OCET People
Sue Clark
Sue is an employee of Stonehall Farm where she serves as stable manager to Ms.
Jacqueline Mars and Karen and David O
’Connor. Her first and most important duty is responsibility for the care and
well being of all the horses at Stonehall, be they Polo ponies, Foxhunters,
young stock, or Event horses.
Sue also oversees all the other Stonehall employees and says that it is her
responsibility to help them reach their potential, to build their confidence so
they can be the best they can be. She facilitates the breeding programs (the
Irish, South Carolina and Virginia programs),
and keeps up good communication with the sponsors. She also
organizes all the horses’
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“In this job, I get to make a big difference in lives – whether it is human or equine.”
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travels – to competitions, overseas and to Florida each winter. In addition to all that,
she is in charge of the daily routine of scheduling vets, farriers and equine
dentists, ordering supplies, and keeping the stable running smoothly.
“And occasionally” she says, “I even have time to ride.”
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“No matter how crappy, long or hectic a day has been, being able to walk right
out the door and touch a horse you love turns it around for you
– and we have some very special horses in this barn.”
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Sue was born in England, but moved to Germany with her family when she was a
small child. It was in Germany, at the age of 8, that Sue first began to ride
horses. The family returned to England when Sue was a teenager, and she worked
at a horse yard with Foxhunters, Point to Point Racers and a Therapeutic Riding
program. This English horse yard became Sue
’s home away from home, and she remembers it
fondly.
When Sue graduated from high school, the family moved to Ohio, where she
attended Otterbein College, majoring in Equine Science. After college, she took
her warmblood to the East Coast to compete in Dressage and Eventing. She
planned to compete her horse for a few years, and then return to Ohio to attend
veterinary school. While competing on the east coast, she continued to work
with horses, with an English vet in his racehorse practice.
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“So little of what I do everyday is actually directly with horses, but it is all
about them. You do this job because you love the horses.
”
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She first met Ms. Mars in the summer of 1992. Ms. Mars was sponsoring the rider
that Sue was grooming for at the Essex Three-Day Event. Ms. Mars eventually
asked Sue to work at her farm in New Jersey as the stable manager. Within a
year of taking the position, Ms. Mars purchased a new farm, in The Plains,
Virginia, and asked Sue to move with her, to continue running her stable. Sue
visited the new farm and the surrounding area and agreed to continue her job
for one year, to help Ms. Mars and her horses acclimate themselves to their new
home.
At the time, Sue had no intention of staying in Virginia. When the first year
was up, Ms. Mars again came to Sue and asked her to stay another year, this
time because David and Karen O
’Connor wanted to return to the states from England, and they were moving
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“I used to have to commute from New Jersey to New York, a 45 mile distance. Now I
get to live at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, any my commute is walking
my dog in the morning before work.
”
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“This is a great job, because no two days are the same. That is thanks to the
horses. It is wonderful to get to do something you are passionate about.
”
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into Ms. Mars' barn. She needed Sue to help blend the two businesses. Sue
agreed, for one more year. Sue doesn
’t remember when she decided to stay in Virginia, but at some point the job
became permanent, and Virginia became home.
