FAMILY SHOWCASE I
mor with love of life, mix together with a bit of the loyalty of a sheep dog, wrap that into a huge basket of “don’t mess with my family” and finish it off with a genuine sensitivity and commitment to never knowingly hurting ANYONES feeling….and you still find Pam Theodasakis!! Pam, following along behind her daughters Paris and Pearl,
was introduced to the horse world when the girls began riding ponies at ages 5 and 9 at a local stable. It obviously didn’t take long before the girls were bitten by the horse show bug and off they went, mom doing the driving. Ask Pam dur- ing that time what her main parent role was and she could happily reply with her typical laugh, “DRIVER!” Quickly, the growing
f “dynamic energy” could be bundled up and crammed into one small human being, you would have Pam Theodasakis. Couple that with childlike enthusiasm for horses and the sport, add in a huge dash of unabashed hu-
continued her work as the founder and Trendologist for the family business that she and her husband Beaver Theodasa- kis started in 1993. The company has continued to be owned and fully run by the Theodasakis family where personal over- sight is still part of their trademark success. Prana, (the Sanskrit word meaning "vital life") began in the
garage of their home, where they personally cut and sewed clothing which was shipped to customers in surplus fruit boxes gathered from the local grocery store. They started out making clothes that worked well for climbing and yoga, but it turned out that the clothing was also suitable for many other passions as well which opened up new possibilities. They added new prod-
competitive spirit capti- vated them all and the move to Newmarket in Del Mar, California, was the next step to nurture the riding career path the girls were on. Paris, the older of the two, showed through the ranks on several ponies, winning the 2006 West Coast Pony Finals on her Medium Pony, Whiskey Rocks. She dabbled in Hunters in both the Children’s and Junior Hunter divisions while competing in the PCHA and Maclay equita- tion divisions. But the real thrill for Paris was introduced at the opportu-
nity to lease, and eventually purchase, Blue Bayou from Ali- son Van Sickle and travel to Spruce Meadows for a ride on the WCAR Jumper Teams. Success for her, on that seriously fast little mare, spurred the jumper passion and there was no looking back. This pair quickly started collecting the blues in the Modified Jr/Am and Low Jumper Divisions. Pearl on the other hand, had quietly been doing her own
thing on the lovely hand me down ponies from Paris but was about to graduate to ponies of her own. Hitting the circuit on both coasts, Pearl was consistently ranked top ten nationally on her Small Ponies, Made For Me and Helicon's Take Notice along with her Medium Ponies, Hands Up and Whiskey Rocks. In 2008 they headed to the Kentucky sum-
ing additional retail stores, having done so in Boulder, Santa Barbara and Portland. Although running a business and being a horse show mom
ucts with "purpose" in mind and scoured the world for design inspi- ration. Members of the Fair Trade Organization, the Theodasakis driven Prana Company contin- ues to mindfully produce purpose built clothing with an emphasis on health, wellness and sus- tainability. Now selling to 40 different countries, Pam is also busy open-
was all great fun, Pam finally decided to give the sport a try for herself. Having lunch with her daughter's trainer CeCe Bloum, Pam said, "I really want to start riding." Almost on a lark, a new rider was born with the same driven passion as the daughters. It wasn't long before she was posting, canter- ing and then jumping her first jump.
Having skied professionally, she traveled across the United States as a mogul specialist from the age of 17 until she was 23 years old. Having had a successful career in skiing, the transition to horse show competition was seamless. She did her first show in May of 2008 on a schoolmaster mare called Diva, starting in the Green Rider Hunter Division. By this time Pearl, having opted to skip the Large ponies, was
Opposite Page - Top to Bottom: Pearl Theodosakis and Maxwell Bay; Pam Theodosakis and Midnight Special; Paris Theodosakis and Blue Bayou. This Page: Midnight Special, Pam, Beaver, Pearl, Paris and Undercover.
53 Pam is no stranger to the world of competitive sports.
mer shows and places east which brought Championships all along that coast, including a Championship at The Hampton Classic, and then heading to Indoors. Amid all of the showing excitement and travel, Pam had
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