46 SIDELINES JUNE 2014
FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
e
Do What You Love and
Love What You Do
MindyCoretz, of Tulsa,Oklahoma, hasn’t hadaneasy ride.But,
toher, every second in the saddleandevery bumpalong theway
has beenworth it.
Mindydoesn’t hail froma familywithequestrian roots, but she’s
always had a passion for horses. Her riding career began on her
7thbirthday,whenshe tooka lessonwithLibbyBarrowatFarewell
Farm in Tulsa. Mindy deems it as “pure luck” that she ended up
under the guidance of such a great trainer, and she continues to
trainwith Libby to this day.
Mindy, who spent a summer as a much-loved
Sidelines
Magazine intern, has earned countless ribbons in the hunter ring,
and one of her most notable accomplishments was winning the
$5,000 North American League (NAL) West Coast Final in the
Adult Amateur Hunter Division at the Las Vegas National Horse
Show last November. Mindy rode Stone Town, owned by KAC
Horses, LLC, to victory in theNAL Final with a two-round total of
169 points. Mindy also came in third with Gretta, also owned by
KACHorses, LLC,with161points, narrowlymissingsecondplace
by twopoints.
Libby, Mindy’s trainer, was unable to attend the show due to
another commitment, so shemade plans for Mindy to ride under
trainers JoieGatlin andMorley Abey. “I was really nervous to be
showingwith trainers I didn’t know, but they were both incredible
and I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to ride with
them,” saidMindy.
Mindy called winning the NAL Final, “a really rewarding
experience.” The night of her win was almost seven years to the
day after she suffered a bad fall, resulting in an injury that almost
endedher ridingcareer. “It felt sogood inLasVegas tobe leading
a victory gallop instead of cheering from the sidelines!” she said.
“That said, I didn’t make this journey alone. I’m truly so fortunate
in that I’vealways been tremendouslywell mounted, andhavean
unbelievable team of people standing behind me. You wouldn’t
believe the team of peoplewho are all part of it!”
But getting there hasn’t been an easy ride. In fall 2006, Mindy
was showing her new horse and junior hunter-to-be in a local
medal final when the pair had a miscommunication on course.
Mindy got unbalanced and she tumbled slowly to the ground.
Unfortunately, Mindy landed with her legs sticking out, and her
ankle was stepped on and crushed as the horse trotted off. So
began her seven-year roller coaster of consulting surgeons and
undergoing multiple surgeries. She was initially told that nothing
could be done, but “because she was young, she could learn to
livewith the pain.”
That answer wasn’t goodenough for her parents, RobandKim
Coretz. So, they searched nationwide for the right doctors.
“Though I was allowed to do a little bit of riding between
operations, my parents were frightened by the accident and
prohibitedme from jumping,” saidMindy. “I have a huge amount
of respect for my parents, so I truly never thought I’d be back in
the show ringagain.”
According to Mindy, her ankle still isn’t fixed and is “just sort
of glued together.” Her most recent operations were more
experimental and there’s no telling how long the ankle will hold
up. “I oftenstillwalkwitha limp, but I feel great,” saidMindy. “Such
Mindy andStoneTown
won theNorthAmerican
League (NAL)West Coast
Final in theAdult Amateur
Hunter Division at theLas
VegasNational Horse
Show.
Photo byMcCool Photography
Continuedon page 48
