As a young girl, Amelita would secret herself in her bedroom closet with Volume H of the encyclopedia. Enchanted by the magnificent creatures that galloped through the page, stirring her soul. Contrary to the family tradition of a medical career, Amelita followed her lyrical nature into the performing arts. Her fantasies were supplanted by the realities of a career until one cold February morning, many years and a thousand miles from her childhood; a neighbor in casual conversation invited her to go riding with her.
Dreams and reality converged into the one perfect 'God moment' as her friend introduced her to a horse she would ride that day; Bandits’s LadyBug. Within six months, LadyBug would be hers and Amelita was on her way to her deepest dream. LadyBug became Amelita’s angel through personal and professional challenges, brightening the dark, refreshing her spirit, and giving her courage to preserve.
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” ~Winston Churchill.
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In 1990 a robbery at the stable, horses, tack, and trailers taken, save Ladybird. Amelita pondered this remarkable fate as she threw herself into the recovery efforts of the other owners.
‘Bystanders have the opportunity to lead the crowd toward empathy or indifference,’ said James A. Michener. Amelita knew then she would make it her life mission to lead, educate other horse owners, and make a difference.
Over the following years, she was instrumental in the research/development of an RFID program for equids within the Federal National ID Program. She was successful in the passage of a Horse Inspection Program in Texas. The measure was signed into law in September 1997 by then-Texas Governor George W. Bush.
Her work on this topic resulted in her being featured in an episode of Walt Disney’s The Crusaders.
In 1999, BloodHorse published her first Handbook on Horse ID and Theft Prevention. All royalties go to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation.
When LadyBug suffered a close brush with death from colic surgery, Amelita, true to her spirit, immersed herself in Equine Science and Veterinary Medicine providing support for recovery, as LadyBug had done for her.
Equine sciences and microbiology seemed a perfect fit for Amelita's chosen path, which took her to study at Texas A&M as well as Colorado State.
