Gail Ruffu

Gail Elizabeth Ruffu (born circa 1950) is an American horse trainer and is the subject of a 2018 graphic novel by Greg Neri, ''Grand Theft Horse''. She studied riding in Europe as a teen. Returning to the United States, she was a riding instructor in the 1980s. She began training racehorses in the 1990s, promoting the use of gentle methods without the use of any type of medication. Ruffu's training style was unorthodox and she was once suspended for nine months from California tracks in part for her activism, though the suspension was later reversed. In 2004, Ruffu became a 20% owner of a horse named Urgent Envoy, whom she trained, and after being fired as his trainer, became the subject of controversy when she took the horse from his other owners. She was charged with theft and later acquitted, but her racing license was suspended for almost seven years. To this day, the horse remains at an undisclosed location. Ruffu continues to train other racehorses but to date has never won a reported race. Provided by Wikipedia