Dear Readers: Although there is a change in leadership, the heart and soul of The Equiery will remain the same. The women you’ve come to know and love, who are the core of the publication, are here to serve you, and we will feature one per week for the next 4 weeks. I am so privileged to have had these women on my team, and I know and trust that they will continue to serve our readers, advertisers and community well. Before I go, I would like you to know a little bit more about who they really are, their roles within the team, and why I admire each so very much. – Crystal Brumme Pickett, Publisher/Editor 1991-2017
Tracy McKenna – 26 Years with The Equiery
Tracy McKenna, with her retired gun dogs Zephyr and Shade, celebrates 25 years with The Equiery; IJK Photo
Advertising Account Manager/Database & IT Management/Proofreader
When she joined The Equiery in 1992, Tracy McKenna was a part-time Latin teacher in a private high school and was mucking stalls. Naturally inquisitive, highly intellectual with a ferocious memory, Tracy quickly overcame her initial shyness with both people and computers to become The Doyenne of the Databases as well as The Equiery’s unofficial office hostess, always a welcoming presence to callers and visitors, and providing customer care at its finest.
For 25 years, Tracy has tended to the needs of Equiery clients, whether it is helping them place their ads or helping them research some arcane problem. When clients call, they know they will have Tracy’s undivided attention and that she will take care of them. She knows the history of every client.
As the obvious niece of both Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher, Tracy has a keen ability to track down answers to caller queries, no matter how arcane. Her adroit mental acuity, propensity for puzzles and her relentless talent for solving mysteries has led her to embrace and conquer technology, making her The Equiery’s go-to IT person, which is quite ironic given that, when she started at The Equiery, she was afraid to turn on the computer lest she broke it. I was not surprised to see her embrace overseeing and managing all of our software and hardware, and serving as our domain-name and website liaison with Entice Design.
Meanwhile, her Latin background serves the team well as our in-house proofreader, for everything from ads to editorial.
Tracy came of age in Florida riding saddle seat. After graduating from The College of the Holy Cross and settling in Maryland, Tracy acquired Max, a Morgan gelding (or Max acquired her). Max (Myrrhwood Madison) had a good, long life with Tracy, in which the duo dabbled in eventing, dressage, and trail riding.
Over the years, Tracy has become a fixture in the secretary’s office and jump judging for local horse trials. She recently served on the Maryland Horse Industry Board’s Equine Elementary School Curriculum Committee and on a subcommittee for Maryland Fund For Horses.
The Equiery’s late copyeditor/proofreader Anne Moe was a prolific, award-winning knitter; as is former Equiery contributor and Washington Post staffer Kathy Blumentsock. Both encouraged and nurtured Tracy’s interest – and as a result The Equiery has become aware of a resurgent sub-culture of horsewomen “stitch and knit” groups. Who knew?!
Without a doubt, Tracy is one of the kindest, most dedicated, hardest working and intelligent women I have ever had the privileged to know. Fate works in mysterious ways. I am grateful to the late Susan Hansen of Potomac Glen Riding School, and to Lyne Morgan (The Surrey), who brought Tracy into my life, the life of The Equiery, and the life of the Maryland equestrian community.
