BIOGRAPHY
SAM MADDEN: WINNER WITH A VISION:
Susan "Sam" Madden earned the crown and the title Ms. Country Western Arizona 1997-98 and has the distinction of being the only winner to ever have been escorted down the runway by a member of the Air Force Honor Guard and receive a standing ovation. Sam has been totally blind since 1990.
"This pageant represents a lifestyle I live and love. I've always believed in the country western ideals of hard work, wholesome living, and community spirit. None of these things requires sight."
Sam never let her blindness hinder her hopes of winning and said, "I felt I could enhance the title in ways no one else could." Apparently the panel of judges agreed, influenced by Sam's speech declaring, "More important than physical eyesight is believing in oneself, having a vision and a dream to pursue."
When she first spoke with the pageant directors, they told her that instead of riding a horse in parades she could ride in a convertible. "That was before they knew I'm not some pampered princess. I planned on riding a horse like everybody else!"
Sam has been a dedicated horsewoman since she bought her first horse with her babysitting money at age 13. After a long hiatus from horses when she went blind at 29, she took up riding again at Camelot Therapeutic Horsemanship, a program for equestrians with physical challenges. "Camelot warms my heart because it touches the lives of the physically challenged with the magic of horses. It uses horses' nurturing and healing powers as therapy to allow the disabled to realize and be recognized for their talents and achievements, not for their limitations." Her own potential was revealed to her as she performed flying lead changes and flying dismounts (which most riders with 20/20 vision never attempt), encouraged by the Camelot staff.
Since December 1998 Sam has been competing successfully against sighted competition in horse shows using a radio transmitter and a coach to be her eyes. She and her buckskin Pinto/Paint gelding, Kenos Tomy Tutone, have accumulated numerous awards in hunt seat equitation, stock seat equitation, western pleasure, English pleasure, and hunter under saddle as well as high point honors in their division. Sam stands seventh in the nation in Pinto novice amateur stock seat equitation, having been tested with a pattern including a 360 degree pivot, counter lope, and rollback. At the 1999 Pinto National Championship Horse show in Tulsa she and Tomy placed in senior amateur western pleasure and ideal Pinto, and Sam was honored with a special inspiration award as well as the senior amateur sportsmanship award voted on by fellow competitors. She is working toward entering hunter hack classes requiring jumping, using her keen sense of hearing to home in on beepers placed on the jumps.
Four years after losing her sight, Sam required a kidney transplant due to further complications of diabetes and still graduated at the top of her class from Phoenix College with a 3.9 average. She has had articles published in numerous horse-related periodicals, types 100 words per minute, and runs a successful medical transcription service using a voice synthesized computer.
She has a strong background in public speaking and has volunteered her time on the Speakers Bureau of Donor Network of Arizona, educating the public about organ donation. She says, "I hope my living illustration of the positive impact one stranger has had on my life will inspire more people to become donors."
Committed to maintaining good diabetes control, Sam brings her insulin and glucometer to the stable with her and carries glucose tablets in a saddle bag when she rides. She is self-sufficient in testing her blood sugars with a talking meter and in taking her injections four times a day. She can even do it from on top of a horse!
Although she entered the pageant to spread her enthusiasm for the country western lifestyle, Sam also saw it as an opportunity to educate people about the capabilities of the visually impaired. "I have a responsibility to show people I'm not disabled, I just can't see."
Enumerating her goals as the new title holder, Sam said in her winning speech, "I HAVE a vision: As Ms. Country Western Arizona, I will keep my eyes open for opportunities to promote the strong family values and community spirit of the country western lifestyle; I will look for ways to achieve new and unique accomplishments; I will see to it that I am a leader committed to helping others through participation inn charity events; and I will set my sights high to be a representative and role model who will make Arizona proud."
Sam aspires to be a leader in changing perceptions of the disabled by having her autobiographical novel make it to the big screen with Christopher Reeve playing the part of her riding instructor. She wants to do all the riding in the movie herself on the new horse for which she is currently looking and to have this "movie star" horse made into a Breyer model. "I want to encourage others to set goals and challenge themselves; and I want to let everyone know that if you do your best and believe in yourself, you can lasso the moon!"
She may be lacking sight, but Ms. Country Western Arizona 1997-98, Sam Madden, definitely has a vision!
