Brewster native McLain Ward is making Putnam County – and the U.S. – proud, by adding to his stash of Olympic medals.
Ward and teammates Karl Cook and Laura Kraut won the silver medal Aug. 2 at Château de Versaillesas as part of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The U.S. equestrian jumping team came in second behind Great Britan, while France took home the bronze.
Ward, age 48, was riding a horse named Ilex.
This was Ward’s sixth time completing in the Olympic Games, having earned five medals, including golds in 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing, and silver at the 2016 games in Rio de Jeniro and in 2020 in Tokyo. During all those games, he rode a horse named Contagious.
According to news reports, at age 14, Ward became the youngest rider to win both the U.S. Equestrian Team Medal Finals and the USET Talent Derby. At the age of 24, after going pro, he became the youngest rider to make $1 million in earnings.
Am so proud of both of you.