Fargis, Golding, Williams to Join Show Jumping Hall of Fame

Joe Fargis, Karen Golding and Marcia 'Mousie' Williams will be inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame on April 5, 2008.

March 28, 2008 — Joe Fargis, Karen Golding and Marcia “Mousie” Williams have been selected for induction into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Induction is bestowed annually upon select individuals whose contribution to the sport has set them apart from others and whose influence has had a significant impact on the world of show jumping.

Fargis, Golding and Williams will join the pervious 58 inductees enshrined into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony at the Budweiser American Invitational in Tampa, Fla., at Raymond James Stadium on April 5.

Joe Fargis is best known for his double gold medal performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. There, riding Touch of Class, he became only the second American show jumper to win an Olympic individual gold medal, while leading the U.S. to the team gold as well. He rode Touch of Class successfully over 90 of 91 obstacles, an Olympic record.

Four years later Fargis added a third Olympic medal when he rode Mill Pear’ and helped the U.S. win the team silver at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, a Games at which he also placed seventh individually.

Fargis first represented the U.S. in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he rode Bonte II on the winning U.S. Nations’ Cup team. Over the years, he rode on more than 30 Nations’ Cup teams and was part of winning teams at many of the word’s most significant horse shows including Aachen, Washington, New York, Calgary, Rome, and Cannes.

Karen Golding’s care of some of this country’s top horses impacted the success of American show jumpers for over 30 years. Born in England (she became a U.S. citizen in 2004), she had ponies and a horse as a child. An elderly caretaker at a farm at which she kept her pony taught her all the “old” remedies and sparked her interest in the proper care of horses.

In 1970, a chance meeting with Bernie and Tiff Traurig in England led her to the United States as she flew with a load of 27 horses that the Traurigshad bought in Europe. She did this three more times that year, and wound up going to work for Bernie at Bloodstock Farm in Pennsylvania, where she stayed for three years. While there, she cared for the hunter Royal Blue, and the great jumper, Springdale. The horses were subsequently sold to Winter Place Farm, and Golding went with them. Bernie continued to ride them, and became a regular rider of the Winter Place horses, and Golding cared for the horses he rode. Those horses included a young Jet Run.

In the fall of 1974, Golding went to work for Jerry Baker and Michael Matz at F. Eugene Dixon’s Erdenheim Farm. That led her to her first Olympics, in 1976 in Montreal, with Matz and Grande. In 1977, Dixon bought Golding’s old friend Jet Run from Fernando Senderos of Mexico, and the relationship that had started at Winter Place resumed and lasted until the horse’s death in 1999.

Under Golding’s care, Jet, along with Matz’s other horses, compiled a record of incredible success. Recognizing her exceptional talent in preparing horses for competition, the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) employed her for international competitions. Working for either Matz or the USET, Karen attended every Olympics from 1976 through 2000, except for 1984, in addition to numerous Pan Am Games, World Championships and World Cup Finals.

Golding stayed with Matz until 1997 when she decided to turn her attention to other areas of the sport. She became an FEI steward in 2000. She also turned an interest in equine therapies into a side career as an equine massage therapist.

Marcia Lee “Mousie” Williams began her long career in the horse world showing hunters, jumpers, stock and trail horses. Her childhood love of horses grew into a life of dedication and service to the sport.

Following her career as a rider, she served the sport she loved as a trainer, administrator, judge and licensed official. Williams served as a director of the Pacific Coast Horse Shows Association (PCHA) for many years, and was also on the American Horse Show Association (AHSA) Zone 10 Committee and vice president of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.

The AHSA Horsewoman of the Year in 1966, she was designated as a “Living Legend” some 30 years later at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden. In 2008, she was honored by the U.S. (USEF) as a recipient of the federation’s Pegasus Medal of Honor.

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., was established in 1987 and formally opened in 1989. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame also conducts the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, held under Grand Prix rules and specifications, with separate divisions for juniors and amateur-owners. For more information, visit www.showjumpinghalloffame.net.

What did you think of this article?

Thank you for your feedback!