This was a long time before Goldika. It was in 1999.
McLAIN WARD, the 23-year-old US show jumper has left the Aachen International Horse Show in disgrace after the discovery of several pointed plastic pins underneath the boot worn on a leg of his 12-year-old grey gelding, Benetton. They were presumed to have been placed there so that the horse would wish to avoid hitting a fence.
I used to sit on a lot of Andy’s sale horses many moons ago, back when he was living on the road out of his trailer. I think he was still with wife #1 then. He would show up and drop some of his less-immediately-saleable horses off for us to work for a few months as we have a program with lots of talented juniors, lots of sale horses, lots of horses in training, so we can always fit riders with horses.
These horses were always total neurotic messes. They flatted very poorly (he was very open about how much he hated flatting) and were not broke at ALL. I always dreaded the first 90 days with a Kocher horse because it was a really ridiculous return to basics just to get appropriate w/t/c from it. More importantly, most had some pretty gnarly stopping issues. When they would stop, they would IMMEDIATELY go into a full panic mode that I had not seen before and have not seen since. I had one that stopped at a liverpool the first time seeing it, no biggie, it was spooky, I had jumped him a few times prior to this and no major meltdowns. He stopped, then he stood straight up in the air and bolted with me and ran straight through the arena fence in a blind panic. Literally through it into the adjacent arena.
Had several from him that you absolutely could not touch with a crop. A regular fair tap for regular reasons resulted in some epic and dangerous meltdowns. I knew Andy had shit hands and was always described as “old school,” so I was never surprised by these horses being frantic and anxious and neurotic. I was surprised by the severity of their responses even after I had been schooling them for a few months. A lot of them never got over their particular neuroses, he had totally fried them.
I hated riding his horses, I hated how he rode, I hated that my trainer would let him drop off horses all the time and I hated that they always ended up being my projects because it was often bordering on dangerous. I was the least surprised person when the news of the electric spurs came out - in fact, a couple horses immediately came to mind and it was like the final puzzle piece fitting - oh so THAT explains Dobbin’s very specific xyz behavior that never totally made sense to me. I’m the sort of person that has ridden thousands of horses over the years, professionally in the past, so it says something when multiple animals from one person come to mind a decade later because they were so problematic.
My trainer had had enough of his shit a couple years prior to all the hoopla beginning with him, so we were no longer getting his horses.
He’s still merrily posting away on his insta with sale horses and auctions, etc. I follow him from a “keep your enemies closer” standpoint. I keep an eye on what horses he’s trying to unload so if one of them shows up somewhere, it’s proceed with caution time.
Wow, that’s some legacy that any horseman would be proud to have.
(Note: Sarcasm)
What a vile, cruel man. I’m glad you survived to tell the tale.
Actually, now that you mention it, Major League Show jumping in Toronto (Angelstone venue, probably 2021 or 2022) - about 2 years ago - a Kocher horse panicked and tried to jump the rope/out of the arena during the competition. Looked like a blind panic/absolute fear, struck me as not being a normal reaction. I will try to see if I can find video unless someone manages to beat me to it.
The FEI has suspended him for 10 years. USEF has to reciprocate that suspension, but there is more that USEF can do about this. USEF can ban him permanently from USEF competition, which would in effect ban him from international (FEI) competition as well.
I can’t foresee any argument that would fly in any court or disciplinary committee, if he tried to argue against a lifetime ban from USEF. I hope that USEF will start living up to their “horse welfare” commitment and ban Andrew Kocher permanently for torturing horses.
Now is the time USEF , to ban a horse abuser from being a member of your organization! If you don’t want to be seen as hypocrites as far as your commitment to “horse welfare” is concerned, you’ll never get a better case than this one, to stand on principle.
There is just no excuse for torturing a horse in this manner. Please show us that you find this abuse unacceptable.
USEF, you dropped the ball completely when you excused Devin Ryan’s abuse of horses and put him on our U.S. team. Please rethink Kocher’s horrible abuse of the horses under his care and live up to your “horse welfare” rhetoric.
It would be good for the USEF to receive first hand experiences of what this type of abuse does to horses long term. As an owner, and I have proof of his ownership of the horse and videos, I will draft a letter to them. I hope that other owner/riders will do the same.
Thank you for sharing your story! My daughter and I loved the description of “not broke at all”. Our mare was not broke at all, and was doing the 5 yr YH 1.10 meters! Lots of hardware up front in the video! This mare has the softest mouth. Cannot use a crop or dressage whip, she will be in the next county! Had to start from the basics. It has taken almost 18 months, not there yet. She does try so hard, is an amazing mover and jumper. Shame she had such a horrible start here in the US. Undoing damage takes a long time, and it may never fully go away!
And right now he (McClain) is being inducted into the PNHS hall of fame. Disgusting.
There is absolutely zero proof there were chips in the boots in Aachen. You are of course welcome to your opinion, and I will be the first in line to throw utter trash like Andy Kocher and Devin Ryan under the bus and back over them repeatedly. But McLain has shown himself over the years to be a phenomenal rider who has consistently produced success with horse after horse after horse, and mostly mares at that. His horses that do not look stressed, frazzled or worried ever. Not in warmup, not in the show ring. They go around like quiet equitation horses.
So yeah, I find it hard to believe that McLain is some epic abuser that is doing a bunch of underhanded dastardly things. Especially with the decades-long spotlight and scrutiny he’s been under since the accusation at Aachen.
The other thing about McLain is that he has had multiple horses who had exceptionally long careers at the very top level of the sport. Sapphire went to two Olympic Games, and very nearly made it to the next Olympics as well, and Azur just retired after being in the winner’s circle at the most competitive horse shows for at least eight years.
That says a lot about the level of care those horses receive. It’s rare enough to see a children’s hunter last that long!
First Lady is a beautiful girl. She also looks like a sensitive mare.
Anyone who has ridden a sensitive mare knows that you won’t get them to do their best for you by abusing them.
I was at the Grand Prix last night, and one thing stuck out about McLain Ward over all the other riders, and this happened every time he came in the ring.
He would come in, pick up either a trot or canter, find a place in the ring, then halt and back up a few, maybe four steps. He would then ask them to stand for a few seconds.
His horses would do this very nicely, and then start of their go in a very relaxed and controlled manner. They would pick up speed, turn quickly, etc. when asked, but not be straining against the bit or his hands, or seem hard to control.
After their go, they walked out quietly on a semi-loose rein. Honestly, it created a noticeable difference in the horses McLain Ward ride.
I don’t know McLain Ward and have no idea if I would like him as a person if I met him. I’m thinking maybe not, but not because of anything he’s done. He just doesn’t smile much and seems a bit overly serious, but perhaps that’s just his nature. I think Beezie would be more interesting to hang out with. I bet you’d get a very solid leg if you trained with either of them.
I am however, very impressed by Ward’s riding talent. He is like Beezie in the ring, both of them are so well balanced, strong in their position in the saddle, and such elegant riders, I’m never ashamed when they ride for the U.S. (and I am ashamed when some others come into the ring to represent us on U.S. teams.)
If you look at pictures of Beezie and McLain over the years, those two usually look like they are battling it out for the 1.60 equitation award.
True! The epitome of independent hands and seat. No floppy movement of lower leg. Very impressive.
The impression I got last night was that he was quite serious. But not in a bad way. It seemed like he was very focused on his rides.
I had not been to a Grand Prix in a long time, possibly 20 years, and I was pleasantly surprised at the end.
When McLane did his victory lap, he stopped at one point and pulled the rosette off his horse’s bridle. My first thought was I was surprised that a horse showing at this level would have problem with a rosette on the bridle, but hey, what do I know?
McLane came around the end of the arena, stopped in the corner and gave his ribbon to a little girl standing at the rail cheering him on.
After he stopped to give the girl the rosette, he pulled the neck ribbon off the horse and gave it to a boy in our section who was standing by the rail. He was still jumping up and down with excitement when we walked out.
Maybe I am naive, but I will take a serious horseman, who was not only conscientious of setting his horses up for success, but was also aware of the children watching him and cheering him on.
I can remember watching Michael Matz ride when I was a child, and thinking he was just the greatest. I remember what those kids must have felt watching last night! How nice that someone they were so ardently cheering for took the time to give back a little.
Ward does that every time at Harrisburg. It’s a tradition, and it’s very sweet. Seeing the thrill on the faces of the kids is great, every time.
I wasn’t complaining about his seriousness as a horseman or an instructor, just thinking of whom I would like to associate with on a casual level.
He’s been doing that at the big shows for years.
I’ve always been impressed by Micheal Matz, first as a horseman and then as the truly good human being he proved himself to be in that horrific plane crash.
There are some very good people in the sport horse world, though it seems as if the bad ones get all the press and the notoriety.
That’s his thing. He does it every time everywhere if he rides in front of a crowd. Not just Harrisburg. I don’t know whether it’s a calculated PR thing or really heartfelt or somewhere in between. But that’s his thing.
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