United States Eventing Association

The USEA is saddened to hear of the passing of Bonnie Stedt on Sept. 5. She was 81. A die-hard eventer, Stedt competed with the USEA through 2016. In 2010, Stedt joined the Neville Bardos Syndicate as an owner of Boyd Martin's five-star horse Neville Bardos. That relationship continued to present day, with Stedt having been involved as an owner for horses such as Otis Barbotiere, Shamwari, Luke 140, Trading Aces, Ray Price, Pancho Villa, Cagney Herself, Mac Himself, Fonz Himself, Quinn Himself, Miss Lulu Herself, Zoom, and several more from her Fox Race Farm.

In a social media tribute to Stedt, Martin shared the following statement:

I’ll never forget the day I met Bonnie Stedt. Silva and I were brand-new to the U.S. and teaching a clinic at Fitch’s Corner Farm in Millbrook, NY. In one of the groups was a big Irish chestnut named Clancy Himself, ridden by a lady named Bonnie. The horse immediately caught my eye. He was clearing the training-level jumps by a good four feet and just about jumping Bonnie out of the tack. She asked me to hop on, and I was happy to give him a spin. Bonnie grabbed my attention just as quickly as the horse. She was loud, funny, and completely unapologetic. We hit it off straightaway. I had no idea then how big a role she’d play in my career as a friend and an incredible supporter.

A while later, after she’d sent a couple of horses for us to train, one of my working students recognized her name from a college case study about an American Express strike in South Korea. Turns out Bonnie had been Executive Vice President of HR for AmEx in New York. When the strike hit, she flew over, discovered some ugly workplace discrimination, and in 48 hours fired 32 people and got the office back on track. After hearing that story I nicknamed her “Machine Gun Bonnie,” and it stuck.

Over the years she owned or co-owned a whole lineup of top horses with us: Neville Bardos, Otis Barbotiere, Shamwari, Luke 140, Trading Aces, Ray Price, Pancho Villa, Cagney Herself, Mac Himself, Fonz Himself, Quinn Himself, Miss Lulu Herself, Zoom, and plenty of homebreds from her Fox Race farm. When we lost the barn at True Prospect in the 2011 fire, Bonnie was one of the first to show up at our door, driving hours just to help in one of our darkest moments. Along with her generous group of friends in Millbrook, she pushed me to find top horses, build syndicates, and chase the biggest goals—Olympics, World Equestrian Games, Pan Ams. That Millbrook crew shaped my career, no question.

Bonnie passed away in her sleep at her home in Aiken, South Carolina. I’ll miss her terribly, but I’m glad she’s no longer in pain. She was one of a kind, tough as nails, straight-shooting, and incredibly generous. The sport, and my life, are better because of her.

Originally from Southern California, Stedt began her business management career at I Magnins luxury department store in San Francisco in 1967. By the early 1970’s, she began career pathing up the ladder at Filene’s department store in Boston, Massachusetts. She was promoted often, ultimately to Vice President, Stores, and to the position of Senior Vice President, Personnel and Labor Relations.

In her early career, Stedt was widely known as the "glass ceiling breaker." In 1986, Stedt briefly returned to California to Bullock’s department store as Senior Vice President, Operations, before being recruited to and joining the worldwide American Express Company in 1988, headquartered in New York City. She headed Human Resources for American Express for the next 13 years as Executive Vice President. She met many world leaders and was connected to world events in that position. Her role in shepherding the employees of the Am Ex headquarters site, a near neighbor to the Twin Towers, through the 9/11 tragedy, was particularly notable.

Stedt was an avid equestrian. In her corporate retirement, she loved nothing more than rounding up her three dogs and loading two or three of her horses into their trailer and driving to competitions all over the East Coast and was a regular competitor in Area I.

Additionally she was Vice President of the Millbrook Hunt (New York) and fox hunted for over three decades. She also owned Fox Race Farm, where she bred horses. Stedt was an initial syndicate owner and sponsor of Martin's 2012 London Olympic Games horse Otis Barbotiere. In 2025, Martin's had many wins on Stedt's Miss Lulu Herself, including the Millbrook Horse Trials in August.

Preceded in death by her father, Arthur R. Stedt, her mother Antoinette Verbraggen Stedt and her brother, Larry Stedt, Bonnie is survived by her niece, Shannon Casey.

Expressions of sympathy may be left by visiting www.georgefuneralhomes.com.

The USEA sends our deepest condolences to all of Stedt's family and friends in and out of the eventing community.