2019 ASHA US Equestrian National Horse, Equestrian & Pegasus Awards Nominees
The American Saddlebred Horse Association is proud to share the list of nominees that we submitted for honors from US Equestrian during their upcoming Pegasus Awards at the Annual Meetings in West Palm Beach, Florida in January. ASHA members are making remarkable things happen every day for the future of the American Saddlebred and equestrian life. It is our honor to acknowledge these dedicated members this year and thank them for all of their contributions to our breed and community. Nominations can be made by individual members and Affiliate leadership.
Ellen Scripps Davis Memorial Breeder’s Cup- Carolyn Koch
Carolyn Koch has been breeding pugs for 27 years. In March of 2004, she left the Louisville dog show to go to a Saddlebred horse farm to breed her stud dog. She immediately fell in love with the horses there and left owning her first Saddlebred mare, and from there Carolyn’s Riverdreams LLC was born.
Carolyn’s breeding program began with Penny’s Free Spirit and the first foal was born in 2008. Since then, Carolyn has strived to show and breed the best Saddlebreds possible and also give back to the amazing sport as much as it has given back to her.
In today’s breeding world of embryo transfer, it is common for breeders to only have a few mares that produce 4-8 babies a year. Carolyn has maintained diversity in our industry by taking ownership of over 20 mares to breed and making a commitment to add genetic diversity to our breed. Carolyn has been vital in safeguarding our industry and its future.
Carolyn has contributed to our industry in so many ways. She makes contributions to the American Saddlebred Horse Museum, hosted the annual Youth Luncheon at the American Saddlebred Horse Association’s Youth Conference, and provided new lighting for Stopher Walk at the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Kentucky. Carolyn also sponsors the organ music for the World’s Championship Horse Show each year, along with many classes at multiple shows over the years and has supported a number of youth to show her horses at different venues so that they can gain further experience of this wonderful breed.
USEF Horse of the Year- CH The Daily Lottery
CHThe Daily Lottery
2004 American Saddlebred gelding (Sultan’s Great Day x Callaway’s Lady Lottery/CHWill Shriver)
Owner: Hillcroft Farm
No stranger to Louisville’s Freedom Hall, home of the World’s Championship Horse Show, CHThe Daily Lottery triumphed once again on the green shavings to win the World’s Champion Five-Gaited Gelding Stake for the second consecutive year, while also repeating World’s Grand Champion Five-Gaited honors, his 16th and 17th career world’s titles. Danny Lockhart was again the winning trainer/rider, delivering a unanimous World’s Grand Championship over 15 rivals for the second consecutive year, representing the training team at Kalarama Farm and owners Misdee Wrigley Miller and James Miller of Hillcroft Farm. CHThe Daily Lottery also was five-gaited grand champion at the Shenandoah Classic Horse Show and the Asheville Saddlebred Classic Horse Show, and he closed out the season with his third consecutive Five-Gaited National Championship at the UPHA/American Royal National Championship Horse Show. Also a six-time World’s Champion of Champions, “Dan” is the only horse in history to win five-gaited championship titles at the World’s Championship Horse Show in the Open, Junior Horse, Amateur, and Junior Exhibitor divisions, cementing his status as one of the all-time greats of the breed at the amazing age of 15.
Equestrian of the Year- Misdee Wrigley Miller
Misdee Wrigley Miller is a highly regarded and respected equestrian, breeder, owner and person in the American Saddlebred community. In 2019, Misdee and her horses won 10 World Champion titles, including the five-gaited World’s Grand Championship with CH The Daily Lottery ridden by Danny Lockhart and the Road Horse World’s Grand Championship with Live Action driven by Larry Hodge. Misdee was always first or second when competing in 2019 horse shows. Aside from this very successful year, Misdee has been a dedicated owner and breeder of the American Saddlebred for over 20 years. She has bred over 70 American Saddlebred and owned even more.
Outside of the breed, Misdee is an accomplished combined driving athlete for Team USA. In 2018, she was part of the World Equestrian Games Gold Medal team and drove a coach at Royal Ascot. Misdee is committed to bettering the equine industry through her involvement with programs such as the Kentucky Equine Education Project and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation. She and her husband, James, promote the love of equestrian sport across the globe with their Hillcroft Farm and Sarasota Polo Club, most recently hosting the Developing Young Athletes Clinic.
Junior Equestrian of the Year- Sallie-Mason Wheeler
Sallie-Mason Wheeler is a dedicated young equestrian that has been exhibited competitive excellence for the 2019 competition season. Campaigning across the country Sallie-Mason took home over 16 victories in multiple ASHA and USEF regions across multiple divisions with a wide variety of horses. One marker that has set Sallie-Mason season apart is her remarkable undefeated streak at this year’s highly competitive World’s Championship Horse Show. She took home four World’s Championships and two World’s Champions of Champions. Sallie-Mason swept both the Junior Exhibitor Five-Gaited Show Pleasure and Junior Exhibitor 14-17 Five-Gaited divisions qualifying rounds with four different horses. She continued her winning ways at our breed National Championship adding the Junior Exhibitor Three-Gaited division to her dance card to come home victorious in three performance divisions.
Sallie-Mason is not just an accomplished junior equestrian in the American Saddlebred breed, but has also had much success with hackney ponies and with hunter jumpers on the USHJA circuit. She is a well-rounded equestrian that promotes respect for the horse and sportsmanship amongst her peers. Outside of USEF competitions, Sallie-Mason enjoys participating in local foxhunting events in her native Virginia. Above all else, she is committed to the horse and the equestrian way of life, being very hands on with the activities of her family’s horse farm and with her show string based in West Virginia.
In addition to her standout season in the show ring Sallie-Mason was very active volunteering for the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) and the United Professional Horsemen’s Association (UPHA). She partnered with other Saddlebred youth to assist with UPHA fundraisers, competitions and events to help raise funds and awareness for their Benevolent Fund and National Conference. For the ASHA Sallie-Mason dedicated her time during the World’s Championship Horse Show to help promote the American Saddlebred volunteering to help with our educational feature, “Behind the Saddlebred Scenes.”
Pegasus Medal of Honor- Carson Kressley
Carson Kressley has gone beyond any criteria one could set for promotion, dedication, or service to the American Saddlebred. For his commitment to the American Saddlebred Horse Association and our breed he has been awarded both the Gordon Jenkins International Award (2018) and the Wing Commander Medal (2019). Stardom has given him a platform from which to promote the American Saddlebred and he has embraced that role whole-heartedly. As his persona, business, and publicity continue to grow, he always has us following right behind him. This year alone he has featured the American Saddlebred on the national media outlets such as Live with Kelly and Ryan, Breeders Cup, People Magazine and many more. Carson is continually bringing attention to our industry, events, organization and the equestrian way of life on a global scale.
He is regular participant and face of the American Saddlebred during the coveted Tournament of Roses Parade as part of Michele Macfarlane’s celebrated Scripps Miramar Ranch Saddlebreds unit. He was integral in promoting the American Saddlebreds presented at the Washington International Horse Show, 2014 UPHA Symphony of Horse, taking Saddlebreds on the Nate Berkus Show in 2011 and supporting countless specials and features in equestrian based media.
It is an immense blessing to have this selfless patron of our association and our sport. Has he ever said anything other than yes to the call to help the breed? The answer is no. He is an individual everyone loves and he brings that effervescent light to everything he does. Aside from promotion, Carson is always dedicating his time and knowledge to help the show horse industry. To have such a dedicated and charismatic passing on his passion for horses to the world is something we at the ASHA and as an equestrian community could never repay him.
Perpetual Sportsmanship Award- Ali DeGray
Alexandra “Ali” DeGray is an individual who makes a positive impact on the American Saddlebred and its community in and out of the ring. It is rare that an elite competitor such as Ali to be known equally for her kindness and good will, as she is for her numerous equestrian accomplishments. Always positive and friendly, Ali encourages her competitors in and out of the area. For her it is always about the love of the sport, competition, and her friends.
A fierce competitor on the rail, Ali is the first one to crack a smile and start a conversation to create the kindship that makes equestrian sport so spectacular. She will use her position as a role model to be an ambassador for sportsmanship both in and out of the ring. Ali regularly takes opportunities to mentor junior equestrians. From volunteering to speak at clinics, giving away victory passes and offering horses she is not competing to other exhibitors, she creates opportunities for fellow equestrians to grow their love for the sport.
Even more impressive than the sportsmanship she displays to her peers is the diplomat she serves as in the greater equestrian community. A devote lover of the horse and all living creatures Ali can’t help but exude passion for being an equestrian. Ali regularly provides horses and is on hand to promote at events like BreyerFest. She is very active on social media educating people about the breed and encouraging other breed lovers to engage with her and her many celebrity horses.
In 2019, Ali had a great year competitively with her American Saddlebreds, Hackney Ponies and Road Horses. She celebrated almost 50 victories from a wide array of divisions and shows across the country. At our affiliate’s premier show, the World’s Championship Horse Show, she competed 19 times. Of those 19 appearances, she and her horses had seven victories and seven reserve finishes. These titles encompassed three breeds and were as prestigious as World’s Grand Champion, World’s Champion of Champions and World’s Reserve Grand Champion.
EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award- Nealia McCracken
Nealia McCracken has been an innovator for the betterment, preservation and welfare of the American Saddlebred for decades. Nealia was one of the pioneers in educating and promoting non-saddle seat disciplines to the American Saddlebred community. As one of her students who has gone on to train many champions in hunt seat and western, “Nealia was one of the first to make the American Saddlebred Western Horse cool.” This ability to think outside of the box and put the welfare of every American Saddlebred first is what has made this exemplary horsewoman a pillar of the equestrian community.” From providing horses to go on national television to fulfilling the versatile display of American beauty for breed demonstrations across the country Nealia has done whatever it takes to help the American Saddlebred.
In late 2005, Nealia decided to give back to the horses and donated her one day off a week to attend the horse auctions in eastern Pennsylvania. She teamed up with Patricia Johnson, also of Blairstown, NJ and Christy Parker of Georgia to develop Saddlebred Rescue Inc., a nonprofit organization that saves American Saddlebreds from slaughter and places these horses back into the system mostly as lesson horses, but also as companion animals. She has worked tirelessly to not only assist the horses, but also bridge the different equine communities to help create a future that keeps horses from being in this vulnerable position. To date the organization has saved and placed thousands horses and has been serving the breed nearly fifteen years.
Nealia is a regular speaker at national and regional conferences, USEF Network color commentator, has written articles for horse publications and has been an active clinician. She is a long-time advocate of the American Saddlebred and has volunteered her time at horse expos, parades and other events. She has been an advisor on several boards both in the Midwest and now in the Mid-Atlantic region. She has been a key speaker at ASHA and UPHA conferences as well as local charter club functions. For years, Nealia helped organize the Saddlebred Promotion booth at the Kentucky State Fair and other events across the country to introduce and educate the public on American Saddlebreds. She does this through tours through the barns, petting booths, guided commentary and hands on experience target toward providing education about the show horse industry to the public.
Richard E. McDevitt Award of Merit- Jeanette Durant
Jeanette Durant memory and impact in the American Saddlebred industry spans generations. In partnership with her husband Dick, they made an everlasting legacy in our breed community. Together they owned and operated Belle View Acres, a pillar of the Midwest American Saddlebred. Through their training, they built a legacy of great horses and greater friends and clients, and young trainers who would carry on the work they love.
When Jeanette started, she could count on one hand the number of women in the business, including Helen Crabtree, Donna Moore and herself were the same age. They were trailblazers in the industry for women. She was highly regarded for her aptitude for riding a five-gaited horse and was one of the first women to show a five-gaited stallion. Aside from her personal skills and accomplishments, Jeanette dedicated herself to mentoring other young trainers.
Jeanette’s dedication and character were recognized over the years with many awards and honors from the Saddlebred industry. She the very first recipient of the Audrey Guthridge Award, inducted to both the World’s Championship Horse Show and UPHA Tom Moore Hall of Fame and a three time UPHA Chapter 10 Horseman of the Year. As a training combination, she was honored alongside her husband as the UPHA Richard Lavery Horsepersons of the Year and the UPHA Larry Bacon Lifetime Achievement award.
Jeanette and her husband treated every customer as an individual and had horses and ponies for every division. For years, Jeanette and her husband fixed Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for horse people around the area who had no place to go. They made many wonderful friends over the years through the barn and horses.
Lifetime Achievement-Michele Macfarlane
Michele Macfarlane is an equestrian and American Saddlebred enthusiasts that has contributed to the promotion, betterment and expansion of the American Saddlebred as she has been successful in her competitive accomplishments. An equestrian who inherited a love and respect for the equestrian life from her mother, Ellen Browning Scripps Davis, she is above all else a horsewoman. She has honestly done what no other woman or person has done before and has yet to do in our industry. Individually and through her families Scripps Miramar Ranch, Michele has created history in the show ring and brought the American Saddlebred to people across the world at an unprecedented level.
Competitively, Michele broke the mold, she made history and continues stand-alone for her accomplishments as an owner, rider, breeder, amateur trainer and female. A few of her show ring accolades include her three history making victories in the Five-Gaited World’s Grand Championship. In 1988, she became the first female to win the five-gaited stake and under saddle World’s Grand Championship title at the World’s Championship Horse Show with the great CH Sky Watch. She went on to win two more Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion titles with CH Memories Citation (1996) and (SA) Casey’s Final Countdown (2002). To this day Michele is still the only amateur and female to have won this title three times with three different horses. To add to her remarkable accomplishments and to stand a testament to her ability as an equestrian is that she managed and trained each of these any many other champions herself.
As important as her individual accomplishments is her efforts to contribute to the breed and promote it to the world. Michele did not just own and show elite American Saddlebreds, she bred them, she cross-trained them and she took them across the globe to share them with others. Scripps Miramar Ranch created a new level of quality in the pinto American Saddlebred lines. Their produce were among the first and few pinto Saddlebreds to win World’s Champion titles. More impressive is the role these fine horses played outside of the ring. With their bright color and exquisite beauty they stand out amongst the spectacular pageantry of the Tournament of Roses Parade every year, they have been presented to the Queen of England in 2012, were a part of the 1998 Olympic Ceremonies in Japan and many other magical exhibitions.
In addition to all the World’s Champion titles from in-hand to western country pleasure and the world recognition for the colorful Scripps Miramar Ranch American Saddlebreds, Michele has been a respected horsewoman and mentor in our industry for decades. In 1996, she was awarded the ASHA Lurline Roth Sportsmanship Award, 1998- she was inducted into the Kentucky State Fair Hall of Fame and in 2013 - she was awarded the Gordon Jenkins International Award. While not as present in the ring her influence on our breed and will continue for years through her mentorship of equestrian leaders Mitch Clark, Elisabeth Goth, Dena Tanner Lopez and many more.