Recently I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with the beloved founder of the Peninsula Committee Children’s Hospital (PCCH), Betty Davidson, who agreed to be interviewed for this article celebrating her 101st birthday on June 17th. Notoriously humble, Betty has not wavered from her insistence that all articles written should be about PCCH and not her, so this was a rare exception to her rule. Undoubtedly, hers has been a charmed life, chock full of happy memories, unique experiences and lots of smiles and laughter. A skillful raconteur, Betty captivates her listeners, telling stories masterfully with astonishing detail and a conspiratorial sense of humor. Her recall of dates, names and events is truly stunning and her vitality and dedication to her family, friends and community is legendary. After the afternoon was spent, we enthusiastically agreed, “It’s been a wonderful life!”

Ponies and Parades

Born in Hutchinson, Kansas on June 17, 1921 to Georgia and John Martin, Elizabeth Jean Martin certainly had an idyllic childhood. “Betty Jean,” as she was known back then, grew up in an exceptionally loving, happy home surrounded by horses and “riding bareback at the age of three or four” with her younger brother Jack, “a real looker,” who would go on to become a popular high school football star and accomplished WWII fighter pilot.

In 1923, when Betty was 12, the Martins moved to California, settling in the Los Angeles area. Betty continued to excel at horseback riding, and in 1934, her father surprised her with a beautiful dapple-gray parade horse named El Rumadi. Betty and “Madi” dazzled crowds in many parades including the “granddaddy of them all,” the Rose Parade. Prancing and dancing their way down Colorado Boulevard, it was grueling for them both, with Madi losing 100+ lbs. in the process! After the parade, Betty would head straight over to the Rose Bowl and hop on another horse for the opening ceremonies of the game, waving an American flag as she rode around the stadium showcasing her considerable horseback riding skills. “One time I was too far away after the parade to make it over to open the game in time,” conveys Betty with a sly giggle, “So I called my mother, who, without hesitation, put on one of my riding outfits, raced down to the Rose Bowl and rode for me.”

But the most meaningful parade Betty ever led was the Will Rogers Memorial Parade in Los Angeles. When Betty was 14, Will Rogers and Wiley Post were tragically killed in a plane crash in Alaska. “He was America’s philosopher cowboy, and everybody loved him. It was like somebody you knew personally, who was very important, had died,” reminisces Betty. About a year later, the mayor of Los Angeles asked if she would lead the parade down Broadway. “I was deeply honored. It was an exciting ride and one of the great highlights of my life,” relays Betty.

One Tough Cookie

To be as healthy and vibrant as Betty is at the elusive age of 101 is all the more astounding when considering her harrowing brushes with serious injury and even death.

In 9th grade, Betty was hospitalized after having become gravely ill with both pneumonia and scarlet fever at the same time. Things were so grim that her school principal called an all-school assembly, telling the shocked students, “Betty Martin is dying. We need to pray for her.” Her renowned doctors had given up, saying she wouldn’t survive the night. Having none of it, Betty’s father called in his friend Dr. Donald Ross, who was a very skilled surgeon. Dr. Ross proceeded to commandeer one of the hospital’s operating rooms in the middle of the night and, in a move quite unorthodox at the time, removed part of Betty’s rib from her back, thus enabling her flooded lung to drain and miraculously saving her life. “I was hospitalized for three months, but I’m totally fine today,” smiles the incredibly vital centenarian.

Later in her 50’s, Betty would survive a scary fall from a bucking horse that left her with a shoulder broken in 17 places and a crushed wrist. Incredibly, she completely healed and has no pain from these injuries.

Love at First Sight

Betty met the love of her life, Jack Davidson, when she was all of 13. (He was born exactly one year and one day before Betty on June 16, 1920.) In his memoir, Jack declares that, “My life changed. At this first meeting with Betty Jean Martin I was smitten – hard!” According to Jack, the pivotal moment of his life was when Betty transferred to join him at Northwestern his senior year after she finished her “extraordinarily popular freshman experience at Stanford.” They would marry eight years after they met in October of 1942 and enjoy a blissful marriage for 69 years until Jack’s passing in October of 2011.

Rolling Hills and Volunteer Drills

Betty and Jack had three children, Sherry and Bill and “our Cambodian daughter” Therry, who lived with them when she came to the US for college, quickly becoming part of the family. The Davidsons moved from Flintridge to Rolling Hills when Sherry was a girl to help with her asthma. Jack did his research and determined that the best air quality around was right here in Palos Verdes, so in 1951 the Davidson family built their lovely ranch style home, where Betty has lived ever since.

When asked what drove her to dedicate so much of her life to service, Betty explained, “My family was always doing something for somebody, whether they knew them or not. There is a joy in giving that you can’t get any other way. The inner satisfaction gained from doing something good for someone else, well nothing makes you feel better.” So naturally, when Betty had the opportunity to do so herself, she saddled up with her great friend Betty Learned and founded the Peninsula Committee Children’s Hospital (PCCH), an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that raises money for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). It all started in 1957 with an industrious crew of 12 Palos Verdes women recruited by “the Bettys,” and now is 170+ families strong. “We consider ourselves one big, happy family. There is a great bond of love, loyalty and friendship that runs through our group,” conveys Betty. (Fun fact: About the same time, Betty also founded the National Charity League Peninsula Chapter with some other women, creating yet another long-lasting and exceptional service group on the Hill.)

Jumping into the Ring

Her lifelong love of horses inspired Betty and another dynamic founding member, Oral Dryden, to suggest hosting a horse show to raise money for CHLA. In order to learn how to put one on successfully, the 12 founders trekked up to the leading show of the day held at the Flintridge Riding Club. “Back then at Flintridge, ladies wore mink coats to opening night, so we found furs for everyone and were dubbed the ‘Mink and Manure Girls’ in Angie Papadakis’ newspaper column,” laughs Betty.

They also noticed that Flintridge spent a lot of money on labor. “We didn’t hire anyone. Our wonderful husbands and families did it all – the painting, the set-up, the shavings, the food - everything,” Betty explains. “Right out of the gates that first year, we made $6,000 - more money than Flintridge did,” chuckles Betty. “So the next year, they came down to see how we did it!”

Betty devised the group’s timeless seahorse logo to represent “the little horse show by the sea,” and thanks to her personal connections with “one of the best trainers in America, Roy Register, who called in a lot of chips for us,” the first Portuguese Bend National Horse Show (PBNHS) “started at the top with the best trainers who brought their fine horses to give immediate stature to our show,” credits Betty. The first horse shows were held at the Portuguese Bend Stables, hence the show’s name. After the landslide, the show was moved to the Empty Saddle Club, and then on again in 1992 to its current home at Ernie Howlett Park and Equestrian Center, where horse show crowds each year exceed an estimated 3,500 visitors.

In the first shows, people used to ride up on their horses and watch from the rail. Betty Learned was a close friend of Christy Fox, the LA Times society columnist, “so our press was unbelievable,” remembers Betty. “We even got television coverage for several years since Johnny Grant was doing a series for CHLA back in the early TV days and put us on TV for our horse show.”

Betty believes that the impressive qualities innate in PCCH’s founding women are still the driving force behind the continued success of the PBNHS today. “We have the same strong, smart, resourceful women making it all happen.” And Betty has been right there leading the way. In pre-pandemic times, she would attend group meetings and events, and during the shutdown she’d Zoom into meetings to provide valuable advice and help guide decisions.

On Reaching 101

When asked what makes her most proud, Betty responds without hesitation, “My family. But after that it would have to be the Horse Show.” The secret to her longevity and good health? Her strong Christian faith, first and foremost, and then simply, “Happiness.” When queried further for the key to happiness, Betty says it’s, “a life spent with a loving, caring family and friends that know how to have fun.” Affectionately known as “Gong” to her six grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, Betty truly has been blessed with a healthy, joyful tribe.

She may have given up horseback riding in her mere 80’s, but if Betty had her druthers, she’d take great-granddaughter Georgia’s cutting horse “Katybug” out for a spin, if only her son Bill would let her. “Once I get up on the horse, it’s easy,” Betty explains. “You know, you never forget how to ride.”

And what an amazing ride it’s been, Betty! Happy Birthday! You are a gift to us all.

The 64th Annual Portuguese Bend National Horse Show, created by the truly incomparable Betty Davidson, will be held September 9-11 at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates.

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Maureen Hazard is the 2021-22 Publicity Chair for Peninsula Committee Children's Hospital (PCCH), an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that raises money for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). Founded in 1957 when a group of women from the South Bay were asked to help generate funds for a new recovery unit at CHLA, PCCH has grown to more than 170 South Bay families who volunteer all year long with the shared goal of helping the kids who need it most. The committee sponsors the Portuguese Bend National Horse Show in early September, as well as the Seahorse Classic golf tournament in the spring. Over the past 60 years, PCCH has donated over 18 million dollars to CHLA. This year all funds raised will support The Associates Chair in Endocrinology and The Associates Chair in Transplant Surgery. For more information, please visit www.pcch.net.