Page 96 - Wayne County

“They tell me it was my frst word.” As far back as Patricia Garbutt can remember she has always loved horses. “I had received horse statues, horse books - nearly any horse-themed gift you can imagine. I will never forget that magical Christmas,” Patricia recalled with a twinkle in her eye. She had begun riding lessons during the fall of 1955 at Sea Island Stables. That winter, on Christmas morning, she found a note on the Christmas tree from her father which read, “I owe you one horse.”

Her name was Miss Liberty - a Tennessee walking pony who had won the national championship in 1943, the year Patricia was born. Shortly thereafter, she showed Miss Liberty in a Pleasure Pony Class and won her frst ribbon. “I will never forget that day and how proud I was. It was the beginning of my career.”

Much has been written on “the keys to a successful career,” but at the top of every list is to pursue your passion. Patricia had indeed found her passion - little did she know the impact she could have by simply doing what she loved.

The achievements that followed left her longing for more challenging competition, but there was one hindrance: in order to climb through the various levels of horse competition she would need to acquire a fve-gaited horse - one that was bred to walk, trot, canter, slow gait, and rack. Mr. Marvin Long at the Sea Island Stables found her an American Saddlebred named Village Gossip. An older horse, Village Gossip was a good