BY HOLLY CLANAHAN, AMERICA'S HORSE ASSISTANT EDITOR
 |
| Sherry Wayne of Taylors, South Carolina, and Gold Card Whiz |
If Sherry Wayne comes across as cool and collected in the show pen, that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Whether she’s directing jets at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina or piloting one of her reining horses, it’s all about control.
Sherry has worked as an air-traffic controller since 1981, when President Reagan fired more than 11,000 striking air-traffic controllers who refused to return to work. Sherry had been waiting to get into veterinary school but decided to take advantage of the opportunity offered to her at Pittsburgh International Airport, which she lived near at the time.
She was the first woman to become an air-traffic controller at the Pittsburgh airport, as well as the first person there with no aviation background to meet the rigorous standards set for the occupation.
“It is a stressful job,” she said, “but it’s not everyday stresses people probably imagine. When a plane has an emergency and, really, we cannot help them, other than give them confidence and give them the best directions to the closest airport and get them on the ground, that’s stressful. Or bad weather. I would rather go to work on a beautiful, clear day than a thunderstorm day.”
So she appreciates the relaxing nature of working with horses.
“Air traffic control is to control, so there are a lot of comparisons between (it and) reining, which is to control every movement, basically. I showed dressage a bit before that, and it’s the same thing. That’s the addiction, and you’re going against a standard.”
Sherry works in a management position at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport, training new people and working in quality assurance while still doing air traffic control. It’s a Monday-through-Friday job that allows her to go to weekend shows with her horse-trainer husband, Ronnie.
“I’m living the dream,” she said. “I wanted a real J-O-B, and then time to show my horses.”
Sherry brought two horses to show in amateur reining, One Tuf Muffin, a 2000 mare by Lil Ruf Peppy who has won more than $41,000 in the National Reining Horse Association; and Gold Card Whiz, a 1999 palomino stallion by Topsail Whiz who has won more than $31,000 in the NRHA and is a Palomino Horse Breeders of America world champion.
Sherry hopes to soon have a reiner that will combine the best traits of both these horses – she bred them and is now awaiting a 2008 baby.
“They’re both awesome individuals,” Sherry said. “She’s just been phenomenal, and he has a lot of wonderful qualities. … We are (excited about the baby). We’ve got a whole list of names already.” The favorite thus far is Ive Been Carded.
Sherry showed both horses in the preliminaries of amateur reining on November 5 and missed making the finals with “Gold Card” by a heart-breaking half point. But she’ll be back competing at the NRHA Futurity in December, where she and Gold Card are among the top 10 in the non-pro division.
The amateur reining finals at the AQHA World Show will be November 7. Watch for results on www.aqha.com.
