FEATURE
‘I’m Simply Addicted to Horses’ Why Betty Oare and her fellow lifetime riders don’t plan to ever give up on their passion WORDS:
LETTIE TEAGUE
M
Y 78-YE AR-OLD FRIEND
Marie Boynton rides six days a week—in freezing cold weather or triple-digit heat unless her 23-yearold horse Bosco has a stone bruise or stifle injury (his two most recent complaints). Boynton only stopped showing in amateur-owner hunter classes a few years ago when Bosco, a Thoroughbred Shire cross, was no longer able to jump 3’. Boynton is my role model and the kind of rider I hope to be when I’m her age. In truth, she’s the sort of rider I’d like to be right now. Boynton is a member of a remarkable group of horsewoman and men who began riding at an early age…and never stopped. Or if they did, their pause didn’t last and they were soon back in the saddle again. They’re riders whose deep love of all things equine (along with a bit of luck, some money, and a good horse or two) have kept them riding—whether in the show ring or on a hunt course—well past the age most athletes of virtually any sport are likely to retire. They ride with vigor and dedication out of love for the sport. Or something else. As 80-year-old Betty Oare said of her remarkable career, “I’m simply addicted to horses.”
76 THE PLAID HORSE October/November 2021
