SW: I think I always loved horses. I started riding at age 3. My family owned a picnic/amusement park back in the '50's. We had a big pond for swimming, small boats for kid rides, a store to buy ice cream and such, a large picnic area, and the most important part (as far as I was concerned) pony rides. Well, you can guess where I spent my time. My father put me on my first pony and I was hooked. After we sold the picnic place. The ponies got sold. I spent the next two years begging for a horse. Finally, my father, a cop in Pittsfield, did a month of overtime and bought me a $150 green OH/Mustang cross. He dumped me many many times during my 9 year old year. But we finally bonded and I spent the next 8 years doing gymkhana with him. He was especially good at pole bending. Many trophies and ribbons later I retired him. He lived to be 36 years old. In the mean time I knew without a shadow of a doubt I wanted to do something with horses, I wasn't sure what. My mother insisted on my going to college "as a backup". So I did. Went to Northampton Junior College for one year. Hated it. Came home and announced I wanted to be a jockey. Needless to say it didn't go over great. But my parents were terrific, and decided if that is what I wanted they would help the best they could.

SW: I lived only 30 miles from Green Mountain Park. But I didn't think I was good enough to go ride thoroughbreds. And there were so few girl riders in 1972 that I contacted a running quarter horse trainer who lived nearby in NY State, Al Buck Dogde. He agreed to teach me to ride race horses. I spent 6 months learning to gallop and ride and we went on the road. The trainer, his family and me. Luckily he had very talented stock and I won lots of races in Michigan and Canada and Ohio. I don't think I had a clue what I was doing, just hanging on. Had one rider run me through the outside fence at a fair in Ohio and I broke my femur. I was laid up for a little more than a year. And at that point decided there was more money in TB racing and went to Green Mountain Park to find someone to hire me to gallop. It was a 30 minute drive from my house. Every day for at least a month I had to pull over to the side of the road and vomit, I was so nervous about riding again. But I knew I had to get past that in order to ride and I was determined.

SW: Luckily it was very natural for me on a horse. I had many teachers, including a rider who eventually became my husband, Jerry Wood. The riders at Green Mountain were like a family. I listened to everything everyone told me and tried my best to do it right.

SW: I think I expected it to be hard. But, like everything you do that you really want to do, there are hard times and good times. I certainly would never call it easy.

SW: My first win was on a horse called Score W. He was a come from way behind type and I kept running second on him, because I couldn't keep him up close enough to make the run make it to the front. My husband -to-be explained how to warm him up real good ahead of time and that would work. Well, it worked alright. Jerry was in front all the way and I came from last to beat him at the wire. They threw HIM in the pond! Didn't do a thing to me. It was very very funny.

SW: I'll give you a list: Green Mountain Park, Narragansett Park, Lincoln Downs, Suffolk Downs, Rockingham Park, Pocono Downs, Finger Lakes (for 8 years), Woodbine, Fort Erie, and Tampa Bay. I was very lucky; I didn't run into a lot of perjuries back then. Of course there were always the select few who just didn't like girl riders. Getting mounts was always a challenge. But on the whole, I think I got along with most everyone.

SW: I was just ready. I still loved the horses and riding. But selling myself to trainers everyday got old. I wanted to go home and stay in one place and start my farm for babies and lay-ups.

SW: That's a tough one. I loved being a rider. The excitement, the being one with your horse, winning of course! I used to love galloping in the morning when it was warm and I little foggy and I was the first one on the track. Very spiritual. The worst thing I think was selling yourself to the trainers everyday. I really hated that. I very seldom had an agent.

SW: My husband and I decided to buy a couple of 2 year olds and train them for the races. I guess we missed it a bit. So we trained them at Saratoga (about an hour’s drive from our farm in Pittsfield, MA) we only got to run one there. By that time he was 3 and I ran second on him in a NY bred maiden race. I loved riding there. Then we went to Delaware I rode a few times there. Then that gelding got claimed and we ran the filly a few times with no luck. By that time we had built a new farm in SC. We ran that filly at Mountaineer for 2 years. She won four races but I was done riding by then. It was fun to come back for a while. But I was done. By then our farm in SC was picking up clients and I was breaking babies and doing lay-ups. So we were too busy to race anymore. Which was fine with me.

SW: I have to be honest I don't remember a thing about it! I'm sure I was nervous. But I remember always being a little nervous until I got on the horse, then I was fine.

SW: You've got to want it REAL bad. It's a tough job.

SW: I just turned 59! But I am still fit and only weigh 105. So maybe.......

SW: The good times were when I was riding a good amount of horses daily. Ones that had a shot in the race. The bad times where when I was riding nothing but bad stock with no shot at all.

SW: I own a beautiful 30 acre farm in SC that has several barns, run-in sheds, a race track and tons of turn-out. I take care of babies to retirees. I gave up breaking babies last year. I love it here. I also have a small house near Myrtle Beach that was willed to me. I try to get there at least once a month. Unfortunately, my husband has many health issues including heart disease and Alzheimer’s. So far the Alzheimer’s is very mild. Life sends you curb balls sometimes.

SW: I would make a rule like in Ireland, that you can only hit a horse so many times during a race or be disqualified. I don't believe beating up a horse makes him run any faster. Hit him once or twice and he's going as fast as he can on that day.

SW: I do believe they have saved a lot of tracks. I think we would have lost many more that we already have if it weren't for slots. Sad but true.

SW: Thanks for the interview and good luck with the website.