McLain Ward
I T W A S A L I L LY, A N N I E & B O N G O Y E A R her a few years ago, when others, including McLain said ‘No. Too difficult, too wild, too expensive,’ when the mare was a five year old. Mathy took the time to bring her along, knew she was special and contacted McLain to come back and try her again. And the rest is looking like it may develop into show jumping history.
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n February 9, 2015 Lilly Kristine Ward was born. McLain and Lauren planned it beautifully, she entered the world on a Monday, the proverbial equestrian day off, and during the early part of WEF in Wellington, the one location where the Wards and most of their friends live for several months. So during her first two months he could work and be a dad without having to do much traveling. And the first international championship of the year was in was in April in Las Vegas, NV, not far for the family to go.
“She was always a big mare with an incredible stride and jump, and a bit of blood, but also a bit unbridled in the beginning. When I went back she was better broke, more mature, and still had that superb jump; and she had been with people i trust who had done great work with her,” said McLain. “But best of all is that it’s such a great story for these two men who are involved with horses for all the right reasons, to own this great mare together.” When asked, the goal for ‘Annie’ is obviously Rio. Rothchild (‘Bongo’ in the barn) is also ready for Rio. The veteran of the two horses, Bongo proved his prowess once again in 2015 when he and McLain earned the Individual Gold at the Pan American Games in Toronto. “Our major goal in 2015 was the Pan Am Games. It was a challenging individual and a great win for Bongo, his owners and all involved.”
As any parent knows, becoming one is life altering. There is, as McLain explained, that wonderfully surreal experience of seeing what you love about each other in this tiny being, your child. “It’s a pretty indescribable feeling, incredible actually. I always wanted to have a family,” he said. Sleeping? Not much. “I’m still not sleeping through the night; she’s not a great sleeper. And like many parents with their first, we are letting her sleep in our bed.” Luckily Lilly’s dad has a few big classes under his belt, so lack of sleep didn’t take him too much off his game. Since many of the grand prix classes were in the evening, McLain could compete at WEF and the Longines FEI World Cup Finals while Lilly slept. As the months went by, McLain admitted that he loved being a dad more and more, but there are aspects that are a bit overwhelming for his personality. “I have to say I like all of it but I am not a huge fan of the eating right now, it’s a little messy for my OCD. And one day Lauren tricked me. She told me it was just number one when it was my turn to change the diaper. Not true. She knows that I only change the wet diapers,” he said with a laugh. “But Lilly always wakes up in a great mood. Smiling. She’s got a great personality, very happy. Those are truly special moments for the three of us.” Also early in 2015, another fabulous female entered McLain’s world when HH Azur, known as ‘Annie’ in the barn, became a part of the Double H string. Owned in partnership by his longtime business partner Francois Mathy and Hunter Harrison’s Double H Farm, the bay Belgian Warmblood mare is an absolute ‘10.’ But the story began before 2015 and it was Mathy who was willing to take a risk on
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McLain and Lilly on FEI TV ‘Bongo’ has a bit of Barney (McLain’s dad) in him. This was another mount that McLain tried and said ‘No thank you.’ But his dad bought him anyway. “Bongo has been a life lesson in a lot of ways. I think as you go along in your career and unfortunately get older, one of the benefits is you gain experience and open-mindedness,” said McLain, sounding wise and mature. “It is another great story. Sometimes you have to meet a great athlete in the middle. You can’t insist on doing it one way, the modern show jumper has more blood, more quality, more personalty and you need to adjust. Bongo is quirky but once you know him he’s quite simple.” As February approaches and Lilly is about to turn one, ‘Annie’ ten and ‘Bongo’ sixteen years old, life will continue to be intriguing for McLain.
Image credit: Spruce Meadows Media, Jump Media