Mary Anne McPhail Passed Away

Dressage

U.S.A.

Mary Anne McPhail, a U.S. dressage pioneer and 2018 USDF Member of Distinction, has passed away on 5 August 2025. She was 92 years old.

Raised around horses, Mary Anne McPhail grew up in the Detroit. Her early passion for riding would become a defining thread of her life. Her uncle had a thoroughbred farm, which she often visited as a child, and at age nine, she was gifted a horse of her own. Years later, as a mother living in Bloomfield Hills, she helped open a nursery school on a large estate. The open pastures proved irresistible; soon she and her husband, Walter, had filled them with horses of their own.

McPhail was active in nearly every facet of dressage—as a rider, an S-judge, owner, and one of its most generous supporters. She played a key role in advancing United States dressage at all levels, from grassroots education to Olympic competition. Among the horses she and Walter owned was Lectron, who helped the US team secure bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics under Robert Dover. She later sponsored Olivia Lagoy-Weltz on Rassing's Lonoir, Fade to Black, and Igeral D.

Walter and Mary Anne McPhail at the 2002 Palm
Beach Derby at their Equestrian Estates in Loxahatchee
(Photo © Mary Phelps)

As a USDF Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medalist, and longtime advocate for the sport, Mary Anne has guaranteed a lasting impact on the United States Dressage Federation and dressage in the United States.

She was a longtime host and executive director of the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, when it was hosted at their Horse Park at Equestrian Estates in Loxahatchee, FL, near her winter base, High Meadow Farm.

Sharing in USDF’s mission of education, Mary Anne established the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. The inaugural McPhail Dressage Chairholder, Dr. Hilary Clayton, has conducted research whose findings have affected everything from the way dressage definitions and rules are written to the design and maintenance of arena footing. The Chair led to a greater understanding in biomechanics and soundness, which continues to influence equipment design and judging of the sport, while The Dressage Foundation’s Mary Anne and Walter McPhail Judge Education fund continues to educate dressage judges throughout the United States.

At the 30th anniversary of the Derby in 2014:
Howald Pferdekaemper, Janne Rumbough, Mary Ann McPhail

“Mary Anne’s passion and influence reached beyond support; it shaped the future of the sport,” says Dr. Jane Manfredi, who currently holds the McPhail Chair. “Through research and outreach, we will continue to honor her legacy and vision of improving the welfare of the dressage horse.”

"Mary Anne’s legacy will live on through all who knew and loved her, and through her generosity of spirit that will continue to positively impact and benefit the dressage community for years to come," USDF stated. "Our hearts are with her loved ones, and we express our immense gratitude on behalf of the entire dressage community who has benefited, and will continue to benefit, from her knowledge, passion, and generosity."

While her impact on the sport of dressage was profound, Mary Anne was also cherished as a wife, mother, grandmother, helicopter pilot, and a true friend to many. Her generosity of spirit, unwavering belief in the power of education, and deep love for horses left a lasting mark on all who knew her.

Mary Anne at the 2024 USDF Trainers Conference
at her farm in Florida

Mary Anne passed away peacefully at home in Michigan, surrounded by her family.