The Kennedy Ladies Take the Horse Show World By Storm
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By Barbara Aitken Jenkins
A description of the Kennedy family might include words like unified, close-knit, strong, independent, and talented. The family of four, consisting of Phillip, Anne, and their daughters, Taylor and Camille, have taken the horse show world by storm, building a foundation of knowledge, hard work, and success that’s showing up in the show pen.
Anne grew up in sunny southern California, where it was popular to hop on a bus after school and head to jumping lessons at the local barn. Her grandfather, who worked in California’s movie industry, had a ranch and raised cattle as his hobby. Anne remembers visiting her grandparents’ ranch on the weekends and riding horses. Phillip, a native of the northwest wilds of Redmond, Washington, also grew up riding horses, describing his mounts as “ranch ponies.” Although both Anne and Phillip describe their experiences with horses as “casual,” they liked the idea enough to let their oldest daughter begin taking horseback riding lessons when she was six years old.
“Taylor loved it, and she wanted a horse. It’s not a lot of fun in the winter in Washington, though,” Anne says. “It’s wet, cold, and miserable. But we told her that if she consistently rode, we would look at getting her a horse. I would sit in that viewing room, and I would [pretend to] move in the saddle with her as I watched her through the glass. One day, I remember that Taylor came to me after her lesson and admitted that she wasn’t having fun, despite loving horses. I asked her what would make it better. She looked at me and said, ‘If you would ride with me.’ So, we bought Taylor her first horse, and I knew I wanted my own horse. Meanwhile, Camille, at three years old was sitting there, just taking it all in.”
Anne and Phillip made Camille sit on the sidelines until she was five years old, and then they purchased her a pony. Before they knew it, all three Kennedy gals were riding, lessoning, and started dipping their boots into some local shows. Like so many other families, they fell in love with showing horses.
