PrintThe hectic pace of 62-year-old Bonnie Stedt's so-called "retirement" makes her working years seem serene by comparison.
The former executive vice president of human resources for American Express now pursues her passion--eventing--full-time.
But it's giving back to her beloved community of Pine Plains, N.Y., that consumes her and inspires her busy days.
Fernanda Kellogg, organizer of Fitch's Corner Horse Trials in nearby Millbrook, summed up Stedt's dedication by awarding her the first-ever "Fitch's Corner" award at the 2005 horse trials, recognizing "a member of the community who has long supported horse sports."
"Bonnie has been passionate about horses all her life, and her own horses bring her supreme joy," Kellogg's award citation continues. "She is both cheerful and generous about sharing her wonderful facilities with all of us."
A vice chairman of the Millbrook Hunt, Stedt also serves on the board of directors for the Good Dog Therapy Program and recently became certified to work with hospitalized, hospice, and disabled patients with her 4-year-old Welsh Corgi, Lucy. She's an active supporter of the Dutchess Land Conservancy.
"Bonnie just immerses herself in whatever it is she's doing," said John Ike from Millbrook, an honorary whipper-in at Millbrook. "Having Bonnie take on your cause is what any proponent would wish for, since her involvement will enhance any effort. She's brought her long and distinguished business career talent and applied it to the commu-nity in all sorts of mutually beneficial ways."
A Fateful Day in September 2001
After a 15-year career with American Express, Stedt negotiated for an early retirement from the company in January 2001 and announced that
she would work through November. She loved her job but had grown weary from the stress of incessant travel, managing thousands of employees worldwide, and working 70 hours a week.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Stedt did something she never does--she took a day off. The American Express Tower stood next to the World Trade Center and was connected to it by two causeways; Stedt normally bought coffee in the North Tower every morning.
On that fateful day, American Express had almost a dozen employees working in the North Tower--all lost their lives. Stedt went to 11 funerals within the next few weeks for friends she had lost in the tragedy. She honored her commitment to the company by working with Chairman Ken Chenault on a consultant basis. But she felt her life crumbling around her as she was diagnosed and treated for posttraumatic depression for the next year.
Fortunately, Stedt had discovered Millbrook in the early 1990s, when a friend invited her there one weekend. She became enamored of the region's foxhunting and decided she needed some balance in her pressure-filled New York City work life. She bought a small house in the area in 1993, then purchased 60-acre Foxrace Farm in nearby Amenia a year later.
Foxrace Farm became not only Stedt's full-time home in early 2002, but also her sanctuary from that traumatic time. Married and divorced in her 20s, Stedt has been on her own throughout her career. "But this community just took me in and embraced me," Stedt said. "By getting involved here after I retired, I was able to find a purpose in my life again."
Stedt later bought 160 acres in Pine Plains, where she eventually built a home and created her farm, Homestedt. She went through three architects, however, before she could find one to create a house that settled unobtrusively into the landscape.
"Whenever a 'mover and shaker' type like Bonnie moves into an established sporting community like Millbrook, most old-timers are anxious to see how they will treat the land," said Ike.
"But in Bonnie's case, her involvement here has been a hand-and-glove fit," Ike continued. "She's given the hunt community carte blanche use of her land. She's built courses on her farm for hunter trials and horse shows and helped with fund-raisers for just about every good cause in the community."
Riding Dreams On Hold
Although horses always played a pivotal role in Stedt's life, her career ambitions always prevented her from pursuing her competitive riding goals.
Stedt remembers riding "sloppy Western" as a kid growing up in California, riding in the occasional gymkhana.
"I knew even at a very young age that horses would always be important to me," she recalled. "Coming home and having something to care for and love was critical to balancing my self-esteem, as I was the kind of kid that never seemed to make the 'A' team."
She married her college sweetheart and followed him to the East Coast, where she continued her retail career at Filene's in Boston. She became the first woman senior vice president of human resources at Filene's. Although she could only ride on weekends, she "bought the first horse I saw" on the day her divorce was finalized.
She began taking dressage lessons from Karl and Cindy Mikolka (now Sydnor) in the late 1970s but remembers the day someone suggested she watch a riding competition taking place down the road at Groton House Farm in Hamilton, Mass.
"I remember vividly watching a horse and rider galloping by," she said. "The horse's ears were up and the young rider had a huge smile on her face. I came back to the barn and said, I want to do that! I was in my early 30s and had never jumped a horse in my life."
The former executive vice president of human resources for American Express now pursues her passion--eventing--full-time.
But it's giving back to her beloved community of Pine Plains, N.Y., that consumes her and inspires her busy days.
Fernanda Kellogg, organizer of Fitch's Corner Horse Trials in nearby Millbrook, summed up Stedt's dedication by awarding her the first-ever "Fitch's Corner" award at the 2005 horse trials, recognizing "a member of the community who has long supported horse sports."
"Bonnie has been passionate about horses all her life, and her own horses bring her supreme joy," Kellogg's award citation continues. "She is both cheerful and generous about sharing her wonderful facilities with all of us."
A vice chairman of the Millbrook Hunt, Stedt also serves on the board of directors for the Good Dog Therapy Program and recently became certified to work with hospitalized, hospice, and disabled patients with her 4-year-old Welsh Corgi, Lucy. She's an active supporter of the Dutchess Land Conservancy.
"Bonnie just immerses herself in whatever it is she's doing," said John Ike from Millbrook, an honorary whipper-in at Millbrook. "Having Bonnie take on your cause is what any proponent would wish for, since her involvement will enhance any effort. She's brought her long and distinguished business career talent and applied it to the commu-nity in all sorts of mutually beneficial ways."
A Fateful Day in September 2001
After a 15-year career with American Express, Stedt negotiated for an early retirement from the company in January 2001 and announced that
she would work through November. She loved her job but had grown weary from the stress of incessant travel, managing thousands of employees worldwide, and working 70 hours a week.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Stedt did something she never does--she took a day off. The American Express Tower stood next to the World Trade Center and was connected to it by two causeways; Stedt normally bought coffee in the North Tower every morning.
On that fateful day, American Express had almost a dozen employees working in the North Tower--all lost their lives. Stedt went to 11 funerals within the next few weeks for friends she had lost in the tragedy. She honored her commitment to the company by working with Chairman Ken Chenault on a consultant basis. But she felt her life crumbling around her as she was diagnosed and treated for posttraumatic depression for the next year.
Fortunately, Stedt had discovered Millbrook in the early 1990s, when a friend invited her there one weekend. She became enamored of the region's foxhunting and decided she needed some balance in her pressure-filled New York City work life. She bought a small house in the area in 1993, then purchased 60-acre Foxrace Farm in nearby Amenia a year later.
Foxrace Farm became not only Stedt's full-time home in early 2002, but also her sanctuary from that traumatic time. Married and divorced in her 20s, Stedt has been on her own throughout her career. "But this community just took me in and embraced me," Stedt said. "By getting involved here after I retired, I was able to find a purpose in my life again."
Stedt later bought 160 acres in Pine Plains, where she eventually built a home and created her farm, Homestedt. She went through three architects, however, before she could find one to create a house that settled unobtrusively into the landscape.
"Whenever a 'mover and shaker' type like Bonnie moves into an established sporting community like Millbrook, most old-timers are anxious to see how they will treat the land," said Ike.
"But in Bonnie's case, her involvement here has been a hand-and-glove fit," Ike continued. "She's given the hunt community carte blanche use of her land. She's built courses on her farm for hunter trials and horse shows and helped with fund-raisers for just about every good cause in the community."
Riding Dreams On Hold
Although horses always played a pivotal role in Stedt's life, her career ambitions always prevented her from pursuing her competitive riding goals.
Stedt remembers riding "sloppy Western" as a kid growing up in California, riding in the occasional gymkhana.
"I knew even at a very young age that horses would always be important to me," she recalled. "Coming home and having something to care for and love was critical to balancing my self-esteem, as I was the kind of kid that never seemed to make the 'A' team."
She married her college sweetheart and followed him to the East Coast, where she continued her retail career at Filene's in Boston. She became the first woman senior vice president of human resources at Filene's. Although she could only ride on weekends, she "bought the first horse I saw" on the day her divorce was finalized.
She began taking dressage lessons from Karl and Cindy Mikolka (now Sydnor) in the late 1970s but remembers the day someone suggested she watch a riding competition taking place down the road at Groton House Farm in Hamilton, Mass.
"I remember vividly watching a horse and rider galloping by," she said. "The horse's ears were up and the young rider had a huge smile on her face. I came back to the barn and said, I want to do that! I was in my early 30s and had never jumped a horse in my life."
