Ringside Chat with Jan Thomas

More than 50 years of fun with dogs and horses

This article was originally published in the February 2026 OVERview digital magazine.

For over 50 years, Jan Thomas has been on a fun-filled journey with her dogs and horses through various sports. As a dog owner and trainer, she has competed in agility with dogs of many breeds, including a Doberman Pinscher named Buddy and a Norwegian Elkhound/Border Collie named Sayre.

“I started doing agility back in the ’70s with Buddy,” Jan said. “We were always at the top of our class in obedience, and we got bored. Agility looked like fun and was on the same line as what I was doing with my horses, so it was easy to join that world. Later, agility also helped one of my favorite competition dogs, Sayre, come out of her shell after I rescued her as a very, very shy dog!”

Sayre’s name came from one of the characters in the movie “Sommersby,” which employed Jan as one of the horse handlers and the only dog trainer on set. As an equestrian, Jan has quite an extensive record: eventing at the U.S. Equestrian Team Headquarters, driving a team of minis in recognized competitions, participating in Western Pleasure and team penning, showing at the National Appaloosa Horse Club Show, horse orienteering and trick training. She also provided horses for other movies and events, including “It Takes Two” and the promotion for “Braveheart” on the “David Letterman Show.”

“I got to know many of the actors on those sets very well,” Jan said. “For instance, during ‘Sommersby’ in the early ’90s, Richard Gere and I often went on trail rides when we weren’t filming.”

Jan continues to train, breed and show both horses and dogs out of her Glory-Be Stables and The Kennel at Glory-Be in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Although she lost her last agility partner, a Jack Russell Terrier named Glory-Be Lyric, to kidney failure, she looks forward to getting back to the start line with his full sister from a different litter, Glory-Be Whickery.