Bonnie Mandich Enjoys Life as a Floridian
Equestrian News Release

Wellington, FL – October 1, 2006 – Bonnie Mandich rides in the Adult Amateur Hunter Division on her three horses; From Day One, Gentleman’s Day, and Just James. She stables at Wyndmont in Wellington, FL and trains with Ronnie Beard and Michael Dorman.

Bonnie and her husband Jim live in Miami Lakes, FL. “We have lived there since Jim was playing football. We are near Coach Don Shula, and the practice field is only four miles away,” she added. Bonnie drives one and a half hours to Wellington three to four times a week in the summer to ride at Wyndmont. Jim Mandich was a member of the historical Miami Dolphins football team that went undefeated in 1972. They won every play-off game and the Super Bowl. Bob Griese (who own horses for Margie Goldstein Engle) was the quarterback of the team and Jim was the tight end. “The team was small in size but they had a lot of heart,” Bonnie said.

Recently Bonnie and Jim were invited to dinner at Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant in Miami, FL with President George W. Bush and Governor Jeb Bush. “Coincidentally it was Jim’s birthday, and he thought the dinner was a gag that we were playing on him,” she joked. That would have been quite a surprise to pull off considering they had to get their photos taken in advance and there were secret service people everywhere including the roof!

Bonnie started riding as a child in Pennsylvania on her grandmother’s farm. “I would just sit on the back of this wonderful old horse she had in her yard,” Bonnie recalled. “She and my mother would watch from the kitchen window in amazement of my contentment.” Later she started riding at her aunt and uncle’s farm on the Jersey Shore. “I had eight cousins, and we all had chores. I always chose the outdoor jobs so that I could be near the horses,” she remembered. “Back then the Shore was only ten miles away from farm land. I started riding and showing locally for fun.”

The Mandich children are 19, 21, and 23. No one in Bonnie’s immediate family rides or has anything to do with horses. “My husband (the ex-football player) is scared to death of horses. He will go all the way around the tent to avoid walking by one of them in the aisle,” she laughed. “I have thrown my kids in the car since they were little and dragged them to shows with me.”

Bonnie had some health issues in the past and survived three back surgeries in eight months. She had a bad disk since childhood and years of riding finally took its toll. “I started riding with Ronnie seriously three years ago. I have known him for a long time and bought horses from him in the past. I needed a little extra help, and Michael Dorman schools my horses for me and prepares them beautifully for the shows,” Bonnie said. “They are both very careful with me and make sure that I don’t re-injure myself.”

Dorman will show From Day One in the four foot hunter division this winter, and Mandich will show the other two horses.

“I am tickled to be able to ride at all and understand my physical limitations,” she smiled. “I enjoy it, and I think too many people get caught up in the winning part and not the fun of the Adult Division. I am an Amateur, so I should have fun. I love to win, but I enjoy seeing people at the show with the same common language (horse speak) as me.” The excitement of the large winter circuit and visiting with people from all over the world is also a pleasure. “People look at the horses; they are not looking at you to see if you are pretty etc… they are looking at the horse. We are all fixated on the beauty of the animals, not the people, and I enjoy that immensely,” she stated.

Photo Credit: Bonnie and Jim Mandich with United States President George W. Bush. Photo courtesy of The Official White House Photographer, Kimberlee Hewi.