Gina Miles and McKinlaigh. Photo by Mike McNally.
EN is sad to report that eventing great McKinlaigh has passed away at the age of 26.
Most well known for his dazzling silver medal earned at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, McKinlaigh, an Irish Sport Horse (Highland King x Kilcumney Hostess, by Stetchworthlad), had a memorable career with Gina Miles.
Born in Ireland on May 5, 1994, McKinlaigh was sourced by Chris Ryan before being purchased by Thom Schulz and Laura Coats as a 5-year-old. The larger than life 17.3-hand liver chestnut then moved to Thom and Laura’s Rainbow Ranch in Paso Robles, California where he was paired with Gina.
They were then off to a roaring start, winning 7 of their first ten events. By 2001, the pair had completed their first CCI4*-L (Formerly CCI3*) and were named to the USEF Winter Training List. The next spring, McKinlaigh finished 11th in his first five-star appearance, guaranteeing him a spot on the team for the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, where they finished 25th.
Gina Miles and McKinlaigh. Photo courtesy of Gina Miles Eventing.
In 2004, a ninth place finish in Kentucky nearly made Gina’s Olympic dream come true, but he suffered from respiratory issues that resulted in a tie-back surgery that left the 2004 Games out of reach. The pair continued boldly forward, finishing 15th at Badminton in 2007 before earning team gold and individual bronze at the Pan American Games that year in Brazil. Those successes set the stage for McKinlaigh’s banner year in 2008 where he and Gina earned an individual silver medal.
Throughout his career, McKinlaigh never once had a cross country jumping penalty. He was inducted into the USEA Hall of Fame in 2015.
“McKinlaigh could tackle any cross country course. In his entire career he never had a cross country penalty, even with an inexperienced rider like me. He would make play of a four-star track,” Gina said in a 2015 speech.
Rest in peace, McKinlaigh.
