Biography for

Patricia Tarkington Agnello

as published in the 2009 Pollen Count

Patricia Tarkington Agnello (Brookpark, OH)  After graduating, Pat attended Kent State University for two years, married in 1961 and had three children; a girl and two boys. She volunteered at the YWCA and took Lifesaving and Water Safety Instructor training. She taught swimming for 30 years including nine in a program for children with physical disabilities.

Pat returned to full-time employment in 1975 and completed a BA in Business Administration from Baldwin Wallace College. In 1995, after completing a Master's Degree in Education in Exercise Science and Sports Management at Cleveland State, she changed careers from human resources to fitness training and management.

Pat is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. She has worked in a hospital-based fitness center and two employee fitness centers. Currently she works call-in, covering staff time off and also does some personal training. "Being a total nut, I ran the Chicago and Cincinnati marathons about ten years ago."

Along the way, Pat divorced and remarried. Her children finished school, married and presented them with two grandsons who are now 11 and 16. "We lost our beloved daughter to breast cancer in 2005.  Although I golf, bike and have many interests, they no longer held my attention for a long time. Eventually I tried volunteering at a horse rescue stable for a couple years."

"Remember those exciting cowboy movies and TV shows that were popular when we were kids? I always wanted to be a cowgirl. Riding across the land looked so cool! Dale Evans back at the café, not so much. Long story short, I bought a horse and began learning to ride Western. She and I have had many fun and exciting (sometimes too exciting!) hours on the Hinckley Trails this past year. We even went on an obstacle ride last fall. There's nothing quite like hugging a horse. She gives me something to look forward to, like learning to be a better rider for one thing. Riding is every bit as much fun as it looked like way back then. It's never too late to be a cowgirl."