Page 36 - Demo

After growing up in Charleston, South Carolina ridingthe family Walking horses as well as local huntersand jumpers, I picked Stephens College, in Columbia,Missouri because they had an equestrian program. There I couldcontinue riding. The immaculate stables housed many finehorses; Saddlebreds for the saddle-seat riders and Thoroughbreds for hunt-seat riders. I participated in a clinic given byhorseman Jimmy Williams, a celebrity in the world of Grand Prixjumping. There I learned a new exercise: posting the canter.(Posting is commonly done at the trot.) A few years later, Iwatched Williams%u2019s mastery in an open jumping class inPhoenix, Arizona. After clearing the massive fences, he completed his ride with swift reining-horse spins before exiting thestadium. Jimmy was quite the showman!At Stephens, I competed in the Prince of Wales Spring showriding a lovely bay hunter. We won the class. %u201cYea, Shelley!%u201dmy friend Marty shouted from the grandstands. Happiness.Marty was my first boyfriend, and this was my first bona fidehorse show! After two years at Stephens, I transferred to the University ofColorado because of their fine arts program. It was duringSpring break that my grandfather, Ed Tweed, invited me andtwo cousins to his Brusally Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hegave us a tour of the magnificent ranch he had designed. Spanish buildings framed by lawn, flowers and palm trees stood atthe foothills of the blue McDowell mountains. The long driveway entrance was lined with orange trees. Large metal gateswere always open to visitors. We were shown the indoor and outdoor arenas, the roundpens, half-mile racetrack, and the two stables, complete withtheir breeding and veterinary facilities. An elegant white stallion, Faraon, who%u2019d recently arrived from Poland, was trottedout from the white, red-tiled stable for us to admire. Then wedrove past lush pastures: mares and foals in one pasture andyearlings in another. At the close of the afternoon, my grandfather asked, %u201cWould one of you want to live here and be permanently involved with Brusally Ranch?%u201d %u201cYes!%u201d I was in love. My cousins chose more practical futures: marriage and wellpaying jobs. I moved into the small stable apartment. Becausethe manager-trainer said I rode %u201clike a stick%u201d and would nevermake a show rider, I cleaned stalls and groomed show horses fora small salary. My grandparents summered at their ranch in theWhite Mountains of Arizona. In Scottsdale, I took my meals withthe field manager and his wife. It wasn%u2019t a happy summer, butI was where I wanted to be - near these exquisite animals. By the time I arrived at Brusally Ranch in 1967, twenty-sixhorses had been imported from Poland. The Polish Arabian, asI saw then and still do, is the most perfect and beautiful horse,perfectly proportioned to their height of about 14.2 to 15 hands,tall, elegant, athletic, intelligent and kindly. The stallion, Orzel,was favored to win the 1967 Polish Derby at the time he was imported. That year, he was awarded National Champion ArabianRacehorse in Lafayette, Louisiana. At the ranch, I watched theFirst Years Of Ranch Lifeby Shelley (Chaille) Trevor continued on page 3836 Arizona Horse Connection June, 2026Shelley showing the magnificent stallion, Orzel.