FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2014 49
Artist Sharon Campbell
painted a portrait of
Connaught, Bruce’s
three-day eventing horse
that was on the 2008
Olympic Three-Day team
and ridden by Phillip
Dutton.
Photo courtesy of Sharon
Campbell, sharoncampbell.com
Bruce owned
top international
horses in
several
disciplines,
among them
eventing, show
jumping and
driving.
Photo by Kenneth
Kraus/PhelpsSports.
com
Bruce piloted his beloved hunter, Kim’s Song — the horse in the
hotel room — to win the AHSA Horse of the Year award in 1973.
The mare’s official retirement ceremony had just been held at the
Washington International Horse Show.
“Bruce had a stall built for Kim’s Song in the hotel,” said Jeff
Wirthman of Wellington, a friend since 1970. “He wasn’t about to
let her miss her own retirement party! He never knew a stranger.
No one threw a better party! Who else could get the mayor of
Washington, D.C., to come to a party with a horse in the middle
of the room?”
But life wasn’t all fun and games for Bruce. He reached out
to help those not as fortunate as he, both on two and four feet.
He contributed to animal shelters and personally took in horses,
dogs, cats, birds, turtles, tortoises and other creatures in need.
His beloved Chumley (“a cute, scruffy terrier,” as described by
Ron Danta of Danny and Ron’s Rescue) came to Bruce for a
one-night sleepover. The dog, which had been on death row at
a shelter, became a permanent part of Bruce’s family. He also
adopted several retired horses from Vinceremos Riding Center in
Wellington, the most recent of which, Lexus, arrived at his Aiken,
South Carolina, farm a few days before Bruce’s passing.
Ron and Bruce grew up together as childhood friends in their
hometown of Barrington, Illinois, where Bruce’s family owned
Hill N’ Dale Farm. Ron said the Bruce described by friends in
the equestrian world today is the same Bruce he knew as a boy.
“Bruce treasured everything in the world — disabled children,
horses, dogs … he even adopted some feral cats from our shelter
and brought them home as barn cats.”
That side of Bruce has been apparent for decades. “If you were
a horse of Bruce’s, you were never wanting for anything,” recalled
Olympic three-day eventer Phillip Dutton, who owned numerous
horses with Bruce over the years. Their business partnership
began years ago when Phillip’s 4* horse, Fair Dinkum, died just
before Badminton. “We were friends, and he offered to help me
get another horse,” said Phillip.
Their partnership turned into a string of top mounts over the
years, including the famous Connaught, which Phillip rode for the
U.S. to earn the team gold and individual silver medals at the 2007
Pan American Games, as well as winning the Rolex Kentucky
Three-Day Event in 2008.
Phillip and Bruce had met when the Australian eventing team, for
which Phillip then competed, was training at Bruce’s family’s farm
in Aiken, South Carolina, for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Phillip
said that as well as being a dedicated, competitive horseman,
Bruce “was always fun to be around, whether you won or lost … I
was very privileged to have him in my life.”
Bruce also meant a lot to other luminaries in the eventing world,
particularly Olympian Darren Chiacchia. “Bruce was one in a
million,” said Darren. “He’s been in my corner for 15 years. He
stood by me through everything I’ve been through, when not many
have.” Darren, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in an eventing
accident, said Bruce “was very patient and helped me throughout
my recovery. When I needed someone to talk to, he was there.
While I fought to get my life and my career back, he was there.
How can I ever forget that?”
Jill Ellisofon of West Palm Beach, whose mother was flown
home to Aiken courtesy of Bruce after her surgery in Boston,
seconded that emotion. “He was there in the best of times and in
the worst of times. He was always there.”
Mason Phelps of the Phelps Media Group in Wellington
described Bruce as “everybody’s best friend and generous to a
fault. He never said no to anyone.” A close friend for decades,
he noted that Bruce’s generosity extended far beyond financial
contributions. “He was very hands-on. He didn’t just give money;
he participated,” added Mason. When the Gay Polo League was
preparing to come to Wellington five years ago, he recalled, “Bruce
said, ‘How much (money) do you need and tell me what I can do.’”
He showed the same support for the National Horse Show when it
moved to Kentucky, added Mason. “Even last year, when he was
dying, he still participated.”
Bruce served on the board of directors for the National Horse
Show Association. He was a member of the U.S. Hunter Jumper
Association, a life member of the United States Equestrian
Federation, the American Quarter Horse Association and the U.S.
Eventing Association, among other roles. Bruce was executive
director of Friends of Handicapped Riders and volunteered his
time as a walker within its therapy program.
He was also a member of the Aiken Hounds in South Carolina
for more than 30 years. A former Aiken Steeplechase Association
officer, he owned the Aiken Horse Park.
A dedicated horseman, Bruce continued to ride even five days
before his death. “He said it was the most marvelous feeling in the
world,” recalled Jack Wetzel.
Meanwhile, Bruce’s legacy lives on. Shortly before his death,
another of his horses, Mighty Nice, also ridden by Phillip Dutton,
was short listed for the U.S. eventing team at the Alltech FEI
World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy.
Bruce is survived by his sisters, Dayle Fortino and Kim
Duchossois, and several nieces and nephews. The family
requests that memorial contributions be made in Bruce’s name to
a charity of one’s choosing or to one of the charities closest to his
heart: Caridad Center; SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare
or Vinceremos Riding Center.
Bruce left an indelible mark on the
equestrian world and on the lives of
everyone and every animal he touched.
