HH Azur Ridden by McLain Ward Is 2017 USA Horse of Year

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McLain Ward riding HH Azur. © 2017 Shannon Brinkman

LEXINGTON, Kentucky, Jan. 19, 2018–HH Azur that McLain Ward rode to his first World Cup title in Omaha last year, on Friday was named USA Horse of the Year for 2017.

The 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Double H Farm and François Mathy, a long-time business associate of McLain, won top Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington and at Spruce Meadows in Canada as well as the World Cup Final.

McLain and Azur anchored the U.S. team to a silver-medal tie in the Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen, Germany in July and took silver in the Nations Cup Jumping Final in September.

Azur did not have a single fault in team competition in 2017.