A Season of Belief and Boldness

Returning from London, I was ready to take on the world. I was energized, inspired, and feeling the power of belief. I thought big. Having quit my job and created my own company, I believed that my destiny was mine to form. With that mindset, I took on a vast number of projects.

 

Based in Scottsdale, I traveled between home, Lake Geneva, and Los Angeles. In Lake Geneva, at Aries Arabians, I was involved with exciting projects with the owner, Mike Weinstein. In Los Angeles, Patty Trope and I planned big; she knew everyone, and we set things in motion to execute some big ideas. I believed a very high-profile auction was what we needed. The Arabian horse world had gone through some seismic changes with the 1996 tax reforms; something big and uplifting was what I felt we needed. An auction in Beverly Hills was how I saw to proceed.

 

Meanwhile, I was going to London to see Paolo Gucci as often as possible. The visits were terrific; he was fun, funny, and his wife, Jenny, had an impossibly wicked sense of humor. And, to make things even more incredible, I was now a house guest, getting to intermingle with them, their house, their horses, it was a great time. But there were notices of what was to come; every visit, he told me of more and more horses he had purchased, and there were many. It was apparent to me that he was not a person to be tamed, but to do what I could to make the experience the best I could for both of us. It was a daunting task.

 

Back in America, I was full throttle getting ready for the "Collection At The Century," named after our auction location, The Century Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills. Patty and I enlisted AMFAR (The American Foundation for Aids Research) to promote the sale. We would donate four horses, full proceeds going to the foundation, in exchange for their assistance in promoting and selling tickets to the event. We staged promotional events on Rodeo Drive, bringing a horse in native costume to ride down this celebrated boulevard. That idea cost us a citation and landed us on the cover of Variety Magazine. Also, Patty had contacts in the Sports world through her ex-husband. We enlisted superstar Lawrence Taylor to help us bring in new draftees. They were going to have a lot of money shortly. We hosted a grand party in Houston for Lawrence and his guests. The evening ended with Lawrence inviting fellow Houstonian Lacy Baird and me to an all-black nightclub. When we walked in, there was a pause in the action until Lawrence put his arms around the two of us (the only white people in the bar) and walked us to the middle of the dance floor. 

 

Every party we staged was a sell-out; we had everyone from soap stars to horse people. We were trying to deliver everyone to this auction. Gray Davis, the then-California Attorney General, helped us promote, and we had celebrities assisting in many capacities. Bill Devane was our announcer, Joan Rivers presented horses, and Misdee Wrigley read the pedigrees. One of my favorite memories of the night was Joan showing one of the charity lots, in a floor-length sequined gown, she came around the corner to make a pass with her horse and bellowed out, "Are we making any damn money?" as she trotted off to the opposite end. Two of the lots that sold that evening were *Pesenka and Anitaa, both very celebrated Arabian mares. Sadly, AMFAR did not sell one ticket for the evening, and in the end, I was responsible for chateaubriand for 1200 people, a severe dent in my budget.

In the summer of 1988, I showed in shows in  America, South America, and Europe, all the while keeping up my visits with the Gucci Farm. On one of my Gucci farm visits, Paulo purchased the Danish-born Perla DAHS, who went on to be Champion Mare in Scottsdale. The pace was exciting and rewarding. 

In August, I asked Ann McGregor to marry me, adding another exciting element into the mix. Trying to plan a life with Ann surrounded by all of this craziness was a lot to balance. As a flight attendant for American Airlines, Ann was able to meet me when and where we could.

Going into the final leg of the show season, the US Nationals, I felt as though I had overextended by a lot. But there was this show. Paulo and his wife were coming, and I focused on taking care of them. I booked rooms at the Seelbach, talked Ann into coming, and tried hard to get the horses ready for the show. I picked up Paulo and Jenny at the airport; they seemed very excited to be there. When we settled into the hotel, Paulo asked me if I had heard he bought a new horse. No, I hadn't. He was excited to see his new mare, Amber Satin, shown. Surprise! She was undeniably a great addition to his mares and one that I had the pleasure of showing for him later to the title of World Champion Mare in Paris. Here in Louisville, she was named US National Champion Mare with David Boggs. I showed the mare My Mavica, half-sister to Amber Satin, to Top Ten; she is notable for producing the stallion Encore Ali, a formidable sire later in Brazil. As a sidebar, Jenny Gucci, in her noteworthy humor, while sitting with Ann, said, "Let me see your ring." Examining, she let Ann know, "The good stuff would come later."

1988 was coming to an end, but not before a wedding: Anns and mine. Then off to the Florida Circuit, Paris, Buenos Aires, Punta Del Este, and Rio De Janeiro, topped off with a New Year's Eve Party in Los Angeles.