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The Life Celebration for Sue Sally Hale was held at Empire Polo Club on Sunday, May 4th. Over 200 people attended and it was a beautiful day. Stormy, Sunny and Dawn, Sue Sal's daughters, attended the Life Celebration (Sunny was late flying in, they held up the start of the service, waiting for her). About 20-25 people got up to speak about Sue Sally. There were 4 USPA Governors, Gov. at large, and 2 former Circuit Gov. there as well as everyone from Indo, L.A. , Poway, Lakeside, and Northern Calif. Many thanks to the friends of Sue Sally Hale who worked so hard to make this Memorial Service so special on such short notice. Thank you to all those that attended and the wonderful people who shared some of their experiences and memories of Sue Sally with all of us. --Russ Sheldon
In the 80's I was involved in a tournament game as the umpire. I was green and everyone knew it. Of course I was encouraged by Sal.In one play the opposing pro swung a nearside back shot-hard-missing the ball and hitting Sal in the jaw. I stopped the game and rode to Sal;her mouth was bleeding and I asked if she was O.K. She simply spat out a tooth and said she was fine, and could we just have a throw in. That's who Sue Sally Hale was. -- Bruce Gaither Sue Sal was my soul mate. She made more sense to me than any person I've ever known. I met her for the first time at the fairgrounds in Paso Robles while we both attended a horse trials in Templeton, and we became fast friends. As often as I could, I would haul up to her barn in Carmel Valley to spend time riding and learning from her. What wonderful times those were - riding in the truck piled high with kids and dogs, forging the river on our horses to get from the barn to the house, galloping over the 40 acres of cross-country jumps, stick & balling on the polo field, and going together to see Star Wars for the first time. She was the best of friends and a terrific teacher ("more leg, Nancy, more leg!"). I loved Sal, and I loved her kids. When Sal moved to Texas, to develop women's polo at Willow Bend, I tagged along. What an experience! We (Sal, me, and her kids) lived in an old farmhouse a couple of miles from the club. We turned our horses out in a large pasture next to the house and usually ponied our horses over to the club for work or games. This was the summer of 1980 - heat wave in Plano, where the days were 113 degrees every day for six weeks. Then to make matters worse, the well went dry - we would all take turns getting in the shower to let a few cupfuls of water dribble over us. Temps at night "cooled" down to 80 - we slept with fans on us. We hauled in water for the horses daily, and a little for ourselves. But we had a really great time and a lot of laughs in spite of the heat, lack of water, and tornado warnings - we even survived the snake that lived in the tree. Sal never lost her positive attitude and good humor about the situation - a hallmark of her personality. Some years later, in Moorpark, I would join Sal & Company again to ride and laugh and work hard at all we did. I have but one regret - over the years, after I moved away to Oregon and Sal moved to the desert, we lost touch. I have been thinking about Sal a lot the last few months, feeling a great need to contact her and check in - but I waited too long. I still feel a part of Sal in me and always will. Sal was a one-of-a-kind human being - as good as it gets. I love you, Sue Sal - happy trails! Nancy Wild ("Nanny" to Sal)
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To all that attended mom's celebration of life service in person and in spirit I would like to extend my deepest gratitude. Thank you for your comforting words and thoughts. I would like to extend a special thank you to Fred Russell for driving her horses to the field one last time for she would have wanted her animals to be with her. To all those that went the extra mile on her behalf on Sunday, I thank you. Each face that I saw brought back memories of different moments in her life and they were many. She lived a full and passionate life, she played hard, she worked hard and she did it her way. She was my idol, mentor, taskmaster and most of all my mom. I love you mom and will miss you forever. --Stormie
I want to say thank you to all of the people who gave ther time and effort to make the celebration of life for mom happen , she would have been proud !! Knowing how many lives she touched and how many people she gave a leg-up to is what made her so special and so unique.The Hale family is in the process of organizing an annual polo tournament to be held in her honor and a memorial fund has been set up to help make this happen .Once again thank you to everyone for making such a beautiful ceremony to celebrate such a special person who was loved by so many. --Sunny Hale I wanted to thank everyone who was always there for my mother. I was always afraid she'd be alone and was so happy to be wrong. I was touched by all the incredible stories everyone shared with me and my wife when we came up to the ranch. We loved seeing all the wonderful friends she had and the love that everyone felt. I have been reading this memorial since it was started and it brings a tear to my eye to remember all the adventures she got into and would come home to tell. I wanted to thank everyone for the phone calls of support and the flowers we recieved. Thank you also for all the help out at the ranch and helping to find loving homes for all those four legged animals she called family. My 3 year old son, Connor, has been asking where his grandma went and it has been hard to explain to him. He wants to know when she will be back so he can ride in her golf cart, feed the horses, and put the water in the holes(to catch those "critters" that make holes in the polo field). I hold him each night and share pictures of him and my mom together hoping that he will someday understand. I still don't understand. One minute she was there and now she has moved on. I am happy that she is no longer in pain. Her poor feet no longer ache and all those sore muscles from her long days at the ranch will not bother her anymore. Mom, I love you and will miss you so much. I will always tell Connor and Logan(soon to be born) about you and the incredible adventures you shared with others and the love for animals that you had. We love you mom and we thank everyone for your love and support. --Trails Hale and Family Finally I have arived at this web page after being through all I have rececently encountered ,which I still can,t beleive is true !!! First I would like to say I LOVE YOU MOM !!! Secondly I would like to say Thank You to all that could attended and those that couldn,t attend for you support. I have lost the Best of Friends, Vista Santa Rosa has lost its Steadfast Leader (chairman of our community council), Polo has lost its Grande Dame, the U.S. has lost a True Patriot, and the World has lost a Great Lady. --Ellen Lloyd Trover
If you would like to post a message about Sue Sally Hale on this Virtual Memorial please e-mail your submission to lynn@polobarn.com. |
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