Carol Plough

Grand Prix dressage rider and judge Carol J. Plough, of Riverside, Calif., died on May 16 from a pulmonary embolism during minor surgery. She was 50.

Mrs. Plough finished ninth in the 2004 Olympic selection trials on Kathy Pavlich’s Komo and placed second in the Offield Las Vegas Invitational at the FEI World Cup Finals in April.

Mrs. Plough was a respected and admired member of the California dressage community. She had trained with Debbie McDonald and spent six months in 2003 training with Bert Rutten of the Netherlands, gaining experience on the international dressage scene.

She was also a successful trainer, coaching student Kristina Harrison-Naness to win the USET Intermediaire I Championship in 2003. As a result, Harrison-Naness joined the U.S. team at the Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo. As a USEF-licensed S-rated judge, Mrs. Plough judged all levels through Grand Prix.

“I’ve known Carol for several years and consider her to be one of my true great friends,” said McDonald. “She was a dedicated and hard-working rider, trainer, clinician and judge. She lived life every day and had a great sense of humor.

“Carol was so grateful to have Kathy and Tom Pavlich as owners of Komo and grateful for the opportunities they’d given her,” added McDonald. “She gave us all a run for the money with the horse she loved and had trained from the beginning. The dressage community has truly lost one of the best in our sport. She will be greatly missed.”

Said Marilyn Adams, high-performance director of dressage at the U.S. Equestrian Federation, “It was such a thrill for so many of us to watch Carol and Komo, as they developed as a team. She worked hard, and she etched a real place for herself in the Grand Prix rankings in this country. Her progress with Komo was exponential. To be listed among the top of American dressage riders in only three year’s time is something most riders only dream of.”

Mrs. Plough is survived by her husband, Bill.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601. Staff

Hopper

Olympic event horse Hopper died peacefully in his field in Middleburg, Va., in early May. He was 23.

Mara Dean (nee DePuy) teamed up with Hopper when she was just 14 and the English-bred gelding was just 6. They went to the North American Young Riders Championships together and won the individual silver medal in 1993.

The highlights of Hopper’s career include placing third at the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) in 1994, a team silver medal in the 1995 Pan Am Games (where he finished ninth individually), completing the Burghley (England) four-star in 1995, placing second in the Olympic selection trial division at the 1996 Rolex Kentucky CCI, and earning sixth place in the individual competition at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

“We learned together,” said Dean. “I took him from training level to the Olympics.”

Dean stopped competing Hopper in 1998, but he taught countless students at the lower levels until 2001. He then enjoyed his full retirement.

“I’d turn young horses out there, hoping Hopper would tell them stories,” said Dean. “He was galloping around out there the day before he died. Everything he did, he did out of heart,” she said. “We just had such a partnership. He was the horse of a lifetime that I’ll never forget.”

Edward Penny

Edward Penny, a popular horse show announcer in the Northeast, died after a short illness on April 25. He was 58.

Horse show exhibitors, primarily in Fairfield County, Conn., and Westchester County, N.Y., referred to Mr. Penny as “the speaker of the horse” and enjoyed his sense of humor from the announcer’s stand.

His voice could be heard at A-rated shows like Farmington (Conn.), Ox Ridge (Conn.), the New England Equitation Finals in Springfield, Mass., and at the HITS-Ellenville (N.Y.) shows.

For many years he also served as the master of ceremonies at the annual Fairfield-Westchester Professional Horseman’s Association high-score awards banquet.

Mr. Penny started his career as a starter at the Old Salem Farm (N.Y.) horse shows, then moved into the announcer’s booth when Donald Slater retired.

Mr. Penny was a Vietnam War veteran before working for Guerlain Inc. for 25 years and for The Feed Barn in Brewster, N.Y., for 10 years.

He is survived by Kathleen, his wife of 23 years; daughter Alura; brothers James Penny of Croton Falls, N.Y., Fred Penny of Albin, Wyo., and Arthur Penny of Johnstown, N.Y.; sister Thea Daday of Brewster, N.Y.; and
several nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of Duchess, 374 Violet Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 or to the Elmsford Animal Shelter, Warehouse Lane S., Elmsford, NY 10523.

Robert T. McCullough

Professional horseman Robert T. McCullough of Sewickley Heights, Pa., died on May 11 following a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56.

Mr. McCullough was the owner of Blackburn Farm in Sewickley Heights. He was a past president of the Western Pennsylvania Professional Horsemen’s Association and a board member of the Sewickley Hunt.

Mr. McCullough began riding as a child, then graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971 with a degree in economics and worked for several years as a sales representative.

He met Cindy Redman at a hunt tea in 1976 and married her a year later. Together, they launched a life as professional horsemen, buying Blackburn Farm in 1982. At the time of his death, they were teaching more than 100 students, many of whom he continued to keep in touch with during the late stages of his illness.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his father, William E. McCullough of Sewickley; sister Diane DuBois of Bradford Woods, Pa.; brother Richard E. McCullough of Durham, N.C.; and three nieces and two nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sewickley Hunt, Little Sewickley Creek Rd., Sewickley, PA 15143, to the Allegheny Land Trust, Glen Mitchell Rd., Sewickley, PA 15143, or to Animal Friends, 2643 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

Domino

Domino, the Pinto Dutch Warmblood stallion, was humanely destroyed on March 30 after being diagnosed with a form of stomach cancer. He was 20.

Domino, by the Dutch Warmblood sire Samber, was imported to the United States in 1990 as a dressage prospect. But it was as a show hunter that he achieved his fame. Peter Pletcher guided him to ribbons at all three fall indoor shows and at Devon (Pa.) in the mid-’90s, and owner Johnnie Martin-Carey showed him to numerous amateur-owner hunter championships after that. In 1994 Breyer Animal Creations made a special edition model horse of him.

He had stood at stud at Martin-Carey’s Steele Away Farm in Texas for the last seven years. His offspring are competing in hunters, jumpers, dressage and eventing.