Where does the course of a destiny begin? Where does one embark upon life’s journey that will lead to all that is meant to be?
For Terry Anne Boggs (nee Minster) it all began one summer day in Western New York at a horse farm owned by Carol and Ron Gefell, Terry Anne’s aunt and uncle. On that fortuitous occasion, the four-year-old Terry Anne fell in love for the first time. As you might guess, she was smitten not with a mere human, but instead with her first equine beaux. Among these was a handsome bay Standardbred gelding named Toby who stole the little girl’s heart and set her on a course that would ultimately lead her to the life she shares today with her husband, three daughters and son––horse lovers one and all! But that’s getting ahead of the story. Let’s step back and follow the path from then to now.
Vying for prime position in the heart of the youthful horsewoman, were a number of worthy equine suitors. In addition to Toby, there was Rouski, an ornery Shetland pony, a pinto named Pal and her first jumper, another Standardbred called Charlie. As often happens when a girl-child’s heart is captured by the horse, Terry Anne’s destiny was sealed during those early years and an exciting journey began.
From Rouski the little rider learned balance and even more than that, patience! Shetlands are NOT known for their manners and sweet dispositions. Charlie is the one she remembers as being exceptionally good and patient with her. “When I was twelve,” she laughs, “I actually convinced Charlie that buckets and poles could be used for jumps. He was so willing and kind. What a dear friend.”
Like all little girls, Terry Anne was given dolls to play with, but she was always more drawn to her models of the Lone Ranger and his horse, Silver. Because she couldn’t interest her Mom and Dad in the horses, Terry Anne even remembers praying, in the way that little kids do, that one day she would meet and marry a man who loved horses as much as she did.
A stunning example of answered prayer, considering the man Terry Anne ultimately met and married!
When she was nine years old, she took her first “formal” riding lessons on a chunky buckskin called Little Man. She wasn’t really interested in the lessons, per se; in fact, with five long years of riding experience under her belt, this youngster was more than mildly offended by such things as her teacher insisting she could only canter on a lunge line. But for this budding equestrienne just about any indignity could be suffered for the sake of spending time aboard a horse.
In 1982, because their niece’s focus had never wavered, Terry Anne’s Aunt Carol and Uncle Ron leased an Arabian gelding to her. During the relatively short duration of that lease, the gelding handily taught his fearless young rider how to fall off gracefully. Not long afterwards, Aunt Carol bought her own first Arabian, a gelding named Tulla that, among other things, would become a show horse for Terry Anne.
At 13, the horse-loving girl finally got a horse of her own, a gelding called Asa who could run faster than any horse she’d ever ridden––and that’s very important when you’re 13. Thanks to Asa, Terry Anne fell in love with gymkhana, and in fairly short order won enough ribbons to decorate her bedroom.
Even throughout her teen aged years when most girls forget about the horses, Terry Anne’s head was never turned. The horses always came first. Throughout those years, she did a lot of trail riding and participating in 4H shows, and she competed in a few Class A events––as always, anything to be around the horses.
Terry Anne’s Mom and Dad never did get into the horses, despite the fact that their daughter could think of little else. “My Dad used to take my brother and me fishing and to car and dirt bike races,” she reminisces. “I still like to fish. And after driving my friend’s B/Mod dirt car, I’d still love to own a racecar.”
When she graduated from high school, Terry Anne was at kind of loose ends. “All my friends knew what they wanted to do with their lives,” she says. “But I hadn’t thought anything about a career. I just wanted to be around the horses.”
Finally, she decided to go to college and study physical therapy––which turned out to be a brief adventure. During her first semester in a human anatomy and physiology class, the teacher brought out kitty cadavers for the students to dissect. That was too much for the inveterate animal lover; and in short order, her foray into higher education came to an end.
Soon thereafter, the adventurous young woman headed west to Scottsdale, a Mecca for all kinds of horses. “I didn’t know what I was going to do out there,” she says, “I just figured I’d find a job doing anything, then I’d find a way to spend time with some of the thousands of horses I’d heard lived in that area.”
For a short time Terry Anne worked at Tony Roma’s. During that stint, she started going to Cechele Arabian Farm where she volunteered her time feeding and doing other chores, just so she could be around the horses. Before long, she was offered a job at Cechele, which she happily accepted.
In what looks––in retrospect––like a natural progression of events (provided you don’t consider the vastness of the area and its equine populace), Terry Anne Minster was introduced to David Boggs.
In 1992, her friend, the late Lorraine Hyde, invited her to go to a Super Bowl party that was being hosted by Midwest Training Centre. At that time, not having been involved for long with Arabian horses or the social scene that surrounds them, Terry Anne knew nothing about David Boggs. “I realize this sounds dumb and naive,” she says, “but I didn’t have the money to subscribe to the magazines and I really just loved all horses, not Arabians in particular. I was so uninformed that I didn’t even know David owned Midwest.”
As it turned out, when they were introduced, David and Terry Anne hit it off immediately. “Neither one of us watched the game,” she remembers. “We just sat and talked for four hours.”
When she went home that night, even though she had no idea that David was at the time the most eligible and sought after bachelor in the Arabian horse community, Terry Anne assumed that a guy this charming must have girlfriends all over the world. Not wanting to get involved with a man who would quite possible break her heart, she tried to put the attraction out of her mind. But God and David had other plans. The next day, David invited her out on a date. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Engaged in 1993, David and Terry Anne were married in 1994 and later that year, became the proud parents of twin girls, Courtney and Lyndsey. Three years later, within two weeks of her sisters’ birthday, Emma Boggs joined the family. Nine years went by before the next addition . . . and what an addition he IS! In June of 2006, Mr. Jake Boggs joined the family and began, from the moment of his birth, taking the world by storm!
From the perspective of this writer (who has know David for three decades) it’s really interesting to see how a man whose target fixation and lifetime passion is the horses, and a woman of the same intense inclination, managed to notice each other in the first place, then to fall in love and enjoy a blessed life together! Add to that the fact that their daughters all share Mom and Dad’s love of the horses and you have a truly remarkable circumstance. But I digress.
At this writing, Terry Anne Boggs has just achieved her most exceptional success at a single show when, at the 2005 Canadian Nationals, she earned three National Championships in AOTH Halter Competition and one Top Ten Championship in English Performance.
Each and every one of the horses she led and rode are special to Terry Anne, but one may stand out just a bit. Only the fourth horse that had belonged to her alone, BP Klassique Bey (by Fairview Classique out of BP Meditation Bey) was her first National Champion in Halter (at both U. S. and Canadian Nationals in 2002). Klassique is also terrific at driving, Country English, and most recently, Show Hack. “He’s an everything-horse,” Terry Anne says. “One of those great ones with the mind and the heart to do whatever you ask of him.”
Although her success in the show ring might indicate that Terry Anne is currently focused on this element of her life, the fact is that everything today revolves around her family.
“David, the girls, and Jake come first,” she says. “Our children will only be young once, and even though the girls have a pact with their Dad that none of them will date until they’re twenty-five, we know they’ll grow up too soon. The girls are wonderful, each different from the other, each special in her own way. And Jake is a force of nature. Truly his father’s son, he’s been a horse lover almost from the moment of his first breath. David and I love them all more than life, so giving them first place in the scheme of things is no challenge. It’s natural.”
Given David’s inordinately busy schedule and his desire to have Terry Anne with him as much as possible, the couple is uniquely blessed to have Terry Anne’s Mom, Tina, living with them and helping them raise the girls and little Jake.
“There’s no way we could live this life without my Mom,” Terry Anne says. “She is a great gift from God to all of us and we never stop being grateful to her and for her.”
Even with Tina’s essential presence, one might wonder how it happens that this family of a man with David Boggs’ high profile and extremely active lifestyle is so close, so loving, so––well . . . normal! Once more, from the perspective of a long time friend, I can only say that everything for David and Terry Anne Boggs is based on love and faith and giving God and family priority over all else.
In a 2004 Arabian Horse Times interview, Terry Anne was asked how she’d like to be remembered. She said:
“If I could choose, I’d like for my epitaph to read: Loving wife, good mother, humble friend, giving heart, thankful soul, caretaker of God’s gifts. That’s what I’d like it to say, anyway.”
All of us who know her would agree that Terry Anne Boggs has already earned the commemoration she desires, while a life well lived goes on.
