34 SIDELINES MARCH 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
A Few Minutes with Susie Hutchison
By Lauren R. Giannini
Susan Merrill Hutchison was five when she started
lessons at Flintridge (CA) and 11 when she rode under
the influence of legendary horseman Jimmy Williams.
From 12 to 18, she was champion or reserve champion
hunter seat rider of the Pacific Coast Horse Shows
Association. She turned professional at 18, set a
puissance record jumping a 7 foot wall with Red Baron
at Indio and stayed with Jimmy as his assistant until
he passed away in 1994. Susie harvested more than
60 lifetime Grand Prix wins and represented the US
at six World Cup Finals and one World Equestrian
Games. In 1989, she won the Mercedes Challenge
Series, was the 1992 AGA Grand Prix Rider of the
Year and finished fourth in the 1993 World Cup Final in
Gothenburg. At The Hague’s 1994 World Equestrian
Games Susie and longtime partner Woodstock helped
the US to finish fifth. In 2010 she piloted Cantano to
PCHA Grand Prix Horse of the Year and achieved top
25 rider status in the US. She is a popular clinician,
mentoring riders and bringing along talented horses
from her base in Temecula (CA).
Sidelines:
How do you keep your ‘game’ up after all
these years?
SMH:
Good horses – you’re only as good as your
mount is. I just sold two nice ones, Cantano last
September and Feng Shui in January. I started riding
H
O
R
S
E
S
H
O
W
Susie Hutchison and Cantano - they won 16 grand prix during
their time together
Photo by Horsetrader.com
Continued on page 36
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