Gayle Horn,
M.F.H.
Gayle was born October 19, 1930 in Alameda,
California. She and her sister Lois grew up in
Marin County where Gayle lived until she moved
to Reno in 1995. Gayle and Lois were close
siblings throughout their lives until Lois'
death in 1998. Gayle graduated from the College
of Marin in 1950 and then embarked on her
"ranching phase", raising white faced cattle
from 1950 to 1954. Woe to the cows, however,
when Jack Horn arrived to sweep Gayle off her
feet. Gayle and Jack were married in 1956 and
lived together until Jack*s death in 1990. Jack
brought two children, Gerry 5 and Terry 2, with
him, and they were joined by Kathy in 1959,
making Gayle the mother of three.
Gayle grew up on horseback, and she and Kathy
entered the hunter show ring in the early
1970's. Based in Nacacio, and training with John
Charlebois and Lumpy Killham, Gayle became a
force on the Amateur Owner hunter circuit in
California. Kathy worked her way up through the
Children's Hunters to join her mother in the A/O
hunter ring. Gayle moved to Petaluma in 1981
where she established Minglewood Stable with
John and Lumpy. Among many others, Gayle's
successes here included Hand In Glove, a
thoroughbred stallion who rose to the Grand Prix
level and ultimately was purchased and exported
to France to stand at stud. Gayle herself
continued to enjoy great success on her A/O
hunter Genna, a warm blood mare purchased from
Lynn Lloyd.
In 1980, Gayle and Kathy decided that their
free spirits were too confined in the show ring,
and they added foxhunting to their repertoire,
joining the Los Altos hunt, under the joint
Mastership of Al Schreck and Giny Hunter in 1980
and Red Rock Hounds in 1985. Kathy suffered from
severe asthma, and knew that foxhunting
represented a serious threat to her health.
Despite the immeasurable wound Gayle endured
when her daughter Kathy died in the hunt field
nine years ago, she never wavered in her
dedication to the sport. Gayle continued to hunt
from her base in Petaluma until 1995. Having
lost her daughter and her husband Jack, Gayle
then left the relentless encroachment by real
estate development in Marin County to join us in
Reno, where she found open space and a place to
foxhunt through the purchase of Ross Creek Ranch
in partnership with Lynn.
Gayle rode as first Field Master behind Lynn
three days a week until her stroke in 1999. But
what's a massive stroke to a woman like our
Gayle Horn. Visiting Gayle in the rehabilitation
center was an experience. Gayle's entire day
centered around the schedule board that dictated
where she should be for which therapy at what
time. If a therapist was 5 minutes late to take
her to her next treatment, Gayle would ring her
bedside bell to find out what was up. Therapists
would ask us "Who is this woman? We've never
seen anything like her. We usually have to drag
the patients to therapy. This lady is banging
our doors down for more. We LOVE her!"
Gayle came home from the hospital and rode
her horse the next day. Yes, it took 3 people to
get her up into the saddle and she was flanked
by 3 attendants throughout her 50 yard walk, but
ride she did. That was March. Gayle was hunting
slow field by September. The following summer
she took her mare Mercedes to the AHSA "A" rated
Oregon High Desert Classic Hunter Jumper Show
and showed in cross-rails and 2'6" hunters. By
the 2001 hunt season, she was dividing her time
between first and second fields and now
frequently serves once again as First Field
Master.
Gayle Horn is an inspiration to all of us who
are lucky enough to live in her inner circle.
She is surrounded by, and surrounds us, with
breathtaking love. The depth of her character
can only be experienced, not described. What a
great treat for us all, to say "Good Morning,
Master Horn" to Gayle for years to come.