132 SIDELINES MARCH 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES JUNE 2012 3
“I couldn’t even close my hands around the reins because
my broken hands had been in splints. Well, when my gloves got
wet and they dried, they got stiff and shriveled up so I would pull
the gloves on and force my hands to curl. Every time I would pull
them on, the gloves would curl my hands more until I could close
them.”
After only two months of riding, she took the young horse to
a show, broke his green, became the Amateur Owner champion
and qualified for a horse show at Madison Square Garden by
the end of the year. She then rode with Alex Jayne when the
Cheskas moved to Wisconsin.
Tragedy Strikes Again … And Again
Unfortunately, BettyAnn worked for an airline and was
transferred to Puerto Rico so she wasn’t able to take No
Secrets to Indoors. “Work took over and I ended up out of horses
for about 20 years,” she explained.
She returned to riding in 2003 when she got a call from
a friend saying they needed to put a Thoroughbred down
because they had lost the farm and nobody else could handle
him. BettyAnn couldn’t let that happen so she took in the
Thoroughbred, named Rusty, who she ended up trading for
an OTTB from the feed lot who became This Bud’s For Me, or
Buddy. The old, toothless man is still with her today, happily
stalled next to Princess Brandi and always eager for some TLC.
Around the same time, BettyAnn also purchased her friend’s
Quarter Horse/Warmblood. “He was a roping horse who looked
like a fat, shaggy, short legged Corgi, but I loved him at first
sight. I took a lot of grief about him because everyone thought
he was so ‘ordinary.’ I told them they would eat their words. After
patiently retraining him, I was able to put six different riders on
him to show. My plain little cow horse was Illinois Hunter Jumper
Association (IHJA) End of the Year Champion in numerous
divisions for three years. ‘My Teddy Bear’ and I watched a lot of
people eat word sandwiches!”
Once again, it appeared that everything was coming together.
But a year later, BettyAnn found herself in the hospital once
again – this time with a life threatening illness. A failed surgery
and two years of being in and out of the hospital later, BettyAnn
left the hospital with a poor prognosis. She didn’t expect to live,
but this wouldn’t be the first time she cheated death.
A Redheaded Mare
Determined to find her way back to
the Washington
International Horse Show,
BettyAnn went straight to the barn the
very day she was released from the hospital. When she walked
into the indoor, she froze in her tracks.
There she was – that chestnut mare with the four white legs
and a blaze that she had spent her life drawing pictures of since
she was four-years-old. Somehow, someway she had found the
horse she dreamt about her whole life.
“I hobbled over to the teen [who owned Brandi] and said,
‘Hi. I’m Betty and I am going to buy your horse.’ She said, ‘OK
sure…’ and we both laughed,” BettyAnn recollected.
That mare was N’Style, aka Brandi, and she would become
BettyAnn’s physical and mental therapy – and, most importantly,
her best friend. Melissa Lorusso, the teen who owned Brandi,
kindly allowed BettyAnn to ride and show Brandi.
The week she met Brandi, BettyAnn decided she was going
to go to Equifest for her first show, which drew nearly 1,000
horses. She hadn’t been riding because she was so sick, but she
decided to try anyway, with the help of her longtime Jaynesway
instructor Loreal Fricano Urso. On the Tuesday before the show,
she trotted Brandi. On Wednesday, she cantered and took a few
cross rails and on Thursday they arrived at the show grounds
– having never ridden a course together. On Friday, BettyAnn
and Brandi
eagerly
headed for the show ring.
“We were walking out of the schooling ring and going up
the hill. Something clicked right there. She won every class
and champed in our first show. You could tell Brandi was just
happy and nobody was more shocked than me. I felt that if I
died tomorrow, my dreams had come true. We did one or two
shows that season and ended up in the ribbons at the end of the
year.”
Completely in love with the redheaded mare, BettyAnn
officially purchased Brandi on New Year’s Day in 2009. Together,
they have racked up dozens of wins in Medals and Adult
Amateur 51+ classes. They even realized BettyAnn’s dream of
heading back to the Washington International Horse Show. She
took her savings and a group of dear friends (including Alyce, the
trainer who took her to her first WIHS) and enjoyed the thrill of a
lifetime, ending up in 15
th
place.
“Brandi has won six IHJA Medal Finals, ranked third in USEF
HOTY Awards, is a Derby winner, WIHS, M&S, and NAL winner,
but mostly she’s my little redheaded mare that I adore with all my
heart,” BettyAnn said.
About the writer: Dani Moritz is a graduate of William Woods University
with majors in Equine General Studies and Communications and is
currently pursuing a Masters In Strategic Leadership at Stephens
College. She is the assistant editor for Sidelines Magazine and the proud
owner of a beautiful Paint/Arabian mare named September. She is also
the 2012 American Horse Publications Student Award winner.
BettyAnn with her “date” Nacho during Doug Boyd’s open house
in Mettewa, Illinois.
Photo courtesy of BettyAnn Kolba
