Since its first horse show in 1982, HITS has grown to include world-class competitions and six venues across the U.S.: Culpeper, Chicago, Hudson Valley, Del Mar, Vermont and Ocala. The last few years have seen HITS Shows revitalized, and HITS Senior Vice President of Show Office Administration Brett Waters has been a part of that.
Brett grew up with horses in Clearwater, Florida, and now lives in Ocala. In the 25 years since her first job as a horse show secretary, Brett’s role has expanded to overseeing all six HITS show offices and roughly 75 horse shows around the country—as well as running the office at the Washington International Horse Show.
In utero—my mother rode horses until late in her pregnancy with me.
When I was in fifth grade at Sutherland Elementary in Palm Harbor, Florida, I was elected safety patrol captain. Soon after, I won the American Legion School Award which is awarded to students who exemplify the six qualities that define character: courage, honor, leadership, patriotism, scholarship and service. My teachers taught me to channel my bossy nature toward positive outcomes and achievements. The seed was planted.
I love to place people in roles where they thrive and succeed. Just because the first job doesn’t work out doesn’t mean there isn’t a good fit in a different position with us.
My first job after college was as a horse show secretary in Indio. My main tasks were filing paperwork for Donna Vale, Jan Smith and Jean Lindgren, and lunch retrieval. I excelled at the latter. Fortunately, I moved up quickly once my math skills were discovered.
More streamlining and efficiency. We recently digitized our offices, and several major projects are underway that will benefit both exhibitors and staff.
Years ago, I assisted Jen Glass with the outdoor awards at Capital Challenge. It was the second Sunday of the show, and my job was to hand out saddle pads to all the participants in the last class of the day. There also were a handful of special awards with lots of trophies, flowers and swag to distribute after the class was pinned. These were particularly important and I wanted the presentations to be perfect. I desperately needed a table for the awards as well as someone to help ensure every special award and every saddle pad was correctly presented. As if the team had read my mind, Jen, Maryann Distefano, Jonathan Rabon and Tom Blankenship magically appeared at the top of the ramp. It was like Mel Gibson had arrived brandishing his sword in the air ready to save the day. They all came to my rescue. It is that kind of camaraderie and supportive team feeling that really makes working at horse shows special to me.
The Bradford Horse Show costume class was the most fun! Although I may have peaked professionally when I won leadline at Kings Mills in 1984. All joking aside, it was when I was riding less often and playing team sports that I learned how to work together as a group toward a common goal. That experience became the base of the foundation of my management style. We have a great team right now, which makes me very proud.
This is a tossup. Three things spring to mind: I can bring orchids back from the dead; I can eat an outrageous amount of sushi; and I always have a bag of beef jerky in my computer bag. Snacks are my life.
Sleep! Honestly, I really love Pilates for the mental and physical aspects. Live music is my favorite outing. We’ve seen a wide range of acts the last couple of years ranging from Willie Nelson to The Rolling Stones to Pearl Jam and AC/DC, plus everything in between.
I was blessed with two punk dachshunds. In their youth, they stole more food from golf carts and peoples’ bags than I could ever calculate. They were, however, great in their geriatric years. Arnold passed in 2020 and Heinz in 2025. I don’t feel like they’re replaceable. Yet. Maybe one day.
Sign up for our mailing list to stay up to date with all things Sidelines!
