Barbie Sue Allegretta: Oakland's Smiling 'Horse Lady'
Barbie Sue Allegretta was standing outside the Oakland Post Office one day, and smiling knowingly as passers-by did double-takes, with some taking out their phones to snap a photo.
It isn’t just her colorful, gypsie-style flowing skirt, matching top and head scarf that make people pause when they see Barbie Sue around town—it’s the horse (with its own fashion staples) she always has with her.
Smiles are exactly what Barbie Sue is going for. Like the mythical Celtic fairy, Barbie Sue is a lady who spreads good will.
“It’s fun to see people’s reactions,” she says.
“I’ve loved horses all my life for their beauty and for what’s on the inside of them. They can be gentle and mystical. They can improve your health, mentally and physically, and they spread smiles.”
Barbie Sue was first enchanted by horses at the age of five at a pony farm in Wyckoff. The bond was so strong, it continues to this day, 49 years later. As a child she dreamed about these special horses, she read stories about them, and when she had the chance, she learned to ride them.
“They were a breed of horses called cobs that have beautiful manes and tails,” she says. “They originated in the mountains of Whales and are descendants of the great Clydesdale horse. The nomadic people who lived there needed strong horses with a lot of endurance to pull their wagons all day as they moved from place to place, horses which could forage for their own food and maintain a calm temperament. Over time, gypsies bred their larger horses with other species of horses until a pony called a ‘cob’ came into being.”
As a young girl, Barbie Sue wanted her own horse. Her parents encouraged her, so she got a newspaper route at age 11, saved her money for two years and bought her first horse as an 8th grade student in Oakland’s Middle School. Her dad built a barn and she paid for the wood.
“My mom and dad encouraged my love of horses, but I had to get all A’s and B’s in school to keep my horse, so I worked hard in school,” she says.
Barbie Sue learned that working hard was the key to maintaining her horses. She learned early on that being enterprising was the way to get where she wanted to be.
“Sometimes I had to borrow money from my parents for something, so I got another job at Van Dyke’s to pay them back.”
During her middle and high school years she was bullied because of her love of horses. They were some of the most difficult years for her.
“Bullies get called out now. But I was alone in defending myself from them then.”
Those difficult years would help Barbie Sue make it her mission to bring cheer to others later in life.
After high school, she was intent on enjoying her life. She worked for the county at age 18 at the Darlington Swim Club. She bought a house in Pleasureland for $86,000, worked for a fencing company and paid for the house.
“A neighbor in Pleasureland was losing his house, so I bought it sight unseen for $50,000,” she says. “My pony was boarded at Pony Power on (Route) 202 then. I bought the second house with the intention to live there because it was larger. But when I was 24, I saw a house on Glen Gray Road with more property and bought it with the money I made from selling the two houses in Pleasureland. And that’s where my horses and I have lived for 30 years. “
Over these 30 years Barbie Sue has added to her family of horses and has been busy with taking them to many destinations and events to charm and inform the crowds of children and adults who are impressed with their gentle nature, their intelligence, their beauty and their history.
These ponies can lift spirits somehow by their very presence, giving off an air of quiet strength and beauty. She hosts events on her property and encourages parents to bring their children to be introduced to the mythical cob ponies she maintains there.
“Did you know horses sleep only three hours a day, yet they stay super tuned in and sensitive to changes in the weather?” she asks. “Horses are grounded to the earth and have beautiful energy. A mother took her child to see my horses. The child was not walking or talking. Mom had tried different therapies, like equine therapy which is expensive. I offered my horses and the child is now improved.”
Barbie is married and has five step-children. She and her husband own four acres of forested land in eastern Tennessee, where they dream of creating a horse farm someday. Eventually, with that as their base, they want to tour the country with their horses telling the story of the cob pony and raising money for charitable causes.
“My dream is to travel with my gypsy horses, graze them in open fields or at the side of a road,” Barbie Sue says. “I want to spend time with them and with them make others smile. In the meantime, I invite children and families to visit with my horses.”