Sarah Marie Stebbins, an accomplished equestrian who also taught riding, died May 29 after being injured in a Howard County automobile accident.
She was 21.
Ms. Stebbins was driving east on Route 32 in Elkridge when she lost control of her 2002 Nissan Xterra. She hit a guardrail and then a concrete barrier on a bridge, which caused her car to roll over.
Ms. Stebbins was pronounced dead at the scene, family members said.
Howard County police said that Ms. Stebbins was speeding and not wearing her seat belt at the time of the accident.
"I don't know why Sarah wasn't wearing her seat belt. She always wore her seat belt," said her mother, Valerie Ruth Stebbins of Elkridge.
Ms. Stebbins was born in Baltimore and raised in Elkridge. She was a 2008 graduate of Howard High School and had studied at Howard Community College.
Ms. Stebbins was 11 years old when she began riding.
"I had a pony when I was little, and Sarah was 11 when she got her first pony and started taking lessons," said Mrs. Stebbins. "She then got a former race thoroughbred horse, Mahsato, who was the love of her life."
"She took lessons with Jill Windsor and started competing. She just loved it," her mother said.
Ms. Windsor, owner of Windsor Stables in Linthicum, said she liked Ms. Stebbins from the beginning. "She was really good and a natural-born rider. She had a nice feel for horses, or empathy, and got the best out of them."
Ms. Windsor said that her former student had been hungry for knowledge.
"She was always wanting to learn more, that was the biggest thing with her. She was always trying to be better and better all the time," she said. "I sold her Mahsato, who died last year. She won many championships with that horse."
Ms. Stebbins, who lived at her childhood home in Elkridge, won many ribbons and awards in cross-country riding, stadium jumping and dressage.
"She liked horses with spunk — and not slow horses. She liked to go fast and had no fear," her mother said.
"Her father built a barn and a riding ring on the property so that Sarah could keep her horses, practice and teach riding lessons there," said Ted Greisman, an uncle, who lives in Elkridge.
"They had just finished building new jumps together so that she could train a recently acquired horse," he said. "She was an extraordinary young woman who was as talented as she was beautiful."
Ann C. Mohler's daughters, Cassie, 16, and Caroline, 14, started taking riding lessons with Ms. Stebbins several years ago.
"Sarah was very good and detail-oriented. She took them to shows and they had to clean the horse and trailer, and get the tack in order," said Mrs. Mohler, who lives in Elkridge.
"She was a good teacher and very patient with the girls. However, she wasn't a pushover by any means, and was like a big sister to Cassie," she said.
"Sarah loved taking kids to shows. She'd tell them it wasn't about winning but how well you did. She was so good with them. Just a wonderful girl," said Mrs. Stebbins.
At the time of her death, Ms. Stebbins was working at the Gray Pony Saddle and Tack Shop in Highland.
Her uncle said Ms. Stebbins was an avid animal lover.
"She often brought home strays to care for them. She once found an abandoned cat locked in a bird cage for days in a parking lot," said Mr. Greisman. "Sarah brought him home, nursed him to health, and he's now the most friendly and grateful barn cat you'll ever come across."
In addition to fast horses, Ms. Stebbins' other passion, her uncle said, was cars and racing.
Ms. Stebbins owned and raced a high-performance Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and named it Clifford because it reminded her of a red hot dog. Recently, she repainted the car purple and christened it Barney.
Services were Saturday.
In addition to her mother and uncle, Ms. Stebbins is survived by her father, Thomas P. Stebbins; a brother, Samuel C. Stebbins of Elkridge; a sister, Heather Lynn Stebbins of Boston; paternal grandparents Rowland P. and Patricia A. Stebbins of Ellicott City; her maternal grandmother, Janet Greisman of Elkridge; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.