Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 23, 1993 TAG: 9306230022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The immediate assumption is that you had better saddle up early if you want to stand a chance of later glories in this highly competitive little world. For the most part, that would be true.
But not always. Missy McCutcheon of Houston, Texas, is living proof.
McCutcheon, a 48-year-old owner and amateur rider who is showing at the Roanoke Valley Horse Show this week, didn't start hanging around horse barns until her own children were almost grown.
"I may have gotten into it late, but I never put the pressure on myself like so many of the younger riders do," she said.
McCutcheon came to horses in a most roundabout way. She had the interest at an early age but not the wherewithal, being the daughter of a U.S. Navy pilot who was constantly on the move.
"I can remember him saying, `We're not going to move with a horse,' " she said.
The joys of the paddock did, however, go to her sister Susan, 13 years younger. By the time Susan was coming into the peak of her interest in equestrian matters, the family had settled down in Annapolis, Md., which is near prime horse country.
When Susan left home, she moved in with McCutcheon, her husband Tom and their family in Houston for about a year. Susan brought a horse with her and it wasn't long before McCutcheon was getting a taste of the sport herself. She loved it. Then it struck her:
"It's not too late," she said. "You're not too old. You're 30-something, like the TV show, you can do this."
Her start came when she bought an experienced horse in hunter competition and went to work with a private instructor.
"There were other ladies taking lessons, too," she said. "Every week somebody would bring a lunch and and it was like a social thing."
So her involvement evolved. It's now to the point where she travels the country to shows and has even put on some of her own with partners in the Houston area.
"It's supposed to be a profit-making venture, but so far, I haven't seen any," she said. "But the truth is, the reason you do these things is for the love of the sport."
When she travels with her current horse, Mystery Man, a thoroughbred, she usually meets with a professional rider who will do the stakes showing. She participates in the adult amateur division when the pro isn't in action.
For the Roanoke show, she's collaborating with rider Danny Robertshaw of Camden, S.C.
The trip to Roanoke - McCutcheon is among those who came the greatest distance to be here - is part of her annual summer trip that usually takes about a month. She'll hit the Roanoke show - a first for her - then head for one in Raleigh, N.C., and then to the Charleston Summer Classic at Seabrook Island, S.C. She's also shown at the big winter shows at Ocala and West Palm Beach, Fla., and at Palm Springs, Calif. and Phoenix.
Usually, she's on her own.
"My husband plans his fishing trips for the same time I'm going to horse shows," she said. "He doesn't care a thing about horse shows and I can't think of anything more boring than sitting around waiting for the fish to bite."
She's gotten a huge kick out of the Roanoke show since she's been here.
"Virginia is so beautiful and this is one of the few all-breed shows in the country," she said. "The tradition of the show is very special, too. As long as it's been going, you probably have riders who rode ponies here as children and now they have their own children and are back to ride as adults."
by CNB