
of fabulous photos. This issue features our four Supermodel
winners as well as three gorgeous pages of Supermodel photos.
In this issue we are also introducing a new feature called “My
Story,” written by someone in the horse community – someone
just like you. I know you will be intrigued by Elizabeth Boylan’s
Jan Ebeling has been in the spotlight
quite a bit lately thanks to the famous
people surrounding the United States
Olympic Dressage rider (see our The
Bottom Line story at the end of this
issue). While all of the media attention
is exciting - there is so much more to
the story.
“The real story is that Jan is 53 and
this is his frst Olympics,” said Amy
Ebeling, Jan’s wife. “The road to get to
the Olympics has been huge, exciting,
frustrating and long – it’s been a really
long road.”
The road has also been flled with a
lot of sacrifce, although sacrifce often
leads to valuable life lessons. Amy
said that in this case, many of the life
lessons have been learned by Jan and
Amy’s son Ben, who is 12. I spoke with
Amy a few days before Amy and Ben
left to travel to London and she said,
“Ben can’t wait to see his father in the
opening ceremonies. He is so proud of
his father.”
Like many people in horse families,
Ben has made a lot of sacrifces along the way. Would the
family attend a birthday party or a horse show? “The horses
have often won out; but through all this Ben has learned that
hard work equals success. As a mother, this is a wonderful
thing for your child to learn.”
We look forward to hearing Amy and Ben’s reaction to
attending the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Ben, thank you
for making the necessary sacrifces so that our country could
proudly watch your father represent the United States. We are
proud of you, too!
-- Jan Westmark-Allan
The Ebeling Family’s Olympic Quest
Amy, Jan and Ben Ebeling
Photo by Maureen Pethick