Stephen B. Macfarlane, 59, died following surgery in Louisville on January 11. Macfarlane had spent his lifetime as a multi-faceted horseman, winning championship titles in American Saddlebred, Roadster, Pony and coaching competitions. Macfarlane had just returned to Kentucky from his winter home in Ft. Meyers, FL. He had been taking blood-thinning medication for a diagnostic procedure scheduled later this week, when he suffered a head injury resulting in edema that could not be controlled despite emergency surgery.
Macfarlane's early career with Saddlebreds was guided by his stepfather, the legendary Bill Rowan. Macfarlane's horsemanship will forever be remembered both in under saddle and in the bike classes. Under saddle he won with CH King Of Siam, Five-Gaited Amateur World's Champion in 1982, and was perhaps the first gentleman to win that title. Others owned and/or shown by Macfarlane were the five-gaited gelding Ferrari' the gaited mare Peppermint Desire' Manhattan Airs, Three-Year-Old Five-Gaited National Futurity winner in 1988' and the 1982 Three-Gaited Junior World's Champion, CH Shadow Run. Perhaps his first great horse was the roadster mare Tinkerbelle. His most famous roadster horse was 15 time World’s Champion Shining Brightly. His other roadster champions have included Rightly Surprised, dam of many of his other great horses, including Geothermal, My Heart (World's Champion Roadster to Bike in 1989 and 1990), and Heart to Heart.
Winning ponies exhibited by Steve and Marilyn's Walnut Way Farm include the roadster pony Whiplash, and the harness ponies Flamethrower and Top O' The Mark. Macfarlane was equally successful in coaching, competing and winning at North America's best coaching competitions, including Devon, the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, the Florida State Fair and Walnut Hill in Florida.
Survivors include Macfarlane's wife Marilyn of Shelbyville, KY; his son, Stephen Jr., of Louisville, KY; two grandchildren; and his sister, Joan, of La Jolla, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the American Heart Association or the Hazelden Foundation.
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