As I was on the rail taking photos of the jumpers at the Devon Horse Show, I heard an older woman in the seats behind me telling her friend as a certain star rider entered the arena, “That’s McLain Ward. I saw him on TV at the Olympics, and now he’s at Devon!”
McLain has fans in many places, but nowhere more so than Devon, where he gets the loudest cheers when he enters the ring and also when he leaves, win or lose.
Wednesday night, it was a win, as he and a newer horse, the Holsteiner La Serra “a very nice, careful mare,” finished ahead of 34 other starters in the two-phase $38,700 Main Line Challenge Stake, which we used to call a power and speed. The fences were set at 1.45 meters (as opposed to up to 1.5 meters for Thursday’s 4-star Grand Prix) and both segments were timed. La Serra was fault-free in 31.32/31.05 seconds.
The complicating factor was the drenching rain and cold, very uncharacteristic for late May in the Philadelphia suburb. McLain was totally soaked, and still dripping after he dismounted. You can see the downpour in the lead photo on this website.
I asked about the weather as a factor affecting the competition and Mclain said, with a smile,”It’s part of the game. Cold and wet, but we have to make a living. So…”
For awhile, he was first and second. Snapchat van de Broekkant Z, a 9-year-old Zangersheide finished just behind his stablemate (0/0, 30.78/32.76). But Kaitlin Campbell had something to say about it and ended as the runner-up on the Oldenburg gelding Bull Run’s Hesed (0/0,32.20/31/76).
Kaitlin Campbell and Bull Run’s Hesed. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Jessica Springsteen, appearing at Devon for the first time in 10 years, was third with the Swedish warmblood mare Galaxy Girl (0/0,31.88/31.91).
McLain is in the process of building his string of horses. His longtime partner, Contagious, will be retired, he revealed, but he has a new star in Imperial HBF, who put in the crucial clean anchor round last weekend at the Rome Nations Cup to insure victory for the U.S.
Even though he will be on the team in La Baule, France, next week, McLain flew home to be part of Devon.
“These are important events and I enjoy them. It’s good for developing horses to get the experience as well,” he explained.
The grand prix is named in memory of Sapphire, the mare who won it twice with McLain in the saddle. She also retired at Devon, which strengthened her connection with the show.
McLain Ward and Sapphire at her retirement during Devon, 2012. Photo © 2012 by Nancy Jaffer
His 10 employees are divided between Europe and the U.S., so he has excellent strings of horses both here and abroad.
Kaitlin is used to winning at Devon, where she was an achiever in the junior jumpers. She has been riding Bull Run’s Hesed since last fall and called him “a very fast horse, very elastic. It took a little bit of time for him to get to know me and me to get to know him, but it’s really come together in the last couple of months.”
Based in California where she finds the shows at Thermal a good place to “put all the pieces together” and bring horses along, she is originally from Doylestown, Pa., and rode with Patty Miller.
Thinking back to her pony days at Devon, she said riding in the show “definitely feels like coming home.”
A new owner, Mirasol Equestrian, has invested in horses for her, so she’s putting a string together with horses available for every type of class. She did the World Cup finals in April, her first senior championship.
“It was definitely eye-opening, the level of competition and the size of the fences,” she commented.
Kaitlin is hoping to qualify for the FEI World Cup Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, next year.
Jessie never had competed in the open jumper division at Devon, and always wanted to do it. She has had her horses stabled at her family farm in Colts Neck, N.J., a short commute from Devon. Her parents, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, have their own horses at the farm, and like to ride western on the trail.
Jessica Springsteen and Galaxy Girl. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Devon has special meaning for Jessie.
“I’m so glad to be back,” she said, noting she has had flashbacks to when she competed in the ponies at the show.
“It was so much fun.”
In the grand prix, Jessie will be riding her 2021 Olympic team silver medal mount, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, who was out for a while with an injury. She has been building him back up so he can compete in shows at the level of Devon.
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