When Mary Gaylord McClean rode down Freedom Hall’s “victory lane” on According To Lynn as the World’s Champion in the Five-Gaited Mare Stake Tuesday night, it capped a sensational night for her Golden Creek Farms, as both competitors and breeders.

According To Lynn, by CH Callaway’s Born To Win out of Carol Lynn (BHF), is the older sister of Lynn Williams, by Top Spool out of the same Broodmare Hall of Fame dam. And Lynn Williams herself had just won the American Saddlebred Registry’s very rich National Three-Year-Old Five-Gaited Futurity earlier in the same performance! So the human Lynn Williams, namesake of these other “Lynns,” herself dam of World’s Champion Saddle Seat Equitation Star Matthew Williams, was undoubtedly celebrating long into the night with the entire barn at the Byers’ Premiere Stables. Mary, of course, is the owner and breeder of the equine Lynns.

There was yet another star of the evening, though, in the person of the inimitable Tre Lee, who showed Lynn Williams to that win, and also (SA) The Starwalker, who topped the field in the Three-Gaited 15.2 Hands and Under Stake, for Melissa Moore. This World’s Champion was bred in South Africa by Jack and Bill Schoeman, by (SA) Cloverleaf The Windwalker x (SA) Cloverleaf Sea Flower, by World’s Grand Champion (SA) Zovoorbij Commander in Chief, now standing in the United States and himself perhaps the very first South African import to make a lasting impact in America. On the top side, Starwalker traces back to the all-American sire Supreme Sultan, arguably the most influential of all modern stallions.

Talk about rewarding pedigree research! According To Lynn traces back on the top side through World’s Grand Champion Will Shriver, of course, to the immortal CH Wing Commander. Carol Lynn’s Broodmare Hall of Fame credentials no doubt have something to do with CH Wing Commander appearing right there in both top and bottom in her pedigree, and her cross with Top Spool brings both the CH Wing Commander and Supreme Sultan power into the pedigree of the equine Lynn Williams!

If anyone wants to understand the intrigue and magic and attraction of breeding American Saddlebreds, they need go no further than Mary Gaylord McClean’s Golden Creek Farm, demonstrating all of that and more – the sheer fun of it – in showing homebred winners at the greatest Saddlebred show in the world.

As if all this weren’t enough, Golden Creek Farms also won the Roadster Pony 50 Inches and Under Stake: Beaulah Jean with Jeff McClean on the lines! Jeff and his wife have had a great many rewarding nights in the show ring, but this one has to be up there among the all-time most sensational.

And was that all? No, of course not.