40 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Jumping for Children
By Katie Navarra
T
hirty years ago, Joan MacNair Petty was just another
horse show mom sitting in the stands rooting for her
daughter, Cam, during a show at the Gov. James B. Hunt,
Jr. Horse Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina. Little did she know
the impact that show would eventually have on her life.
That show was the inaugural Jump For Children Show – a
fundraiser for Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center. Since
the first show in 1984, the annual event has since raised a total of
$1.6 million for the hospital.
Over the past 30 years, the Jump For Children Show has
become a vital part of Joan’s life and she explained how it began.
“Pat (LaFevers Holsten, the show founder) sat down beside me
and asked me if I’d be interested in being on the show committee,”
e
Making A Difference
Joan said.
Pat spoke passionately about a friend’s five-year-old daughter
who had been diagnosed with Leukemia. She described the many
hours she spent at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center with
the family.
“I witnessed the determination and resilience of those young
patients and their families, and the tender care of the doctors,
nurses and staff,” Pat explained.
It was a life-changing experience. One that inspired Pat to
petition Dr. Sam Katz, then chairman of pediatrics at Duke
Children’s, to consider holding a horse show to raise money for
the hospital. Impressed by Pat’s dedication to helping children at
Duke Children’s Hospital, Joan considered Pat’s invitation to join
the show committee.
“Lots went through my head as Pat and I talked about the
Duke Show and its continuance as a benefit for Duke Children’s
Hospital,” Joan said, “But, the big question that I did not voice to
Pat was, ‘why would you ask me to be on the committee?’”
The Right Woman for the Job
Initially Joan was hesitant, unsure she could offer much
assistance. Pat knew otherwise. Joan was the oldest daughter
of six children in the MacNair family, widely known in the Raleigh
area for their involvement in the horse industry.
Introduced to horses at a young age, Joan’s childhood was
consumed by horses. “I’ll never forget my first pony, Sky Rocket;
he scraped me off on the first apple tree on my first ride!” she
laughed. “That first riding experience did not deter me as I really
didn’t have a choice.”
In 1965, her father died tragically in a hunting accident,
leaving her mom to raise all six children alone. “Horses were our
livelihood,” Joan said. “We led trail rides around Lake Johnson,
taught riding lessons, boarded horses and ran MacNair’s Swim
Joan and two young fans at the Triangle Farms Easter Show
Young competitors in the 2012 Jump
for the Children Horse Show.
Continued on page 42
