From an early age, when she and her family vacationed at Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk, Rita Foster would tell her mother she would one day have her own horse stable. Her dream did come true some years later; it all started when a neighbor’s pony wandered into her yard on Benson Drive in Montauk in the early 1970s. That eventually led to the creation of Rita’s Stable, which she owned and operated until 2020.
Ms. Foster, who lived in Montauk for many years, had a deep affection for animals and went on to operate concessions at Deep Hollow Ranch during the 1980s and at Sears Bellows Stables in Hampton Bays in the late 1990s.
Ms. Foster died on Dec. 4 at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. With her were one of her daughters, Kelley Foster, and a close friend, Lisa Valcich of Montauk. The cause was complications from colon cancer surgery eight days earlier, stemming from an illness that was not diagnosed until recently. She was 78 and had been living in Hampton Bays.
Ms. Valcich remembered her as “a very generous person, tough, hard-working, and extremely caring to children and animals.” She called her friend “a Montauk legend.”
Jodi Landi of Shamong, N.J., said Ms. Foster taught her many important things about horses and sheep and inspired her to open her own stable in New Jersey. “She was the best friend I ever had,” Ms. Landi recalled. “Despite being tough and gruff, when you needed her, she was there.”
Ms. Foster told “priceless stories” about life in Montauk, said Chris Mele of Yonkers, another friend. “I would need weeks to describe this wonderful person who loved her daughters so very much,” Ms. Mele said. “My children and then grandchildren adored Rita. She was so proud and tough, but with a heart of gold. . . . It was a true privilege to have her as a friend.”
Rita L. Foster was born in New York City on Oct. 23, 1944, to Nicholas Barbis and the former Helen Schnatz. She grew up in Great Neck and graduated from Great Neck South High School.
In December 1967, she married Harold Foster Jr., with whom she had two children. The marriage ended in divorce.
In addition to her daughter Kelley Foster, who lives in Brooklyn, she is survived by another daughter, Diana Lee Foster of Hampton Bays. She also leaves a sister, Niki Schickler of Boca Raton, Fla.
Funeral services have not yet been announced. Her family has suggested memorial donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 200 Vesey Street, 28th Floor, New York City 10281, Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue, 17250 Old Frederick Road, Mount Airy, Md. 21771, or Last Chance Animal Rescue, P.O. Box 1661, Southampton 11968.
