Decorated American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) owner and exhibitor Susan Scott passed away today of injuries sustained in a one-vehicle accident near her home in Ocala, Florida.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Scott and her dog were killed when her vehicle struck a tree and a Good Samaritan who stopped to help also died in the accident.

The tragedy unfolded about 2 p.m. when the SUV Scott was traveling in south on County Road 225A near Northwest 39^th Loop left the highway for an unknown reason and slammed into a line of pine trees, causing her vehicle to burst into flames, the report read. A man driving a water tanker truck happened to be driving northbound at about the same time, He stopped and turned on a sprinkler-type system that sprayed water from his tank. “But it wasn’t nearly enough to stop the vehicle fire,” according to Whitney Maloch, who witnessed the crash. Before the driver could help further, he collapsed. Marion County Fire Rescue firefighters and paramedics were on the scene four minutes later and treated the Good Samaritan and he was transported to the hospital where he died of a heart attack.

Florida trainer Kathie Kennedy and her husband, Bob, have been associated with Susan and her husband, Stanley and their daughter, Nancy Wilkerson Ditty since 2001.

“They, in whole, are the reason we are dual citizens,” Kathie said. “But let’s talk about Susan. I have 18 years of dealing with her both as a client and because of my husband, Bob’s dealing with Susan and Nancy in the horse trailer business. You would not find a fairer employer than Susan. No one would treat a trainer or employee kinder or fairer than Ms. Susan. If you need a pep talk she was your gal. She had a great outlook on life and I have always been proud to call her my friend. I will miss her and her contributions to the equine industry.”

Jason and Jamie English have worked with Susan and her family training their horses for several years.

“I think she was one of the most giving and caring people we ever met and she knew more about horses than any of us ever will,” Jason said. “Today is a very sad day for everyone who knew her.”

Kerry Bradac, owner of Bradac Ranch South in Ocala and a family friend and neighbor said she and the entire Ocala horse community are shocked and saddened by the tragic and sudden loss of a member of that close-knit horse family.

“Susan loved her horses and especially the babies,” Bradac said. “She and Stanley were in the process of scaling back and building a beautiful new facility. And she was looking forward to this new chapter in her life and having more time to spend with her horses and family.”

Susan Scott is one of the NSBA’s most decorated exhibitors. She tops the association’s Lifetime Earners list in Non-Pro Western Pleasure with earnings of $230,175.80. She is number two on the top Lifetime earners in Non-Pro Longe Line with earnings of 34,674.28, bested only by her husband, Stanley with $107,868.57.

Susan got her love of horses from her mother, who gifted Susan and her sister with a horse when the family moved from New York to Florida when Susan was just seven and her sister 9. Her competitive career began in local gymkhanas and breed shows before moving on to the WHAF circuit and Quarter Horse competition by the time she was 15. Her parents purchased a yearling for her and she did all the training, showing at her first AQHA sanctioned show when the filly was just a 2-year-old.

A friend introduced Susan to Stanley Scott at a show and although Stanley was not as active a competitor as Susan back then, he knew a lot about horses. The couple married, purchased Haylo Farm and started their own breeding operation. They started with just five horses but the herd grew to over 150 at times, along with cattle the couple raised. Their daughter, Nancy Wilkerson Ditty shares their passion for horses and has joined them in the show ring. She too is among the top NSBA money earners in both Longe Line and Non-Pro Western Pleasure.

Over the years, Susan earned such prestigious accolades as 1995 Quarter Horse Congress 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure Congress Champion with Docs Outta Town; the 1996 AQHA High-Point Amateur Western Pleasure title; the 2000 AQHA Amateur Western Pleasure World Championship with Huntin For Chocolate; the 1994 Congress Amateur Western Pleasure Championship with Forever A Zippo and numerous NSBA High Point Non-Pro Rider honors.

In 2008, the Scotts were recognized by AQHA as the association’s Breeders of the Year and, in 2011, Susan was the first Non-Pro inducted into the NSBA’s newly created Quarter Million Dollar Club and Nancy joined Susan in the Quarter Million Dollar Club last year. Susan was a long time diabetic who relied on an insulin pump. She suffered two broken femurs, quadruple bypass surgery, and almost lost her foot due to poor circulation. Doctors advised her to quit riding and limit showing to Longe Line, which she did for a while. But she returned to the Western Pleasure arena in 2011 against doctor orders, when she learned she was close to earning the $250,000 needed to be named to the Quarter Million Dollar Club.

Just last year, at the Quarter Horse Congress, the Scott family (Stanley and Susan Scott and Nancy Wilkerson Ditty) swept the Non-Pro Western Longe Line at the Quarter Horse Congress for the second straight year by winning the Championship, Reserve Championship and third place.

A Celebration of Life is planned from 3 to 5 p.m., on Thursday, Jan. 9, at Golden Ocala Country Club, 4090 NW 84th Court, Ocala, Florida 34482. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers donations can be made in memory of Susan Scott to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), 200 Vesey St. 28th Floor, New York, NY 10281.