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c h r o n o f h o r s e . c o m ja n ua r y/ f e b r ua r y 2 015 69 ist who co-founded loctite Corporation with his father, chemist Vernon K. Krieble. founded in 1956, loctite became a fortune 500 company after producing, among other things, a sealant that would be the basis for super glue. "[eir story] was taught as an example at harvard and other places because it was so unusual that a chemical researcher would create a major company after inventing the product," helen says. But it wasn't just her father's business and research acumen that inspired a young helen—his fascination with and participa- tion in public policy initiatives left a lasting impression on his daughter. "my dad was always interested in gov- ernment, liberty and the principals of the founding fathers and always supported any- thing that fell in that area," she says. "i fol- lowed in his footsteps." e Krieble family has a long history of involvement with conservative politics. robert, a champion of free market prin- ciples and small government, served as vice chairman of the conservative think tank e heritage foundation and on the board of the free Congress foundation. he also established the Krieble institute in 1989 with the goal of fostering capitalism in the soviet union and eastern europe. so it was no surprise when, in 1984, helen established the Vernon K. Krieble foundation, "to further democratic capital- ism and to preserve and promote a society of free, educated, healthy and creative indi- viduals." she still serves as the organization's president. helen conceptualizes her life to date as divided into thirds: one-third spent on public policy, another on the Colorado horse park, and the final third on her fam- ily, which includes three children and 10 grandchildren. (helen was married for 25 years to J. peter fusscas, a republican for- mer member of the Connecticut house of representatives, but the pair divorced more than 20 years ago.) But now it's time for a shift. on Aug. 1, helen announced her plans to retire from the Chp in January and her intention to sell the facility in order to focus on affecting immigration reform. "i am very proud of what we accom- plished. [e horse park] has grown in rep- utation, and it's really a very special place," she says. "You learn by experience. You have some outrageous successes and some outra- geous failures, and i learned. "But i'm getting old now, and the immi- gration issue is very important to me," she continues. "so it's time for me to leave. i am looking for somebody who has the enthusi- asm and the energy and hopefully the finan- cial resources to take that beautiful place to the next level." her r aison d'ÊTre e keystone of the Krieble foundation's immigration platform is known as the red Card solution, and it's partially informed by helen's experiences with her own employees at the Chp. "i have 10-15 guest workers every year in the summer season that come in on h2-B visas, and they are friends of ours. ey've gone back and forth for years and years and are magnificent workers. we talked a lot CarrIe WIrTH PHoTo A typical Saturday after- noon crowd for one of the Horse Park's many grand prix classes.

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