Theresa Alison Smyth, known to all as “Al,” was a student at Horse Power for Life and a strong advocate of the benefits it offered cancer patients and their families. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 27, 1988, to a Foreign Service family, she subsequently lived in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Jamaica before returning to the United States to complete high school. Fearless in all endeavors and deeply contemptuous of all hypocrisy or cruelty, she enjoyed horse-back riding and anything to do with animals, reflecting her keen interest in animal behavior, as well as rock climbing, hiking, literature, knitting, aquatics, and the theater. 

“ Al” was a student at the University of Virginia pursuing a dual major in psychology and biology when she was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer that strikes mainly young women. During her illness, she discovered Horse Power for Life through a newspaper article and formed a bond with the people and the horses that helped sustain her through difficult times. When she passed away on February 28, 2010, in recognition of her all-encompassing compassion, her family requested contributions in Alison’s memory to Horse Power for Life. The Theresa Alison Smyth Scholarship Fund was started so that other cancer patients could benefit as she did from the program.