2017 Hall of Fame Inductee: Ruth Massey
** Below is the Hall of Fame Induction Speech for Ruth Massey. Ms. Massey was inducted into the MFTHBA Hall of Fame on September 9, 2017**
2017 Hall of Fame Inductee: Ruth Massey
©MFTHBA
1969 was an important year for Dr. Ruth Massey. It was the year that she first attended the Celebration. From that moment, she was hooked on the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse. The very next year, she made her first appearance in the arena showing a yearling model gelding named Sailor Boy. This love of horses would eventually lead to her becoming a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
In 1972 she purchased a mare named Chocolate Drop. This mare would serve as the foundation for her breeding program. Dr. Massey is currently showing the 6th and 7th generations, all leading back to Chocolate Drop.
Still today, Dr. Massey is active in showing the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse. She has showed in both performance and model classes at the Celebration as well as participating in many local saddle clubs promoting the breed.
Horses bred by Dr. Massey have not only been successful in MFTHBA competition but they have also served as ambassadors for the breed. Her mare Yankee’s Chocolate Chip represented the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse breed at the celebration of the 10′” anniversary of the Kentucky Horse Park. In 1992 Yankee’s Chocolate Chip represented the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse breed at the Ocala Equine Festival. The following year her horse As You Like It, represented the breed at the very same event.
Easy Street, a gelding she bred, raised and showed, was Missouri Fox Trotter representative in Parade of Breeds at Kentucky Horse Park 1989. He was also the fox trotter in the Ultimate Horse Book, 1991 edition and an inset in 2002 edition. Easy Street was the August 1995 pinup in the Ultimate Horse Calendar.
In 2013, the Manna Pro calendar featured Yankee’s Razzle Dazzle and foal.
These promotional efforts introduced countless people to the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse and helped grow the Association.
Professionally as a veterinarian, she has also helped education MFTHBA members and others within the horse community. She has authored countless papers on various equine topics, participated in MFTHBA sponsored education events and written articles for inclusion in MFTHBA sponsored publications.
Dr. Massey has been an active supporter the MFTHBA. With Carol Sapp she established the youth equitation award which was handed out between 1983 and 1988. She also utilized her technical expertise to help modify the MFTHBA Rule Book to include guidelines for shipped semen as a method of approved breeding. An amateur photographer, Dr. Massey also has provided the Association photos for its use, many of which have been used to help promote the breed.
In recognition for her dedication to the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse, efforts to promote the breed, and upon recommendation of the MFTHBA Board of Directions, we welcome Dr. Ruth Massey to the MFTHBA Hall of Fame.
©MFTHBA