Sad and startled to read this news. You may not always have agreed with Packy, but you always knew he was a passionate participant in this sport.
https://useventing.com/news-media/news/patrick-g-mcgaughan-1963-2020?fbclid=IwAR1AGTNEzjwtL__9PBEEeuCO_3wKcuBW-OMYNa8_zW8ombXgcZaiZUCH9Ow
I am so surprised to see this - I saw him at Southern Pines this past weekend looking very much his usual self…
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I am sorry to hear this. We often “agreed to differ”, but there is no doubting his passion for the sport
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Stunned. He’d called me on the way home from Southern Pines, we had a great chat and lots of laughs. Just stunned.
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OMG so young!!! He was definitely passionate about the sport and I’m sure will be missed.
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I was shocked to hear this today. He was such a larger than life personality. I’ll miss his fabulous stories and the wonderful arguments.
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Wow this is so sad. What a loss. I never met him in person but followed him on FB. I loved reading his lengthy posts which were always thought provoking and interesting. And gosh he was so funny! Condolences to his family, friends and connections. He was a one of a kind and larger than life.
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Well, that’s an unfortunate surprise. 
Sending comfort to his family and friends.
Have “liked” every post. It is so nice to see everyone, especially those good people that could agree to disagree, remember the best of him.
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Such a shock! Way too young.
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Awful news. I always enjoyed reading his input on this forum. He was a great coach, so very sorry for all of his connections in Area II (and elsewhere). Godspeed Packy.
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What a shock, and so sad
Packy was always “larger than life”, witty, outspoken, no holds barred. With a legacy of many successful students, he was a local legend (Area 2), and his contributions - though sometimes a bit controversial - were always entertaining; he educated and disarmed - and was a clever and insightful commentator.
I didn’t know him personally, but he was a familiar sight at the competition venues I frequented (if you didn’t see him, you always heard him :winkgrin:), and during one of my SJ rounds, my normally steady Eddy homebred mare “took exception” to the large Atwood footing placard hung on the fence along one side of the ring; she spooked suddenly and bulged WAY out into the middle of the ring - I had to kick and steer and verbally “compel” her back to her line to jump the second fence, which I “stuffed” her over (luckily it was a modest vertical.)
We were clear, and I got a bunch of applause; totally surprised me but I guess people actually watch SJ rounds!
Anyway, Packy made a point of giving me (a stranger) a thumbs up on my way out and saying “great job”, which was unexpected but appreciated. I get the impression that he didn’t give praise lightly - which of course made it more meaningful.
Godspeed!
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I always enjoyed reading his articles.
He will be missed.
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Just shocking. He was a huge personality and he will be missed…even if you didn’t agree with him, he was entertaining and he knew and loved eventing. You could hear him coming a mile away…and I’m sure his voice will live on in heads of his many students and friends. Gone way too soon. RIP
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I did not know Packy, and I did not even know of him until his hilarious posts on the endurance cluster at WEG. I followed him from that day forward because he seemed like one of those people who knew how to live and did so without care of what others thought about how he chose to go about living. Yes, he was controversial at times, but people with an extreme passion for something often are controversial when speaking about those things.
So yes, I didn’t really know Packy the least bit, but yet I was truly sad when I read of his passing, I can only imagine what those who knew him personally are feeling at this moment. I am so sorry for your loss.
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So sad to read this. I had one encounter with Packy and will never forget how he took the time to speak with me. I think I was 13 or 14 at the time. I’d lost a stirrup when my pain in the butt hony decided to buck over a jump and couldn’t recover it in time, so we just finished the course without it. I ran into Packy as we were getting ready to leave for the day and probably introduced myself in some really dumb star struck way, but he shook my hand, complimented me on keeping my cool and finishing clean (I had no idea THE Packy had seen my ride,) and told me about his own horse’s little barn sour moments and how he’d get his mind working to keep him from acting out. That was my one and only Packy meeting, but it always stuck with me that he was kind enough to take the time… I’m sure he didn’t know how that made my day.
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