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It seems impossible
that we lost Carol Lyons. Carol knew there was a sentence upon her but her
personality remained constant. She was interactive with her friends. Her sense
of humor was intact. She kept focused on her projects in life. Was she brave?
Must have been, if the fearless need to be brave.
Carol was a guiding light in Al Khamsa. The organization would probably not
have endured without her quiet leadership. At the very end, thanks to the
support of her daughter, Diane, and that of Carrie Brendle and Joan DeVour,
she was able to attend last summer's business meeting at the Arabian Horse
Celebration in Denver. She was very weak, but she loved being there and receiving
an award and enjoying the love of the group. Then she went home. In a few
days she was gone. [Al Khamsa, Inc. has prepared a special issue of the Khamsat
in tribute to Carol Lyons. It is available from the Al Khamsa Business Office,
7275 Manchester Road, Capron, Illinois 61012, info@alkhamsa.org, and features
96 pages of Carol's articles and tributes to her.]
She was absolutely central to the revival of Davenport breeding. Her first
Davenport horse was Porthos (Aramis/Asara), followed by Rosaline (Sir/Antan),
and a little later there was the lease of Portia (Tripoli/Dhalana). Carol's
relationship with Charles and later Jeanne Craver continued as a close friendship
for the rest of her life, spiced by an occasional exchange of horses. She
was a good hands-on horsewoman. She had as thorough an understanding of the
history and philosophy of Arabian Horse Breeding as anyone in America.
Carol had the gift of leadership. She was not forceful in the presentation
of ideas, but when she had a task she kept after it with determination and
folks on her committees found themselves doing all the things they were supposed
to do and might have skipped. People respected her quiet manner. She led many
of us to produce better horses than we could have done without her.
In Davenport breeding, she recognized bloodlines that needed special support
and would act to give it by herself or by enlisting the cooperation of others.
Several people found themselves with whole new successful breeding programs
thanks to Carol Lyons.
The great challenge in Arabian breeding is in recruiting new breeders to replace
the older ones who have kept to the heart of preservation breeding. Carol
Lyons was an essential senior breeder. She gathered some wonderful people
into her intellectual world. They will continue as they can from her impetus.
She could not be represented by better heirs.
Fortunately, Carol was a person of ideas and an active writer of articles
about Davenport horses. Her articles will be a continuing guide. Through them
we all share in her wisdom, quiet humor and sense of the miracle of Davenport
breeding.
When this writer visualizes the face of Carol Lyons it always has a smile.
I cannot recall her without the smile.
Laura Ware Cavedo died October 27, 2004, in Pinehurst, North
Carolina. Laura and her husband Dick, who survives her, had been members of
the ARAMCO community in Saudi Arabia as it developed shortly afer WWII. They
participated in establishment of the "Hobby Horse Farm" which ARAMCO
employees set up as a place to keep native Arabian horses. Laura and Dick
had such horses, and movies show that they were excellent ones. Laura's personal
mare was an exceptional individual, worthy of recognition in any context.
Among their activities, the riders of the Hobby Horse Farm held gymkhana competitions
in which Laura and Dick participated. Movies show them to have been a handsome,
athletic young couple who could really ride. They traveled in Saudi Arabia,
visited government stud farms, and Laura came away with valuable photographs
of the horses at one of them. It was probably not legal to take such pictures,
but they are now a part of the history of the Arabian horse. On return to
the US, the Cavedos brought their horses with them.
Laura was a sculptress who loved the arts and was an enthusiastic
patron of The Big Apple Circus, which featured Arabian horses. She was a lifelong
equestrienne. Among her horses as personal mounts were the Davenport stallion
Adjutant CF (Lysander/Dixie Cup) and the Davenport gelding Finagle GCA (MV
Reflection/Finesse CF).
Laura made a major contribution to Al Khamsa by organizing and guiding the
program at the annual Al Khamsa convention of 1991, held in Springfield, Illinois.
This program featured an exhibit of original photos of Arabian horses in Arabia
by Laura, Carl Raswan, and others. Speakers and round-table participants were
former ARAMCO employees who welcomed the opportunity to share their experiences
in Arabia with the Al Khamsa audience. For many attendees, this was Al Khamsa's
finest convention program.