Jackie Musler, age 86, of the Villages in Sumter County Florida, passed away on January 24, 2026. Her life story is as beautiful and far-reaching as her heart and generous nature.
She was born in Bennington, Vermont, the second child to Grace and Jacques Patroni in 1939. Her early life included residences in Vermont, Florida and New York due to her father’s military service and subsequent career as a professional golfer on the national circuit. When she was 10 years old, the family settled in Rye New York.
Jackie was a natural athlete with a resilient spirit that showed. In high school, she demonstrated her skills as a Cheerleader and Majorette while taking horseback riding lessons in rural Westchester County. Through her older sister Ann, she met her first husband and father of her children, Kenneth Maloney. Kenneth was a handsome, tall, highly intelligent Irishman who fashioned himself after famously “cool” James Dean. They played poker in the basement of her mother’s house, and they took boat rides on the lake at Playland Amusement park where he held summer jobs. Teenage love turned into marriage in 1959. A single tour for Kenneth as a Marine stationed in North Carolina included the joyful birth of son, Donald. Civilian life began for them with birth of daughter Sharon during a brief stay in New York, and the young family of four settled in Stamford Connecticut. In 1968, Jackie’s life took a dramatic, painful turn with the sudden death of her beloved Kenneth.
Life as a single mom was difficult for Jackie, yet slowly improved as she was comforted by her family, friends and horses. Jackie made horseback equitation and jumping a part of quality time with her children. Leased horses yielded to horse ownership when she purchased her first horse Zephir, a national jumping competitor. Zephir proved to be a worthy athlete for Jackie’s energy and ambitions, so they trained for Fox hunting where the two competed in annual hunts in Westchester County, NY. During this time, Joe Musler, her friend from Stamford Connecticut, proved to be her romantic hero and promised her a whole new life.
Jackie and Joe married in Tarrytown New York in 1970. They combined their skills to create successful computer software companies that gave them purpose and prosperity. Their business endeavors took them to many locales where they enjoyed successive residences over the years throughout the USA and Europe. Retirement from their business endeavors in the 1990s gave them the luxury of time that brought them ultimate joy and peace for the rest of their lives in pursuit of equine experiences.
Jackie’s accomplishments in the horse world after retirement were nothing short of outstanding. She started her carriage ownership/training with a single Morgan horse using a modest carriage, eventually working up to a pair. Jackie’s first four-in-hand Friesian team with a glorious European carriage came as a surprise birthday gift from Joe. Along with trainer David Saunders, Jackie presented the Friesian breed to the USA carriage driving sport at the first ever four-in-hand club driving event, thus establishing the breed-previously unrepresented in the sport-as a naturally suitable and highly desirable favorite.
Along the way Jackie and Joe built her dream residence and professional equine facility “Canterbury Tails”, choosing the property for its proximity to the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida. Jackie and David trained the Friesans as singles, as pairs and in tandem, and majestic four-in-hand arrangements that sometimes included a lead horse in tandem (a ‘5-er’). They participated in competitions and exhibits, as marathon driving competitors, dressage competitors and in confirmation displays. Her carriage collection was equally impressive including stately carriages fit for a King and Queen to athletic carriages fit for an Olympic athlete. Canterbury Tails also included her special pair of miniature horses, Thunder and Lightning, who pulled carriages built to scale.
To top her accomplishments and dreams, her passion and skill with the Friesian breed took them to Europe with teammates-other US-based and world renown owner/driver horse teams-for the “USEF FEI World Championship for pairs” in Riesenbeck Germany in 2000. Her horse/driver team worked hard, showed professionally and demonstrated integrity as a team of horses and driver within a team of owner/competitors. They were admired by other international competitors whom they befriended along the way. Jackie’s and Joe’s contribution to the history of US equestrian pursuits using the Friesian breed is notable and indelible.
Jackie will be interred with her husband, Joe, at Highland Memorial Park in Ocala; her celebration of life will be scheduled for a later date. In lieu of flowers, tribute donations can be made to Poodle and Pooch Rescue or the Leesburg Humane Society.
Dear Jackie, your family and four-legged friends will miss you dearly, but you are forever in our hearts.
