Support for Trudy Glefke

Our dear friend Trudy Glefke is critically ill and needs help from our community.

Whether you know her as a friend, colleague, mentor, coach, trainer - or hero - it is clear that Trudy has been a larger-than-life presence in the US Hunter and Jumper world for decades. She has trained numerous champions at the biggest US shows and has coached horses and riders to many national year-end awards and top placings at all the major equitation finals. Most recently, she coached New Mexico rider Sarah Invicta Williams-Echols to 1.30m and 1.40m jumper ring wins at WEC in Florida this past winter.

Trudy has given help to others – both human and equine – in so many ways and for so many years, and now it is our turn to help her.

About three weeks ago, Trudy was rushed to the hospital after being found unconscious by a friend. She has been battling serious kidney issues as well as systemic sepsis, has undergone emergency kidney surgery, and will continue to be hospitalized for the foreseeable future. Trudy also has a large abdominal mass that is causing her a great deal of pain. While the good news is that it is not cancerous, she will need further surgery as the mass is causing pressure on her kidneys and other internal organs.

When Trudy is stable enough to leave the hospital, she will need to spend time at an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Following rehabilitation, Trudy will need to find a safe and stable place to live, as well as assistance with mobility and day-to-day care.

While Trudy has Medicare coverage and has had a very successful career as a horsewoman, she has very little in savings. Sadly, even in the best-case scenario in her recovery, she will be unable to teach lessons or clinics anymore, so will not have any source of income.

The reason that Trudy does not have a lot of money in the bank is the reason that many of us love her so much: while living in New Mexico for 22 years, Trudy devoted herself completely to saving thousands of horses from slaughter, and every extra penny she had – as well as countless hours of her hard work and energy - went toward their care and rehabilitation. Many of the horses that Trudy saved went on to have successful show careers, work as beloved lesson program schoolmasters, or become trusted trail partners. I cannot think of another human who has done as much as Trudy to save the lives of horses that have fallen through the cracks through no fault of their own. All of us horse people owe Trudy a huge debt of gratitude for all that she has done.

Trudy’s greatest wish is to spend her final years in her beloved New Mexico, surrounded by friends. Currently, she is hospitalized in Florida and will need transportation to New Mexico for herself and her two elderly rescue dogs and will need to find a place to live. Trudy has expressed to me as she enters hospice that she just wants to die “at home” in New Mexico.

It is time for our community to come together, show Trudy how much we appreciate her, and help her through this transition. Every dollar collected in this fundraiser will be used directly for Trudy’s ongoing medical care and comfort.