2017 NAPHA US National Show Program 2017 NAPHA National Show Program digital | Page 22

In Memoriam
Barbara Goetz Windom
1934 - 2017
Barbara grew up loving and riding horses. It was in her blood. Her grandfather, MGM
founder and studio head Louis “E.B.” Mayer, and parents William and Edith Goetz
owned champion thoroughbreds such as Kelso and Preakness winner Royal Orbit.
She was age one the first time she ever sat in a saddle. She never really got out of it.
Her family hoped horses would distract her from her Hollywood upbringing. She took
jumping lessons alongside Elizabeth Taylor as the actress prepped for her role in National Velvet. Throughout her youth Barbara rode
jumpers and competed as far away as Madison Square Garden in New York. When she eloped at 19, her parents sold all her horses.
With her first husband Tod Clare, Barbara worked and raised daughters Maggie and Debora. During her second brief marriage to the late
actor William Windom (daughter, Rachel), she began to build her 30-year career as an interior designer. Barbara also launched a successful
catering business that specialized in high-end paté and flourless chocolate cakes she and her partner Diane Worthington made in bulk from
her kitchen, all while working full time as one of the most successful and well-respected interior designers in Los Angeles.
Once her children were grown, Barbara and partner Victor di Suvero left California for New Mexico in 1989. It was near Santa Fe where
Barbara rode her first Peruvian horse. The day she met artist Linda Strong, the pair left a pool party to go ride. After a lengthy trail ride,
Barbara bought her first Peruvian. She claimed she only wanted one. She was soon up to four, which required her to move. She found her
dream property along the banks of the Rio Grande on what was part of the historic Santa Fe Trail. That’s where she built La Estancia Alegre
and began a breeding program with Master Chalán Roberto Quijandría that would eventually produce more than 150 horses. Many of them
have been some of the most successful show horses in the United States: *LEA Conquistador+, *LEA Poema++ (more about Poema on page
24), LEA Poesia+, LEA Victoria+ and LEA El Poeta+ (see page 25).
Barbara still rode regularly up until the time she passed. At the age of 82 she’d lead friends on full-day trail rides on her champion show
horses through New Mexico’s rugged mountains. Just days before a sudden illness claimed her, she was riding around the ranch and
preparing for that week’s show. She died on May 27 in Duncan, Oklahoma, while attending the Sooner State and Camino Real/Lone Star
double show. Her horses won champion of champions in Breeding and Performance. Several are competing at this year’s U.S. National Show
— please stop by the La Estancia Alegre aisle to see them and share your memories of Barbara. We deeply appreciate the support of Barbara’s
extended family in the Peruvian community who’ve shared their condolences and offered wonderful homes for Barbara’s beloved horses.
If you’d like information about available horses, please call Roberto, 505.901.2338.
Grey Skies, c. 1949
BGW_8.5x11_NationalShow.indd 1
*LEA Poema++, 2008 Lone Star Show
“Me on Muffie,” c. 1948
10/8/17 9:38 AM