"I sat down on the curb and started to cry because I didn't know what was going to happen to him," Tyler said. "When my daddy found me and saw how upset I was, he bought Chief back."

It was from that experience that Tyler gained a love for painted horses and later became the founder of the American Paint Horse Association.

Tyler had a rocky start. There was doubt and disbelief that the painted horse would ever be equal to a quarter horse or thoroughbred. Her late husband was a professional horseman and said he didn't like color. He told her she would never see a painted horse worth more than $500.

"Cowboys aren't too colorful," Tyler said. "But it didn't take long for people to recognize the quality in the horses."

In the end, Tyler's husband ended up working with painted horses and buying one for $500.

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