Meet Ann

Ann Byrns will tell you she inherited her love for horses from her mother, Winnie, and that horses “fuel her blood.”

Ann Byrns' mother, Winnie Byrns

In 1925, when her grandparents decided to leave the dry Estancia Valley in New Mexico for the lush western slopes of the Colorado mountains, Ann’s mother mounted up and drove the family horses, mules and cows from Santa Fe County, NM, to Delta County, Colorado—a distance of over 500 miles. She was only twelve years old.

Ann’s mother started teaching her to ride at the age of four. Summers away from home in California were spent on the farms and ranches of her Colorado relatives.

When Ann was twelve, her mother purchased two mares and one of them, a three year-old half-Arabian named Sheba, became her favorite horse. By her mid-teens, Ann had participated in numerous horse shows, trail rides, gymkhana events, and started her first colt. Later, Ann switched from Western to English riding due to an interest in jumping. When she wasn’t riding or in school, you could find her in dance class, or practicing yoga learned from books.

4-year old Ann learning to ride

College brought Ann to New England where she earned a two year degree in media technology before returning to California to complete her bachelors in communications. In 1981 she married, and after the birth of her daughter a year later, Ann landed her first job in the media field. In 1983 her son was born.

When her marriage ended after six years, Ann returned to New England with her children. She worked for the Town of West Hartford as a photographer and graphic artist before beginning her career as a media producer for the University of Connecticut in Storrs. While there, she earned a masters degree in fine arts, with an emphasis in writing. Her daughter demonstrated a love of horses, too, and both took advantage of opportunities to ride at the UConn Horse Barn. Her son shared Ann’s love of the outdoors and enjoyed challenging mountain hikes. Ann continued to practice yoga and served as the instructor for the UConn Yoga Club twice a week after work.

Ann walking in India

In 1999, Ann received a six month paid leave from the University to conduct some research in India, a place she’d visited years earlier, at the age of 19. In 2001, haunted by experiences overseas and the recent death of her mother at home, Ann left her University job and went to live in India for two years. There she participated in service work, meditated, took advantage of opportunities to ride mules and horses, and pursued her personal spiritual quest. On one pilgrimage, she walked more than 240 kilometers alone in the Himalayas, carrying her belongings atop her head, Indian style.

After returning to the USA in July of 2003, Ann, now over 50, found it nearly impossible to re-enter the media field. She began looking at business opportunities. Her sister, also over 50 and out of work due to a company layoff, decided to join Ann in the store venture. Five years later the store failed, leaving both sisters bankrupt.

In the midst of this business nightmare, there was one bright spot, the mustang filly Ann adopted in 2007 and named in her mother’s memory, Winnie.