January 17, 2024 
It may be the last of a long list of honors for fan favorites McLain Ward and HH Azur, but there couldn’t be a more fitting end to their story.
This month, Ward was named the 2023 International Equestrian of the Year and HH Azur the International Horse of the Year by USEF membership. The former partners were honored during the SmartPak/USEF Horse of the Year Awards Dinner during the USEF Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 13.
Owned by Ward and Double H Farm, HH Azur (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Sir Lui vd Zuuthoeve) and her owner/rider created one of the most successful show jumping partnerships in modern history. They were part of the U.S. silver medal-winning team at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and won the 2017 FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Omaha, Nebraska, finishing fourth in World Cup Final in Paris the following year.
Throughout the course of their career, Ward and “Annie” also earned more than €3.7 million in prize money and 24 wins, according to Jumpr App. Among their numerous 1.60m CSI5* victories around the globe: the Tourmaline Oil Cup at Spruce Meadows; the Lugano Diamonds, Rolex, and Suncast Grands Prix in Wellington; and the Loro Piana Grand Prix of Rome. HH Azur was previously named International Horse of the Year (and Ward International Rider of the Year) in 2017.
At age 48, Ward also had a standout year, competing 11 horses at the international level and boasting overall clear round percentages of 52% and 55% at 1.60m and 1.50m, respectively. Some of his major 2023 highlights include helping the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team to a win in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup USA in San Juan Capistrano aboard Contagious, and securing a 1.60m victory at the same venue with Kasper van het Hellehof.
Additional Team performances for Ward included top results in the Mercedes-Benz Jumping Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen, and a strong showing at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona with Callas. Ward also rode to an Individual bronze medal and helped Team U.S.A. to a down-to-the-wire Olympic qualification after earning Team gold with Contagious this fall at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Yet two of Ward and Annie’s most impressive performances were accomplished in the twilight of their time together. In December of 2022, the pair won the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva, then doubled-down in the Rolex Grand Prix of ‘s-Hertogenbosch at the Dutch Masters, making them only the second duo in the history of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping to accomplish that feat.
In fact, 2022—HH Azur’s final full year of competition—was also the pair’s most lucrative, winning €925,408 in prize money and boasting a clear round percentage of 50% overall. That’s on par with their best competitive years to date.
“When I think back to 2023 for this incredible mare, this incredible partner, and a friend of ours, to receive this honor when I think she only jumped five or six FEI classes. It just shows what an impact she had on the sport, obviously in my life and my career, as well as all of us who are involved with her,” said Ward as he accepted International Horse of the Year on behalf of HH Azur.
“We always joke that she is truly the queen. At 16 and 17 years of age, after a hiatus from the sport, to come back and compete at that level is a testament to what an incredible, brilliant horse she has been.”
