Congratulations to Jan Pittman and Ona Good Impulse on winning the Select Western Pleasure at the Congress with three firsts and a third. This is the third win in a row for Jan and Imp in the Select Western Pleasure at the Congress. This performance will be the last time Pittman and this outstanding mare will be in a show ring together. Pittman spoke to GoHorseShow.com right after her win, and broke the news that the mare will be retired to her farm in Florida. What a way to go out!
“She was so good today,” Pittman remarks. “It is a great way to end her show career. I believe my go today is the best she has ever been, and I look forward to raising more of her babies. We will be doing some embryo transfers next year, and, eventually, I would like for her to be a mom before she turns 10.”
GoHorseShow.com congratulates Jan on her success and look forward to seeing her in the show ring on a new ride.
If you haven’t read the article about her life story where we featured her a few months back–it is definitely worth a read. Check it out below.
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Recently, we have profiled some compelling individuals in the industry, but Jan may just take the cake. Her childhood experiences and family background read like a movie script. Please check out her amazing life story!
As the AQHA Select World is underway, we have chosen to profile someone who is not only one of the top Select Amateur Exhibitors in the industry, but whose background and upbringing is unlike most others. Jan Shepherd Pittman of Panama City, Florida comes into Amarillo the two-time defending champion in Western Pleasure with her home-bred mare, Ona Good Impulse. Yet, many people are probably not aware of Pittman’s background outside of the horse show ring. Recently, we have profiled some compelling individuals in the industry, but Jan may just take the cake. Her childhood experiences and family background read like a movie script.
Jan is the first to admit that her childhood was nothing like the Waltons or the Brady Bunch. She was born in Phenix City, Alabama which was known in the 1950’s as “Sin City.” She lived in Alabama during the summer months, and Florida during the winter due large in part to her larger-than-life father. “My father hated cold weather, and horse racing was a big part of our life. So, much of my childhood was spent in Miami Beach.”
Her father, Hoyt Shepherd, owned casinos, was a professional gambler, political strategist, and real estate developer. He has also been linked to organized crime and was known by many during this time as the gambling kingpin of Phenix City’s vice district.
When asked whether her father was involved with organized crime, Jan paused and, explained, “I guess that depends on who you talk to. There are a few books about him and a movie. I have been told that one of the books released a few years ago has already sold the movie rights. I have very mixed feelings about the books and movies. I guess the one thing it has taught me is not to judge people by who their family may be.”
Jan said that her father was all business, but that he liked to play practical jokes on his friends at any cost. “He also had funny sayings like ‘if you let an old dog hang around long enough you will learn to love it.’ Now I understand what he meant–Be careful who your spouse spends a lot of time with. Another saying of his was, ‘Many people may read books, but they do not know how to read people.’ I guess that is why he was known as the ‘gambling kingpin of the South.’ He could read people. Back in the 50’s, he won over $250,000 in a poker game by reading the faces of the other players. But, the most important thing my dad taught me was loyalty, and to always take care of your family. He had 12 siblings and bought every one of them their first home.”
“Growing up I thought I was like everyone else,” Jan said. “Little did I know my life was very different from my peers. Because of my fathers business, I had body guards that took me to school. They were always around. I just didn’t know why they were there. I even attended Catholic school (I was not Catholic), because the nuns offered security and protection,” she said. “I was not allowed to play Monopoly or any game with dice or cards. Even though my life was different, my family was close. My parents had to work very hard to make sure that we didn’t know that we were different.”
Still, there was a particular incident that happened when she was younger when she realized that her family was not the normal run-of-the-mill. “I remember at a check-out counter, as a teenager, a cute guy asked me if I was local. I told him yes. He then asked me, ‘Why don’t I know you? What is your name?’ When I told him my name, he said ‘Oh, that’s why I don’t know you.'”
Her mother, Josephine Shepherd, was a homemaker and horse show mom. “She was beautiful inside and out,” Jan fondly recalls. “I remember going into a very upscale department store when I was young, and they locked the doors because they thought she was a movie star. I was very close to my mother. When she passed away three years ago, I lost my best friend.”
Pittman was also blessed with two remarkable brothers. One is a real-estate developer, and the other is a concert pianist. She remembers that it was amazing growing up with a brother who could play the piano. “I could listen to him for hours. While he was visiting with me at the beach this summer, he made an observation. He said you know we are both performers, just a different audience.”
Education was also important to Jan. She received a Master’s Degree in Psychology and had started a doctoral program in Atlanta, Georgia when she met her husband. When she got married and moved to Florida, she had to discontinue her program. She met her husband, C. Wes Pittman, when she owned outpatient rehab programs in Atlanta. Wes had sent a client to her for evaluation. She worked with him about two years before they ever had a date. Her husband is a personal injury attorney, but he also has a Master’s in chemistry.
“Unfortunately, my husband is so busy he can’t attend many of my horse shows. He specializes in catastrophic cases that require him to travel. He is frequently involved in cases in other states throughout the U.S. and in foreign jurisdictions, including England, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Much of his time is spent on class action cases involving faulty products, pharmaceuticals, vitamins and minerals. He is listed as one of Florida’s top 100 personal injury attorneys and is a Million Dollar Advocate.”
While Jan’s passion is horses, her husband, Wes, also has several fascinating hobbies. He enjoys fly fishing and photography. He is also an avid aviator and has always flown planes. He also enjoys flying helicopters, and navigating hot air balloons. About ten years ago, they went to the Albuquerque Balloon Feast. “While there, we talked about my passion for horses and how he needed a passion he could enjoy. Next thing I knew, we were up in a hot air balloon.”
This couple has also been fortunate in their family life. Wes and Jan have three grown children. Their oldest daughter has her PhD in industrial psychology, and the youngest is a CPA. Her son is a Captain of a ship that requires him to travel back and forth from Africa. He grew up on the water.
“I knew he would be a pilot. I just was not sure if it would be aviation or maritime. He attended NorthWest Michigan University Maritime Academy, in Traverse City, Michigan.”
Jan adds, “He even got chased by pirates earlier this year!”
The couple also have two lovely granddaughters, Sayler and Lanie. “I am keeping my fingers crossed that one will be an equestrian, and I can be a horse show grand-mom,” the proud Grandma says.
Like most little girls, Pittman fell in love with horses at an early age. “My dad bought me a little white trick pony name Max when I was 10 Years-Old. That little pony brought me so much joy. I wish I could find one like him for my granddaughter. It was one of the best presents I ever received.”
Jan mentions that she enjoys the horse industry because she loves the excitement of showing. “I believe it played a major role in my surviving cancer. It gave me a reason to refocus,” she said. “I have also made many life-long friends that I would have never known if I had not been involved in the horse industry.”
Pittman was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32 with four positive lymph nodes. “I was told by my doctors that I was in a gray area. I knew what that meant… I just made up my mind that I was not going to crawl up in a corner and die without a fight. I cried a lot, prayed a lot and spent a lot of time with my horses. I am living proof that miracles do happen.”
These days she spends time with her current mount Ona Good Impulse (“Imp”). This gorgeous sorrel mare who is by Impulsions out of Zippos Good Image is a six year-old mare that Pittman raised. She has earned over $40,000 prize money in both AQHA and NSBA. Winning back to back World Championship titles and the 3 Year-Old Non Pro in the Western Pleasure at the Congress are Jan’s proudest equine accomplishments to date. Additionally, Imp was shown by Candy Parrish to a third in the Junior Pleasure at the 2008 AQHA World Show. As a Two-Year-Old, she placed in the top-10 in Two Year-Old Snaffle Bit with Tina Kaven.
“It is rare that you have a horse that loves to show, and she loves to show. Imp will give you her heart,” Jan said. “Bret Parrish told me she was the best show horse he had ever had in his barn.”
Coming up this week, Jan and Imp are vying to win the Select Amateur Western Pleasure at the World Show for the third time in a row. Her future goals are to continue showing, to take western riding lessons, and to serve on some of the amateur committees. Jan mentions that she would also like to help start up various slot classes that offer larger money prizes for non-pro riders. She is also looking forward to breeding and raising some babies out of her mare and her mare’s full sister.
Jan recalls that one of her favorite horse show memories was when her husband surprised her at the Congress and watched her win the 3 Year-Old Non Pro on her mare. Maybe he will surprise her again this year if she makes it to the finals at the Select World Show. We wish Jan and Imp luck in the preliminaries this week and thank her for sharing her fascinating story!
Photos courtesy of KC Montgomery
