Marty Haist, Saddle Master and Popular Figure in USA Dressage — 1952-2024
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Oct. 18, 2024
Martin Eugene Haist, a saddle master prominent in the United States dressage community, has died at the age of 72.
Marty, as he was known, was born in Amityville, New York. He moved to Long Beach, New York where he married Beth Blakely in 1978 and settled in Oklahoma.
He became a saddle master who honed his skills at Sommer Saddlery in Germany where he developed the Sommer Flextra saddle for dressage.
Marty also held a fine arts degree and expressed his creativity through painting and sculpting.
As the owner of Tulsa Wood Interiors and The Horse Of Course in Claremore, Oklahoma and Wellington, Florida, Marty was a fixture in the equestrian community.
He was an avid surfer and skier as well as a dressage rider and hosted numerous dressage schooling shows at their Woodstock Farm in Claremore.
Marty is survived by his widow and business partner, Beth Haist, stepdaughter Michelle Fairley of Devon, England and grandsons Rob Fairley of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Dr. Jon Fairley of Devon, sisters, Mary Haist of Westhampton Beach, New York and Eileen D’Alessio of New York City.
A memorial service will be held during the winter season in Wellington with details to be announced.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Marty’s honor to https://horsesforachange.org
