Cowboy Dressage is for Any Age: Betty Nagle – Still Learning, Loving and Living Horses at 80

If you look only into her eyes and listen only to her voice, you would never know that she is 80 years old.  Even watching her ride you would have a hard time guessing her exact age.  There is a sense of energy, purpose and sparkle about Betty Nagle that belies the maturity of her exterior shell.  In her heart, she is still the 18 year old that just got her first horse.  

I always assumed that Betty had been around horses her whole life.  She grew up in an era when horses were used for transportation, farm work, and were part of everyday living.  But it was her husband, Don, who gave 18-year-old Betty her first riding horse.  Giving a brand new rider a barely broke 2 year old might have led to some problems, but thankfully, this flashy, part Saddlebred, buckskin mare was as gentle as they come.  The philosophy at that time was “get on and ride” and that’s what Betty did.  Trail riding, loping up and down the road, and riding horseback to visit family and friends all contributed to a lot of hours in the saddle. 

“You either walked, loped or ran,” Betty reminisced.  “We were always racing.”

Getting balance was a hard won trophy, but loping along one day, Betty realized she had it; her butt was in the saddle, her heels were down, and she loved it.  “It felt so good,” she said.

Don rode in gymkhanas and so she did, too.  Her first competition was at the bottom of Riverside Hill just outside of Potlatch.  She ran in the barrels, pole bending, and whatever events they had to offer.  Poles eventually became a top event for Betty with her next horse, Skeeter.  An Arabian/Quarter Horse cross, this brown gelding was a challenge at first.  Don bought him, unbroken, and gave Skeeter to Betty. 

“I had to do everything with Skeeter real slow at first.  I would barely move my hand and he would move sideways.  He was quick.  He ended up getting very, very broke.  He really could turn and was a great pole horse,” Betty said.  Matched pairs was a popular riding class at that time and Betty remembers the fun it was to ride pairs with Billy Anderson. 

“We really worked as a team.  We could lope with our legs right together.”  Success built upon success and Betty’s first trophy came in 1955 for the High Point Overall Woman at the year-end awards for their saddle club.

Betty and Don ran an outfitting business for 10 years, and Betty remembers how relaxing and beautiful it was to ride and pack into the mountains.  There were times, however, when it took hard work, persistence and a “get ‘er done” attitude to make it.  One time they had hunters out and a snowstorm came in.  Don needed Betty to get the horses over the mountain and back to camp.  It was cold out and the weather was testing, but Betty took the string of six saddle horses back over the mountain and then cooked dinner for them all in the cook tent.

It seems every horseman has that one special horse that comes into his or her life and for Betty that horse was Charlie.  Don paid $40.00 for the young, part Arabian chestnut gelding.  As a 2 year old they attempted to take Charlie to hunting camp but the colt jumped out of the trailer.  After a run-away episode that scared Betty, Don took the youngster to get some miles on him.  Then Betty started riding him again in hunting camp.  One day, after a heavy snowfall, the group decided to head out of the mountains.  They took turns breaking trail and at one point Betty fell down in the deep snow right in front of the colt.  He just stood there. 

“He took such good care of me,” Betty said, and from that moment the relationship was cemented.  The two attended Monte Foreman and Larry Carson riding clinics, as well as competing in local area horse shows and OMokSee’s.   Betty’s first Monte Foreman clinic was a definitive moment of learning for her. 

“Suddenly I realized you could stop your horse with one rein on a snaffle bit.  I learned to post and to use two hands on the reins.  Monte made me ride most of the clinic with my hands on my horse’s neck so I wasn’t bouncing on his mouth.  It was overwhelmingly exciting to learn so much,” Betty said.  They completed three clinics with Monte Foreman and learned about riding with precision in clinics with Larry Carson. 

“I hadn’t thought about stopping in an exact spot or trotting at a certain time.  I had so many second place ribbons, but I started placing first after learning about precision.”  Betty and Charlie went on to win the All Around award in both the horse show and the OMokSee at the Latah County Fair in the late 1970’s.

Betty commented on competing in OMokSee, “Charlie listened, he learned so quick, and he was easy to correct.  He taught me real quick that whipping or spurring would cause problems.  You hit your horse and he just slows down.” 

At about 45 years of age, Betty was really getting into her career.  Her and Don’s daughter, Marcia, had graduated and joined the Marine Corps.  Charlie and Betty were at the top of their game and winning consistently.  Then Charlie had some lameness issues. The vet diagnosed the beginning of navicular disease and said Charlie shouldn’t run anymore.  “It broke my heart,” she said, shaking her head.  Betty sold Charlie to a family and “he went through three kids.  That was wonderful,” she related. 

With Charlie sold Betty thought she was retired from riding competitively.  She focused on her career, earned her Certified Public Accountant’s license at 50 years of age and became a partner in her firm.  During this time, she had a few different horses she used for trail riding, but none that ever really owned her heart like Charlie.  It wasn’t until she was preparing to retire from the accounting firm that Betty really started thinking about riding consistently again.  She and Marcia went shopping for her “retirement” horse – a nice horse for her to ride on the trail and in local horse show classes. 

“We looked and looked,” Betty said, “Then we asked Roser’s, where we got Sam (Marcia’s Quarter Horse gelding, Santana’s Remedy).  They said there was a lady that might sell her reiner.  We went to look and they brought Cowboy out.  He was pretty – four white socks and a blaze.  I rode him and he was so responsive.  I’d never had a horse ask me so many questions that quickly.  He felt good.”  Cowboy came home with them and Betty was back in the saddle again.

Cowboy was trained in reining and there were some bumps in the road at first.

“I’d never ridden a horse with that much training.  I really was not up to his level.  For example, I didn’t know how to spin him.  He got frustrated a lot at first and so did I.  He scared me a couple of times.  I really learned to do my groundwork before getting on and how important groundwork is.  I really had to learn a lot.  Because I didn’t know enough, I took training off of him for about 2 years.  At the start of our third year I was thinking about sending him back to a trainer.  Then Marcia asked me how that would make me feel and I realized I had to do it myself.  From there on, with Marcia’s help, I really worked on it.” 

For Betty, “working on it,” meant riding at least four times a week and competing in reining.  She remembers her first reining competition in Lewiston, Idaho. 

“My bridle fell off during the warm up.  I got down to fix it and when I went to get back on, my saddle slipped.  It wasn’t a good start.  But I did my class and I qualified.  I still don’t remember that pattern or how I qualified,” she laughed, “ I was just always trying to improve my personal score.  I critiqued every piece of each ride and worked to improve it.  And I focused on really breathing deep.  I still forget to breathe.”

Betty continued to ride Cowboy in reining and other horse show classes, garnering many ribbons, buckles and a trophy saddle.  

“I was going to retire from showing at 70 but I was having too much fun,” she laughs.  “Then I retired at 77 and just trail rode and did some cattle sorting.”

Shortly after Betty’s 80^th birthday, Marcia asked Betty if she would like to ride at the Cowboy Dressage World Gathering on Marcia’s 4 year old Quarter Horse gelding, Black Stretch Limo.

“Marcia offered me her trained horse and so I did it,” Betty said, “I practiced the tests on Cowboy and also rode Stretch.  They are very much alike in temperament.  I really, really thank Marcia for letting me ride him.  Not everyone would do that.  And I know she wouldn’t put me on him if she didn’t know he was safe.  I was elated after my first ride on Stretch.  It felt so good.  He helped me feel like I could get to the Cowboy Dressage World show.  Now I’ve done Cowboy Dressage it’s so much fun!  I have something new to teach Cowboy.”

Betty and Stretch brought home a Reserve Champion 60 and over ribbon from the World show.  Although she made it look easy, Betty said she is far from a natural horseman.  She has an amazing work ethic, a can-do attitude and she always enjoys a challenge. 

“I can come to the barn wound up and by the time I groom, saddle and get on, I’m focused on the horse and everything else goes away.  You can forget things for awhile.” 

Betty also has some physical challenges that come along with her age.  She has back issues from scoliosis, is mostly sightless in one eye, has advanced arthritis in her hands, and some knee problems.  Her advice for those with physical challenges? 

“Don’t quit.  Don’t sit in a chair.  Get out and do something – horses are great for that.  Even if my knees hurt a bit, I can still do it.  My right leg wants to creep forward, so I really watch it.  Get back down there, leg, I say.” 

She has a routine of walking, stretching every morning and taking vitamins.  But the real secret, she says, is in your attitude.

“Riding is a lifetime sport.  You can always learn something, when you’re 60, when you’re 80 – you’re still learning stuff.  I like to learn.  It’s good for your brain.”

Betty is thankful for the “young” people (some who are in their 50’s) who encourage her.  Having an attitude of gratefulness is a key part of Betty’s fountain of youth.

“Be thankful for what you have.  Having a thankful attitude – that always helps.”

And her final bit of advice for living? 

“Give your worries to God.”    Her favorite bible verses are from 1 Corinthians.  “Those verses are quite special to me,” she says.

So, when you’re 80 and have a lifetime of accomplishments, what happens when you are 81?  Betty’s plan is to continue to be an inspiration to people and keep on riding.

  “I’m going to get Cowboy so he can go to local Cowboy Dressage competitions and do well.  I’m going to work on that,” she said.  Then she added, “I love my horse.”

 And there in her eyes is the 18-year-old girl who is falling in love with horses all over again.