Sale Johnson, who owned several of the USA’s top international show jumpers in the late 20th Century, has died at the age of 73 in Jupiter, Fla., after battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
The horsewoman was an active rider as well as an owner. Karen Murphy recalled getting to know Sale when her family moved to New Jersey’s Somerset Hills from Union County.
“She was super welcoming,” Karen recalled.
“We did the Essex Foxhounds hunter pace. She was like a little kid, she was so excited about it, and I was a kid, I was 11 or 12. We thought that was a big deal and it was really fun,” said Karen, who called Sale “really generous of spirit.”
Born Nancy Sale Frey in St. Louis, Mo., Sale operated her equestrian interests out of a farm in Bedminster, N.J., and was known not only as a rider, but also a golfer and philanthropist who was concerned about the welfare of animals.
A natural athlete, Sale was a leader in basketball, softball, volleyball, swimming, field hockey, and tennis. She toured nationally on the junior tennis circuit and swam in the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) ranks.
At the University of Miami, she captained the varsity tennis team as a freshman. After graduation, Sale worked in real estate marketing in Miami, and served as an advisor to the Miami County School Board’s Distributive Education Program, where she helped young adults gain skills to prepare for their vocations.
In 1982, Sale moved to New York City, where she was devoted to numerous charitable and community efforts, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Morris Animal Foundation, the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Alzheimer’s Foundation and the Lupus Research Alliance.
Her main area of philanthropic interest was autoimmune research, particularly diabetes and lupus, two diseases that affected her immediate family. With her daughter, Casey, who died in 2010 of complications from diabetes, she co-authored “Managing Your Child’s Diabetes,” published in 1994.
She was honored for her philanthropic endeavors with several awards, including the Achievement Award for Volunteer Service from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as the Rosenwald Award for Outstanding Philanthropy.
An accomplished golfer, she won several championships in that sport. Her involvement with horses included her own riding experience and extensive involvement as a patron of the sport.
Michael Matz rode her horse, Heisman, who was the number one U.S. qualifier for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Sale also owned The General, who won team bronze and individual gold with Michael at the 1995 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires. Following the retirement of her two stallions, Heisman and Golan, she ran an international horse breeding business out of the farm in Bedminster.
Sale, who died Sept. 8, is survived by her siblings, Alan and Jimm; her children, Jaime and Ava; her granddaughter, Maeve Shulman, and two ex-husbands; New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson IV and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad.
Donations may be made in Sale’s memory to the Lupus Research Alliance, https://www.lupusresearch.org/.