Tornado Trouble

Equestrian head coach Ellen White had mixed emotions April 29 when she returned from Houston to find her Waco house, barns and arena destroyed by a tornado. Her daughter, Shelby, a freshman at Baylor, was at home when the house collapsed at about 12:45 a.m. that morning but escaped injury. 
"We were driving back from Houston and my child called and said, 'The house is gone.' Then we drove up ... and it was bad," White said. "We were so thankful that our child was OK, and the rest of it is just stuff. I really liked my house, but it's not where my treasure is."
White's property, Willow Spring Farm, was the interim home of the equestrian program, Baylor's newest varsity sport. Among the University's 22 horses housed there, two were killed and six others were treated for injuries. The remaining horses were temporarily housed at McLennan Community College.
On April 21, the Board of Regents approved the construction of the Willis Family Equestrian Center, made possible by a $500,000 lead gift from Richard, BBA '81, MBA '82, and Karen Willis, BBA '85 (see page 13). The arena and horse stalls, which will be located near the campus, are expected to be completed by fall. Offices will be completed later.
"We were going to do the project in phases, but the phases have moved up because now we don't have any offices or anything, "White said. "Hopefully, there will be people who will feel generous and put up some money so we can put up [the facility] faster." 
On May 6, Baylor organized a cleanup day on White's property to clear the ground of debris and prepare a fence to contain the horses so that they could be safely returned.
"My husband and I are just in awe of the friends that we have and their willingness to help us at this time," White said.
White and her husband, Greg, will move in to a trailer they are buying at the site of the new equestrian facility on University Parks Drive. They will live there until construction of their new house is completed. She said she hopes that will happen within a year. They plan to leave the trailer at the equestrian center as a caretaker's house.