Michele Macfarlane (born 1948) is an amateur

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

from the United States, who competes in the sport of

saddle seat Saddle seat is a style of horse riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high action of certain horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States, and is also seen in Canada and Sout ...

. She has been one of the leading amateur trainers and riders in the sport for over 40 years. Macfarlane resides in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California and is Marshal for the Scripps Miramar Ranch Saddlebreds parade unit.

Life and career

She was born in 1948 to Everett Conley Davis, and Ellen Browning Scripps Davis. Her father was a lawyer and the grandson of Paschal Conley and her mother the granddaughter of

E.W. Scripps Edward Willis Scripps (June 18, 1854 – March 12, 1926), was an American newspaper publisher and, together with his sister Ellen Browning Scripps, founder of The E. W. Scripps Company, a diversified media conglomerate, and United Press ne ...

and niece of

Ellen Browning Scripps Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836 – August 3, 1932) was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps created the E. W. ...

. She grew up on her family’s Scripps Miramar Ranch, near San Diego. When she was five her mother introduced her to the family horse riding tradition. Horses gave her hay fever, meaning she initially disliked working with them but came to appreciate her role around the age of ten when her mother bought a solid-colored

Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. This breed is referred to as the "Horse America Made". Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Nar ...

and put her and the horse in training with Bill Rowan. Thanks to her mother’s love of both parades and

pinto horse A pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and any other color. The distinction between "pinto" and "solid" can be tenuous, as so-called "solid" horses frequently have areas of white hair. Various cultures through ...

s, she had the innovation of breeding spotted parade horses of Saddlebred bloodlines, eventually taking part in San Diego New Year's parade in 1962. This became a tradition and the 129th Rose Parade in 2018 was Macfarlane and the Scripps Miramar Ranch’s 34th appearance In 1979 she bought Sky Watch whose legendary career earned him the title of Five-gaited Horse of the Century by American Saddlebred magazine. Michele rode him to his fourth and final World Grand Championship in 1988 and became the first woman amateur to ever achieve that win. She would repeat that win with Memories Citation in 1996 and CCV Casey's Final Countdown in 2007. She remains the only person to have entered the Five-Gaited Championship three times and winning all three times.

Early years

On May 26, 1985, Michele and Ellen Scripps Davis impressed the coaching division of the

Devon Horse Show The Devon Horse Show, also known as The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is an annual horse show which has been held late May through early June in Devon, Pennsylvania since 1896It is the oldest and largest outdoor multi-breed horse show in the U. ...

with their bay Hackney four.

Amateur career 1988–2018

1988 * 1st, World Championship Horse Show Five-Gaited Championship, Freedom Hall, Louisville Kentucky. On Sky Watch Here she became the first female rider to win the

five-gaited Five-gaited horses are notable for their ability to perform five distinct horse gaits instead of simply the three gaits, walk, trot and canter or gallop common to most horses. Individual animals with this ability are often seen in the American Sa ...

stake at the World's Grand Championship 1996 * 1st, World Championship Horse Show Five-Gaited Championship, Freedom Hall, Louisville Kentucky. On Memories' Citation * Lurline Roth Sportsmanship Award at the American Saddlebred Horse Association Convention 1998 * Inducted into The Kentucky State Fair Hall of Fame * At the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Macfarlane's spotted Saddlebreds featured in the closing ceremony 2007 * 1st, World Championship Horse Show Five-Gaited Championship, Freedom Hall, Louisville Kentucky. On SA (CCV) Casey’s Final Countdown Here Macfarlane became one of only two living riders to have won the Five-Gaited World’s Grand Championship three times with three different horses 2009 * Meritorious Service Award at the American Saddlebred Horse Association Convention 2012 * Represented the United States in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration. Macfarlane's Californian Stagecoach was introduced by

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

. 2013 * Gordon Jenkins International Award at the American Saddlebred Horse Association Convention

Personal life

She is the great grand daughter of Paschal Conley meaning she is related to the legendary Jess "Longshot" Conley, who ran the Kentucky Derby in 1911. On February 16, 1998 both Ellen Scripps Davis and Everett Conley Davis were tragically killed in a house fire. Michele took over the ranch and continued the family legacy, even winning the ASHA Meritorious Service Award at the American Saddlebred Horse Association Convention that same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfarlane, Michele 1948 births Living people American female equestrians People from San Diego American Saddlebred breeders and trainers 21st-century American women