Grand Prix Duncan McFarlane made
Nick Haness and Samantha Schaeffer
have been an experience of a lifetime, so to have a competitive horse was outra- geous. To have your hopes and dreams as a young rider be made possible in that type of a competition was overwhelm- ing and I will always appreciate HITS for doing it, the Singers for having the trust to have me ride Cruise, Archie for his faith and support and planning, my clients for encouraging me to go and especially my friends and family for the emotional support. WOW!”
with partners Duncan and Helen Mc- Naught. “Owning a horse with her has been ideal,” says Duncan. “She never pressures us so we could take our time with him. She is very supportive and this year we all decided to try to get back to Saugerties. I’m glad it worked.” “Steve Stephan’s course was set to the
top of the requirements, but for some reason the horses all jumped great there. I think it is all things together but spe-
Duncan McFarlane & Mr. Whoopy
his 2011 summer plans to go east. It paid off with 2nd in the Pfizer Million and a check for $200,000. He was at this spec- tacular show last year and had an exceptionally great time so he figures it would only be bet- ter with Tom Struzzieri at the helm again. “They treated us great last year and we wanted to support this again,” said Duncan. “Plus I wanted an- other shot at all that money!” Simone Coxe is an owner
The HITS Pfizer Million
cifically the footing was spectacular and top notch. Top riders knew the cours- es would be set to the top there.
..they wanted it to be and it should be!!” Duncan continues, “Why did Mr.
Whoopy jump so GREAT? Well, he has been jumping great all year, and been coming on strong for a long time. He had four clean rounds in four big classes there and he has grown up. He is not such a baby anymore and now he thinks it’s a kick in the tail end. He really doesn’t think there is anything he can’t jump, and I believe him.” Asked about the ongoing conversa-
tions regarding the different coasts, east and west, Duncan has some interesting comments. “The coasts are fairly even now but there is just more of it back east. The riders in the west are competi- tive and can hold their own anywhere in the world as we have proven, there is just more opportunity east and more money.” “Richard Spooner, Rich Fellers and so
many others have upped the riding ante for the west, which has made the courses bigger and better so when we went east the course did not surprise us. Spooner and the others have gone and done it on the world’s stage with the result of mak- ing show jumping out here tougher. To keep up with them has been good for our sport. It’s not a “gimme” out here, it may not be Palm Beach, but the result is not so many easy classes anymore, and the top riders do NOT want the courses easy.” “As I walked onto course on Satur-
day I was thinking how easy the course looked, then I realized I was looking at the hunter jumps,” he says with a roll- ing laugh. “They were big also and quite impressive! It was really inspiring and surprising how nerve wracking it was for the hunter riders with the money at stake and having jumper riders and own- ers everywhere. With the Hunter Prix first, it just added to the excitement and energy.” “I think a special thanks to Tom and
the HITS staff is in order. It has raised the stakes for our sport. Probably since it was at home for them and on the facil- ity where they work at all year, their job was fun and it came through. The staff was hospitable to the clients in a special way and our clients had a great time. We were all treated like royalty. Next year we will be back, and are looking forward to being at the Million Dollar weekend again.”
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