Samsung Woodstock, Susie Hutchison\’s grand prix partner, died on Jan. 5 following a pasture accident. He was 27.
Purchased in 1987 from German breeder Paul Schockemohle and trained by the legendary Jimmy Williams, the chestnut Westphalian gelding accumulated more than 20 victories in the course of a brilliant career. Wearing his trademark “squaw bridle,” Woodstock won the Grand Prix of Del Mar (Calif.) an unprecedented three times, in 1991, 1992, and 1994.
ADVERTISEMENT
He and Hutchison represented the United States at the 1993 FEI World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, where they finished fourth. They were poised to reprise their success at the 1994 World Championships in Holland, going clear in the Nations Cup until Woodstock suffered a bowed tendon on the last line of the course. Nevertheless, he eventually made a triumphant return to the show ring, winning the grand prix at the L.A. National in 1997.
Because of his immense popularity with show jumping fans across the nation and abroad, Woodstock was immortalized as a Breyer Horse model. Having won a Mercedes, three Volvos, and a Cadillac, among other laurels, for his rider, Woodstock was retired from competition in 1998. He spent the rest of his life happily turned out in Hutchison\’s backyard at her home in Temecula, Calif.
