ANNE TRACY SPECK

A New Hampshire native, Anne began riding and helping in the barn as a teenager at Jack McGrane Stables in nearby Connecticut, where her mother kept American Saddlebred show horses, most noteably the 3-gaited stallion, My Flowing Gold.  Anne eventually worked summers for Jack while earning her degree in mathematics from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.  She and her husband, the late Bob Speck, a farrier, moved to California, where Anne worked for Royce Cates near Los Angeles before opening Rancho Del Mar in 1974 in Del Mar, near San Diego. The name soon became synonymous with saddle seat equitation and horsemanship excellence in the American Saddlebred and Morgan show horse worlds.

Anne has stated her greatest joy comes from effectively getting her riders from point A to point B in the horse business. Through her tireless energy, competitive nature and love for the sport, she encourages her riders to be all they can be, teaching them all facets of the show horse industry - grooming, riding, showing, training, anything and everything related to show horses - and most importantly, that showing horses is FUN!  She is as actively involved in teaching beginners at RDM summer and holiday camps as she is in coaching her elite riders and horses to national and world championship titles at horse shows across the country.  Several of Anne's riders have been inspired to become professionals in the horse business and gone on to become very successful horsemen and horsewomen in their own right.

Anne has been honored and recognized nationally by the United Professional Horseman's Association (UPHA) as 2003 Instructor of the Year, winner of the 2004 Audrey Pugh Gutridge Award in Louisville, KY, and 2004 Woman of the Year by the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA), all for her expertise associated with the local and national accomplishments of her riders and her lifelong dedication to the equine community, among many other prestigious awards.

Also a highly respected horse show judge, Anne has judged multiple times at the most prestigious of shows, including the American Saddlebred World Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the Morgan Grand National and World Championship Horse Show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and all of the National Finals for saddle seat equitation at several other renown horse shows.

She continues to manage two popular local shows she founded over 20 years ago, the Spotlight Horse Show and Clinic and the Fall Fun Horse Show, as well as actively participating on the show committees of the award winning Charity Fair Horse Show and the Diamond Jubilee Horse Show, both major events held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

When Anne is not horsing around, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, several dogs and cheering on her favorite local sports teams - San Diego Chargers and Padres, and the L.A. Lakers. She also dedicates time to tutoring math to children at her church.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ANNE on being named COACH of the 2008 United States World Cup Saddle Seat Equitation 5-Gaited  Team!  Anne and her team manager, Missy Bennett, guided Team USA to the Silver Medal at the World Cup competition in Tulbagh, South Africa in September 2008.