Evelyn Combs Campbell, known to all her family and friends as Lyn, is the 2023 RTTR Legacy Award Recipient. Her philanthropic and social lineage is extensive, including serving as a member of the Junior League of Los Angeles with “Fundraiser of the Year” accolades; Las Floristas Headdress Ball (mannequin three times and two-time winner); Debutante in Los Angeles, New York and Vienna; Miss California, Texas Rose Festival, 1962; Delta Gamma Sorority, University of Southern California (USC); Presidents Council, Tulane University; Alumni Council, Marlborough School for Girls; and Trustee, Curtis School. Today, Lyn’s hobbies include gardening and needlepoint. She is an avid needlepoint enthusiast and spends a lot of time outside as a passionate gardener. She is also an active member of the Santa Fe Garden Club.
Professionally, Lyn has been an interior designer since 1964. As a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Lyn’s work has been featured in major magazines, including Architectural Digest, Better Homes, House Beautiful, Designers West, and House Beautiful Hong Kong. Lyn was among the first wave of business owners/pioneers in the California House Staging Industry with her staging company, The Art of Living. She founded the Santa Monica Antique Market (SMAM) in 1991, and in 1992, SMAM was voted “Best Collective of the Year” by Antique Peddler magazine. SMAM was a 20,000-square-foot antique collective in the heart of Santa Monica, California.
Lyn also founded Arbuckle Enterprises, an oil and gas exploration company - 1982 to present in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Now let’s talk about Lyn’s equestrian lineage. As a youth, she was youngest rider to win the ASHA stock seat medal class, Del Mar National Horse Show; Del Mar Horse Show All-Around High-Point Champion at age 10; Pacific Coast Hunter Jumper and Stock Horse Association (PCHJSHA) Year End Overall High-Point winner; Champion Stock Seat Equitation; Champion Stock Horse; Champion Trail Horse; Winner of the AHSA Stock Seat Medal Class; Winner of the AHSA Saddle Seat Medal Class; PCHJSHA Year End Champion All Around, Champion in Equitation, Champion Trail Horse, Champion Stock Horse; AHSA National High-Point Horse of the Year; All-Around 18 and Under Champion at Indio, Del Mar and Santa Barbara horse shows; PCHJSHA Year-end All-Around Champion, Champion in Equitation, Stock Horse and Trail Horse categories; Winner, $10,000 Championship Trail Horse Stake at the Cow Palace; AHSA Medal Class Winner in Stock Seat and Hunt Seat; PCHJSHA Year-end Champion in the All-Around, Equitation and Stock Horse categories and the ASHA Stock Seat and Hunt Seat Medal Class Winner.
As an adult, Lyn competed in and won many western horse show championship victories in a myriad of disciplines, including Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association Year End Champion honors; Winner, Non-pro Reining at The Congress; Winner, Non-pro National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) finals; NRHA Non-pro Year-end Champion on Enterprise Velvet; and Winner, Amateur American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Championship. Lyn and her daughter were the only mother/daughter team to be world champions a the same time - Lyn as a non pro-pro and her daughter as a youth.
Lyn founded Westland Farms, a training and breeding facility for performance quarter horses located in Hidden Valley, California. Her ranch stood two studs and was home to 100+horses. Westland Farms was the result of Lyn remodeling and revitalizing the Old Roy Rogers Ranch to become a state-of-the-art training and breeding facility. Notably, Lyn also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the NRHA.
Lyn has trained with a variety of world-class trainers including Snowy Baker, Polo Star; Peggy Dupy, Saddle Breds; Harrold Farren, Western; Buford Waller, Saddle Breds; Jimmy Williams, Hunters and Jumpers; Jack and Linda Baker, Western; Danny and Penny Gerardi, Western and Reining; and Dick Pieper, Reining
Lyn attended Marlborough School for Girls in Los Angeles, California and received a BA in History from USC. Lyn is married to Frank Campbell and they reside in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a mother to three grown children - all of whom are equestrians with accolades of their own - and grandmother to five grandchildren. Lyn has traveled the world and makes an impact wherever she goes. She certainly made an impact on us and we are forever grateful for her tireless work and incredible energy…and for sharing her many gifts with RTTR.
The RTTR Legacy Award, first of its kind in 2023, was launched to honor an outstanding woman who’s legacy in the equestrian world, as well as her lifetime of service has made a difference. Congratulations Lyn!
