Judge Cindy Rucker Retires
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34 – November/December, 2022
By Brittany Bevis
After more than two decades spent officiating at some of the premier horse shows in the country, widely respected judge Cindy Rucker has announced her retirement from the sport. For years, Cindy has been a fixture as a headline judge at events like the Quarter Horse Congress, AQHA World Show, NSBA World Show, and APHA World Show, having held credentials with associations like APHA, ApHC, AQHA, NRCHA, NRHA, NSBA, and PtHA.
2022 will mark the final time she will step into the arena with clipboard in hand as she plans to retire later this year in order to spend more time traveling with her husband and competing with her French Bulldogs. As Cindy reflects upon what her time spent in the equine industry has meant to both her and her family, she feels both nostalgic and grateful.
A Legacy in the Horse Industry
“We had horses when I was a kid and, when I got older, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Cindy says. “For several years, I worked for many different trainers, and I actually met my husband, Scot, because he was the hay man. We’ve been married 30 years and have the best time. We’ve always worked together in the horse business, and we had a hay business together.”
Cindy and Scot purchased a horse farm to serve as a home base where she trained horses and gave lessons in All-Around, Halter and Reining–and he hauled hay. “We worked like dogs,” she says. “We ended up later selling the horse farm and built our first pet supply retail store in Cumming, Georgia. Then we built three more stores and had 50-plus employees. It was a booming business. Then somebody came along and wanted to buy all four stores, so we sold them in 2018.”
Learning how to be retired was initially a challenge for both Cindy and Scot. The couple had worked 60-80 hour weeks for many years while running the stores. Somehow, Cindy still found time to judge three horse shows a month.
Click here to read the complete article
34 – November/December, 2022
