Debra grew up in cowboy country in a small town near Chico, CA riding Western, herding cattle and competing in barrel racing and gymkhana events. Years later, she purchased to a 324 acre farm (Angel Hills Farm) near Shelby, NC near the Broad River. Her good friends, Shelby Veterinarian, Dr. Dino Nicopoulos and wife Julia, fox hunted with Green Creek Hounds at the time (mid-1990’s). Julia talked Debra into tagging along on a hunt with them one day. By this time, Debra was accepting boarders at her farm, a couple of who were also hunting with Green Creek and all were encouraging her to go. She had never ridden in an English saddle and had to borrow one from Julia. “I hate not being good at something,” Debra said. “I was afraid I would feel stupid. But, it sounded intriguing.”

Tot Goodwin was Huntsman at the time and Pat Hale, who was a Master of the Green Creek Hounds, encouraged her to join them. Though she knew absolutely nothing about foxhunting, she started behind friends in 2nd flight on what turned out to be a particularly fast run and was totally hooked on the adrenalin rush by the end of that morning. She fell immediately in love with foxhunting, she had never previously heard hounds in full cry, and she loved the camaraderie and everything about it. There was an excitement about foxhunting she had never experienced, before. During this period of time, Debra was also serving on a Board of Directors to acquire several thousand acres adjacent to her farm for conservation along the Broad River, which was to become what is now known as the Broad River Greenway. In that process, she had the opportunity to meet several times with Anne Springs Close, who was instrumental in establishing Greenways, including her own Anne Spring Close Greenway in Fort Mill, SC. As the Broad River Greenway became a reality, Debra was able to get permission for Green Creek Hounds to hunt the Greenway as well as her own property, giving Green Creek Hounds a new hunt fixture of several thousand acres in Cleveland County.

However, life happens. After a number of years, Green Creek Hounds suffered a tragedy when their barn burned down and Debra suffered the dissolution of her marriage. She decided to move to Landrum in hopes that she could continue hunting and have her horses, again. With her background at that time of 20+ years in real estate, originally brokering farms in California, co-ops in New York City and being her own broker in NC, she was offered an opportunity in real estate sales for The Cliffs at Lake Keowee, a luxury waterfront golf course community. But, with the commute to Lake Keowee and long working days, time pushed any hopes of foxhunting or having horses again, out of the picture for many years.

Then one day Debra happened to list a small farm for sale in the Green Creek area. She sent out emails and contacted everyone she could think of connected to the horse community to see if anyone might be interested in the property. One person turned out to be Nelson Minnick who she had never met but knew was a Master with Tryon Hounds. Both divorced, Match.com had matched Debra with Nelson five years earlier. That started a few brief messages back and forth and “friended” each other on Facebook, but Debra had decided she didn’t like the dating apps and terminated her Match.com account which ended the messaging between she and Nelson. However, they continued to follow each other on Facebook for the next 5 years. Debra loved his posts about foxhunting and they had many mutual friends. Messaging Nelson about her farm listing seemed the natural thing to do and began a dialogue and connection.

Living in downtown Greenville at the time and as a real estate broker having a lot of clients from out of the area, Debra was often contacted for recommendations for things to do when visiting Greenville. So, she didn’t think anything of it when Nelson one day messaged to ask if she could advise him on a restaurant near the Bon Secours Stadium for a pre-concert dinner. Thinking she was helping him set up a date, she gave him several options. Nelson asked which one she thought might be best? She suggested the one where you could park and walk to both the restaurant and the stadium. Later, he messaged again to say, “I have two tickets for the James Taylor and Jackson Browne Concert on Thursday night. Is there any chance you might like to join me for dinner and the concert?” Debra laughed, saying, “I thought that was brilliant! I assumed I was helping him set up a date, I had no idea the date he intended was me! And, as a salesperson myself, I was blown away by his salesmanship. I had never even heard his voice until I walked into the restaurant that evening. And, it turned out to be the easiest and most fun first date I ever had. Our whole evening we laughed and talked horses and foxhunting and pasture management reminisced about mutual friends we’ve known over the years. It was like catching up with a friend I had known forever.”

That date led to subsequent dates and when he came to Debra’s loft in Greenville for the first time, he noticed her hunt saddle in her living room. She had never given it up and had made it an accessory in her living room each time she moved somewhere. “I can’t believe you have a saddle in your living room! That’s great!” As he checked it out, he noticed it hadn’t been oiled in a while. Before he left, he asked if he could take the saddle and clean it up for her? She agreed, but after he walked out her door that evening with her saddle, she asked herself, “what just happened? I laughed and thought, again, that was brilliant! He knows I’ll have to see him again if I want my saddle back. Very clever.” Debra never got her saddle back. Nelson oiled it up and replaced the leathers, put her back on a horse and got her back in the hunt field. Their early first dates became Friday nights in the barn, cranking up music, sipping wine and bathing and grooming Ziggy for Saturday hunts. Debra’s saddle never did come home; instead, Debra came home to her saddle when she married Nelson a year later

Debra is now hunting with Tryon Hounds on Goose, a Quarter Horse trained by her son and shown in roping and cattle sorting competitions. She has been thrilled to have found “so many active women who are so accepting and super supportive”. Debra recently planned a “Ladies Night Out” where she hired a bus to take the gang to downtown Greenville, SC where they sipped wine and made Kentucky Derby hats and fascinators at a friend’s custom hat design shop. She followed up with a fabulous Kentucky Derby Party at Alan and Jenny Taylor’s iconic “Thanksgiving Farm” to watch the Run for the Roses. She said, “This community, and especially Tryon Hounds, is so special. And, I am most grateful to have this season of life to be here and once more enjoying our foxhunting sport and the relationships and connections it brings together.”