Elizabeth Colleen Grisell

Elizabeth Colleen Grisell Short was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 28, 1969. She was the wife of Mark Patrick Short, mother of Ian Short, and daughter of Ted Wood Grisell and Barbara Snyder Grisell.

Beth was a beautiful, kind and independent soul, with a deep love for animals. She grew up showing hunter and jumper horses on the competitive "A" circuits. While living on a horse farm raising and training sport horses for showing and fox hunting, she learned the importance of proper management and conditioning. By the age of twelve she was breaking horses raised on the family farm, and by thirteen, she was breaking horses for others. She gained many experiences training horses and competing on a national level, winning many awards throughout her career. By the age of sixteen she began breaking and training horses as a profession. Two years later she was gaining the experience of working Thoroughbreds on the track. Beth spent time training horses in Australia for the racetrack, and retraining horses off the track for the sport of Eventing. Upon returning to the US, she began competing her own horses in Eventing, and teaching students in the sport. Her knowledge in dressage, jumping, conditioning and nutrition were critical in training for the sport. Noting the need for the knowledge of proper conditioning and management techniques in the sport, she published an important book entitled “Care and Management of the Event Horse” (available on Amazon).

Beth was an expert in nutrition and studied at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she met the love of her life, her husband Mark Short. In 2001, Beth and Mark were blessed with the second love of her life, their only son, Ian.

Beth spent her life raising Ian, and training and competing sport horses, including at her event training complex in North Carolina, Fox Fire Farms. Her love of all animals was renowned in her family.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her honor and to her work, to the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, https://pathintl.org/donate/.. a memorial direct link is located at the bottom of this page. 

Beth’s life will forever be cherished in lives of her family, her husband Mark, her son Ian, her parents, Ted and Barbara, her Sister Meg, brother Robbie, her many brothers and sisters-in-law, and nieces and nephews who all love her dearly. She was preceded in death by her beloved sister, Amy.

The family is honorably served by Gentry-Newell & Vaughan, 503 College Street, Oxford, NC 27565