Mary Ann Smith

May 8th, 1954 - January 23rd, 2008

Mary Ann's Memory Wall

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Dear Gary, Chris, Ryan, and Bridget,
Mary Ann literally made dreams come true for kids like Emily for 35 years! Her goal was to make horse riding and owning possible for the ordinary family. A lot of her students came from families like ours, without horse savvy parents. We would never have considered riding lessons or horse ownership without her support. Think of all Emily and kids like her would have missed if it were not for Mary Ann! We are so grateful to her and to all of you, as well, for the supportive roles you played. We will miss her, too. You all remain in our prayers.
Love,
Kathy, Walt, Emily, Cory, and Andrew Sicard

The Walt Sicard Family

Jim and I were shocked and saddened when we read Mary Ann’s obituary. The Smith family was very important to the Vogel family when our kids were young, 20 or so years ago now—hard to believe it was that long ago. We were stupid first time horse owners and Mary Ann helped us and our girls learn about our horses and have great family times with first our one horse, then our horse and pony, then our 2 horses and one pony!

I remember Mary Ann’s smile and her voice most of all: her yelling “Here! Here!” at an out of control horse, settling it down. I remember when Vance shamed her into riding behind him on an ATV at a campout, and her yelling and screaming “I’d rather ride a horse!” She was nothing if not emphatic. Not to mention that she was a concerned mom whose voice became soft and gentle, I especially remember this when she was helping Chris relax for bedtime.

She always seemed to be in motion: giving lessons, teaching boarders how to deal with our animals, grooming horses, and almost constantly talking on the phone--she was so involved in so many projects with her animals and people, had so many arrangements to make and check on: arranging trail rides, campouts, 4H meetings, farrier and vet visits. She seemed to operate on the assumption that she was responsible to make sure that animals within her sphere of influence were owned by people who were knowledgeable about keeping their animals healthy. She even had the vet make the rounds for horse shots and worming as well as dog and cat vaccines yearly! Who else would have thought of that? In fact, the only time I can remember her just totally relaxing was when our two families spent a few days at the Vogel family cottage—quite a change of pace for her.

I remember Mary Ann talking Jim into riding Spider with her when she started training Star-Mare for long distances. I heard Mary Ann yell “You Witch!” early on in the ride. When they got back, Jim told me that the mare tried to throw Mary Ann from her English saddle so she stopped their ride, dismounted, and told Jim to trade his western saddle for her English saddle, giving her a better chance of staying aboard the green mare. He complained loudly about the discomfort of his first ride—not to mention such a long ride on an English saddle when they came home, claiming those saddles were never designed to be ridden by males! I don’t think he ever mentioned it to Mary Ann though.

We learned never to be surprised at new dogs, cats, or horses when we arrived at the barn. Mary Ann adopted so many “lost souls”, and did her best to make their lives whole. I’ll never forget how hard she worked to save Danny, a seemingly lost-cause colt. She would turn a hose on him, yell at him, try to scare him into getting on his feet, anything to keep him going. The last time I saw him he was running in her pasture looking proud and healthy as he could be given his rough start in life.

I remember one weekend when Gary had hurt his back so Jim, Mary Ann and I were mucking out stalls—there was only one barn then—and we were all exhausted. She was so strong physically, as well as mentally and constitutionally. Thankfully our two girls and the two Smith boys got along well most of the time, and were happy to play together while we worked!

I remember Mary Ann losing her wonderful, beautiful Nipsy. We mourned the loss of that exceptional horse with her. I remember Mary Ann coddling her old Paula, and that crazy Bugger, who scared all of us.

I remember Mary Ann starting the cat project, and how much Katie enjoyed it, and loved showing her cat, Dugo.

I remember how Mary Ann found Katie’s pony, Honey for her, and how well the girl and pony clicked, and how attached they became. She always seemed to be looking for new combinations of horses and people, as needs changed, and most of the time she seemed to find successful partnerships.

We had such good times with the Smith family as our girls were growing up. She was the heart of such a special time in all our lives, and we will miss her, despite the fact t

Mary Ann Smith

Mary Ann's Memory Wall

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