Mattie Worsham and Scout celebrate the win

Credit: Shawn McMillen Photography

Mattie Worsham and Scout celebrate the win


The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) presented by MARS Equestrian™ officially commenced on Wednesday, October 21, at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) and continues through Sunday, October 25. Opening day featured the WIHS Hunter Championships presented by MARS Equestrian™ with the adult title going to Mattie Worsham of Aiken, SC, riding Scout and the children’s victory awarded to Margaret Stell of Winston-Salem, NC, aboard Clever.

When Worsham, 23, pulled Scout out from the retirement field two years ago, she never imagined he would bring her back to the show ring, let alone the winner’s circle. Scout, a now 20-year-old gelding, was Worsham’s junior hunter mount beginning when she was 13. After suffering from several degenerative conditions, Worsham and her family did their best to keep him sound and happy.

“He was off for almost four years, and my dad who is a veterinarian with his own practice [Foxdale Equine Veterinary Services] worked tirelessly to get him back here, while my mom took care of him while I was away at college,” said Worsham, who is currently pursuing her PhD in English from Louisiana State University. “It is a dream come true and very redemptive to get him back here, especially since we grew up together. He will have a very happy long retirement after this at our farm in Aiken. It was really nice to be able to end his career here.”

While victory was extra sweet for Worsham and her long-time partner, it was an unexpected result. “It was not the plan to bring him back; it was experimental more than anything else,” she admitted. “One day in 2018, my dad said ‘Let’s look at Scout.’ We decided that maybe he could come back. [This championship] wasn’t even on my radar, and it was a reach for me to even end up here. At the beginning of the year, my trainer Courtney Goldstein suggested that we try to qualify for WIHS, and I really wouldn’t be here without her help.”

Worsham sat second before the second round of the two-phase championship, but moved up with a score of 86. Combined with an 85 from the opening round, her final score of 171 took the win and the Diane Wade Memorial Award to commemorate the WIHS accomplishment. Helen Voss of Versailles, KY, finished second on Cantina with a total score of 170, while Katherine Stokan of Atlanta, GA, took third with a 155 riding Duplicated Copy SF for owner Joan Fontes.

“I feel so grateful that we were able to have our finals during this time,” continued Worsham of the unusual circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic that brought WIHS from Washington D.C. to TIEC. “I think it was so important for people to be able to come back together even though the world is different. A great source of comfort for me during the early days of quarantine was that the horses still have to be fed every morning. That part of the world doesn’t stop turning, and it was great of the shows to pick up on that as well and be able to bring us back here.”