Carolyn was born August 22,1974 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kansas, City, Missouri, daughter of William Propst Arney and Marcia Shari (Harrison) Arney of Bethany, Missouri.
Her paternal grandparents were Gilbert William Arney and Mary Belle (Propst) Arney, and her maternal grandparents were Trevlyn Perry Harrison and Charlene (Bush) Harrison all of Bethany.
Her grandparents predeceased her. She leaves her mother, Marcia Shari Arney, stepfather, Larry G. Phillips, of Bethany, and her brother, David Harrison Arney, his wife, Kara Elizabeth Bryant and their two children Olivier DiTommaso Arney and Paloma Grace Arney, of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Carolyn attended Preschool, and Kindergarten through second grade in Des Moines, Iowa, then moved to Norwalk, Iowa in 1982. She attended grades 3-9 at Norwalk, after which she attended Culver Girls’ Academy, Culver, Indiana, graduating in 1992. Following graduation, she attended Hollins College, Roanoke, Virginia, majored in Biology, graduating in 1997. After college, she moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. She began working at the Charlottesville airport in 1997 for ComAir, a division of Delta airlines, and continued working for Delta Global Services with Delta and United airlines until her passing. She was a highly competent ticket and gate agent who listened and took care of her customers’ needs as noted by her many thank you cards received.
At age 2, Carolyn took her first horse ride, encouraged by her grandfather, G.W. (Bill) Arney. From that day on, her passion for horses became the center of her life. She began riding lessons at age 8, won
the high points for class D in Iowa on her first horse Shasta, at age 11, and the bronze medal at the Iowa Olympics at age 15. She took her black quarter horse ‘Rush Play’ to Culver Girls’ Academy, where she competed in show jumping, dressage, and polo, and rode with the Black Horse Troop in the Cotton Bowl Parade in Dallas, Texas. She also took Rush Play to Blue Ridge Summer School, outside of Charlottesville, at age 16,
where she met Harry DeLeyer, the horse trainer who changed her life. Rush Play accompanied her to Hollins College the first year, after which she boarded him at Mr. DeLeyer’s stable, so that both she and Rush Play could benefit from Harry’s training during weekends and summers.
In her show jumping career, when she competed at a higher level, she purchased two horses from Mr. DeLeyer, Dutch Glory and Dutch Peppermint. Her last horse, Miss Adversity, or Addie needed her loving care, patience, and expertise to treat her and train her as a pleasurable trail ride horse. Addie has been adopted and is currently cared for and loved.
Carolyn was a lifetime member of the American Horse Show Association. She also maintained her membership in the United States Equestrian Team Association.
Carolyn was baptized at age 11 by Rev. Don Bayse at the Fort Des Moines Church of Christ (Disciples of Christ). She loved her family and enjoyed her many friends, and we will always remember her sense of humor and her wonderful laugh.