In just his second show season, the three-gaited gelding Macadamia achieved the ultimate in the
American Saddlebred world earning accolades that far surpassed the imaginations of Mary Jane Kirkpatrick, her daughter Sarah, and her parents, Ed (Charles Edward) and Mary Glasscock.
Macadamia was purchased by the Glasscock family in November 2013 at the prestigious
UPHA/American Royal National Championship Show in Kansas City, Missouri. He had been trained by the top trainers in his short career. He started with John Biggins and then Chuck Herbert, and spent 2014 under the direction of Steve and Tiffany Wheeler of Autumn Hills Farm.
"He had a lot of buzz all year while showing against his age group," Wheeler said. By the time we got to Louisville, he had a lot of people's attention. We knew we had a lot of horse. We thought, 'You know, we've got a really good shot to do this’, and these chances don't come around often.”
About 2,700 horses compete in the Kentucky State Fair
World's Championship Horse Show, which is to saddlebreds in August what Churchill Downs is to thoroughbreds in May.
Macadamia and Wheeler wrapped up 2014 with five first-place finishes, including a win in the Three-Gaited World's Grand Championship at the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship Horse Show against older, more seasoned horses, such as World Champions HS Daydream’s Heads Up and My Hail Mary.
Macadamia will go down in history as one of the youngest horses to be a World Grand Champion as a four-year-old. The
American Saddlebred stallion also won a Junior Three-Gaited at the same show, as well as the American Saddlebred Three-Gaited Junior Horse titles at the
Bonnie Blue National Horse Show, Rock Creek, and Blue Ridge Classic Horse Shows.
Macadamia exceeded everyone’s expectations in 2014. "It was just huge for a young horse," said Kirkpatrick, a long-time breeder of top-class saddlebreds.
The
American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) named Macadamia as the ASHA Horse of the Year. The same day that the extraordinary horse was being honored as the
United Professional Horsemen's Association (UPHA) Three Gaited Horse of the Year in Savannah, Georgia, the
United States Equestrian Federation recognized Macadamia as one of just three National Horses of Honor in Lexington, Kentucky.
“It was like winning the Triple Crown,” said Ed Glasscock. Kirkpatrick added, “He is a once-in-a-life time horse”. That Macadamia was mature enough to defeat more experienced horses is a testament to what's to come. The Glasscock Family has high hopes for their American Saddlebred gelding, and foresees a bright future.