United States Eventing Association

The USEA is saddened to hear of the passing of our 2022 Ironmaster Award recipient Sandra McDonald (Aiken, South Carolina). She was 63.

McDonald was a force of nature, deeply loved by many in the sport, which was demonstrated at the 2022 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention when she was greeted by a standing ovation as her name was called for the Ironmaster Award. McDonald demonstrated unrelenting courage and determination as she combatted cancer and rode throughout her chemotherapy treatments.

Social media has been flooded with the comments of her friends and loved ones since her passing. Her husband, Ian McDonald, shared the following:

“With a very heavy heart I am sharing that Sandra passed away this morning after a long and brave fight with cancer.

Sandra was known by so many, and we are both so grateful for so many caring friends. She was fiercely proud and independent. Her horses and dogs brought her the greatest joy. Her mother was one of her greatest supporters, always standing beside her with unwavering love and encouragement.

I want to thank everyone who shared in Sandra’s life—her friends, riding coaches, and her family who loved, laughed, and cheered with her through the ups and downs. You meant more to her than you know. Her spirit lives on in the horses she loved and the friendships she built. She will be missed beyond words.”

McDonald will be missed by many, and we send our deepest condolences to those that loved her.

The USEA wrote an article on McDonald in Issue 1 of "Eventing USA" in 2023. We are reposting that article below in memory of her resilient spirit and grit.

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The True Meaning of an Ironmaster: Meet Sandra McDonald, Recipient of the 2022 USEA Ironmaster Trophy

Author: Meagan DeLisle

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Sandra McDonald took to the stage during the Year End Awards Ceremony at the 2022 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention to receive the Ironmaster Trophy, an award presented to an individual in the eventing community that exemplifies fortitude and courage. If you ask anyone who knows McDonald, they would attest that fortitude and courage are two traits she does not run short of. As McDonald tearfully made her way back to her seat, the crowd stood one by one, cheering for the woman who lives and breathes eventing, even in the face of the ultimate hardship. The sport is how she met her soulmate and husband Ian McDonald, is what fuels the fire in her life, and, if you ask McDonald, is what helped her survive a stage four breast cancer diagnosis.

Facing Adversity Head On

Sandra had just returned home from a busy weekend showing two horses at Chattahoochee Hills in July of 2019 when she noticed a few abnormalities that led her to schedule a visit with her doctor. Her mammogram results led to a same-day ultrasound, and the next thing she knew, she was on the operating table seven days later.

“I was diagnosed with stage three, early stage four breast cancer,” she reflected. “It was a complete shock. I didn't feel sick. There was absolutely nothing that set alarm bells off or anything. When I had my surgery in July of 2019, my tumor was a quarter of an inch from my chest wall.”

From the get-go, Sandra was amazed by how the eventing community rallied around her. In fact, on her surgery day, her good friend Shelley Page sat with Ian in the waiting room for eight hours, refusing to leave his side until she knew that Sandra was settled into her recovery room following the procedure.

“It was a very, very special thing for her to be there for him,” Sandra reflected. “Because, even though I was the one diagnosed with cancer, the journey wasn't just about me –the journey was about my family, about my horses, and my life.”

Due to the aggressive nature of her cancer, Sandra’s treatment plan didn’t end after surgery. In August of 2019, she began her treatment protocol which included four triple doses of chemotherapy two weeks apart, followed by double doses two weeks apart. After a 10-day rest period, she had 43 consecutive radiation treatments which followed her through to March of 2020.

Those familiar with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation are familiar with the pure, exhaustive toll it can have on the body, which makes this next fact almost unbelievable – starting in September of 2019, Sandra began competing again amidst her treatment.

“My goal when I found out that I had cancer was to ride in the Pine Top Thanksgiving Horse Trials that November, so I did that. And then I finished my radiation treatments in the beginning of March of 2020, and it took me most of 2020 to get my strength back physically.” Slowly but surely, one horse trial at a time, Sandra kept competing. Sometimes it was just one horse, sometimes it was as many as four. All the while, she spent the 2020 season connecting with other fellow equestrians who had undergone the same cancer journey that she had.

“When one does go through this, it's sometimes hard to reach out,” she shared. “The number of people that said that they got hope and inspiration from my story which gave them the courage to deal with the disease that they had to deal with in their own way was amazing. But I will be honest with you, it’s the horses that got me through all of this. If I hadn't had them, I don't know how well I would have come through it. But my horse family through the whole process was absolutely incredible. It was such a bizarre feeling to see the number of people that are behind you, giving you little words of encouragement. I took it all day by day. If it was a day that I could get up and ride the horses, I would. If I couldn’t I would go down and groom and if I couldn’t do that, I would just give them treats. They and this community were an integral part of what got me through this horrible thing, and got me where I am today.”

Adversity - Round Two

While she took note of the struggles she faced competing multiple horses in the warmer, summer months, in the fall of 2021, Sandra was back to showing her three horses consistently. But a fluke accident in January of 2022 aboard her heart-horse Carrick Uskerty Flight, or "Paddy," led to a new discovery.

“It was a complete fluke,” she recalled. “He spooked at a donkey, and my leg actually broke while I was still in the saddle. So I went to the hospital, and when they did the MRI is when they found the lesions in my spine.”

The diagnosis? Late stage four metastatic breast cancer in her bones. “It will never go away, but it's very treatable. I will be on medication for the rest of my life. If I hadn’t fractured my leg on Paddy, I would not be alive today. He saved my life. I had absolutely no symptoms of cancer, there was nothing to say it had come back. My oncologist said to me, ‘Sandra, if this had not happened, you wouldn’t be with us’. So he saved my life and I am just going to enjoy him because he truly is such a good boy.”

At that point, Sandra’s oncologist told her that she would never ride again. “I said to her, ‘Doc if you take my horses away from me, I am not gonna make it through this.' And I was back in the saddle six weeks later after that injury.”

For many people, when life throws so many hurdles your way it would be easy to find yourself in a dark place, but with the love and support of the eventing community, her beloved husband Ian, and, of course, her three fabulous horses, Sandra found herself looking at life from a new lens.

“This journey with cancer has actually made me a better person because I appreciate the small things in life. I wake up every day and I'm just happy to be breathing air. I'm able to go and do my horses and I'm able to reach out to people that are struggling with a health journey with cancer and it can give them hope. It's all about being part of a big family. It’s what's given me the strength and the courage to do what I'm doing.”

Sandra admits it hasn’t always been easy. “You know, there are some days that you get to shows, and you can't do anything. Mentally, for me, it was a hard thing to accept my physical limitations. But I have also made a commitment to myself and my husband, and all of those that went through this last journey with me the last 12 months, that I would not go into the start box unless I was 100%.” Some days, McDonald is just happy to complete the dressage phase and cheer on her fellow eventers, while others she is able to get around all three phases with no issue. And it was exactly that positive, fighting spirit that led Page, Cindy Phillips, Rick Dunkerton, and Katie Malensek to nominate her for the Ironmaster Trophy.

“We are nominating Sandra because she isn’t known in our area for being ‘that rider who has cancer,’ ” wrote the crew in their nomination email. “We are nominating her because she is known for her amazing wicked sense of humor, her determination to ride, and her outstanding courage.”

In a separate email in support of Sandras nomination for the award, Bruce Duhamel wrote: “Sandra has demonstrated the courage and tenacity that this award represents. More than that she is a fierce, fierce friend! I have known her for about 12 years now, and we have had many adventures. She opens her heart, her farm, and her life to all. Her journey has been tough, no journey with this bloody disease is easy, but she faced it all head on and is conquering it!”

When her name was called to receive her award at the Convention, the look on Sandra’s face was one of pure shock.

“I had absolutely no idea,” she said. “It just blew me out of the water, and I was completely honored and humbled. For that number of people to nominate me was just such an honor. I was a blubbering mess! When I got on stage, Max [Corcoran] said to me, ‘Girlfriend you're going to have to smile because they're going to take your picture. Put your big girl pants on, and here we go!’ We are so lucky in our sport that we have the camaraderie and support among competitors that we do.”

Two Extra Special Connections

If you have watched one of Sandra’s cross-country rides, you might have noticed a special passenger that tags along the back of her cross-country vest with her, courtesy of her friend Gemma Tattersall.

“I rode with Gemma some when she was coming over to teach lessons and clinics and when she found out I had been diagnosed with cancer, she phoned me from Britain and said to me, ‘Sandra, I don’t care if you can’t ride with me, but at least come down and visit.’ ”

So between chemo treatments, Sandra packed up and jetted off to meet up with Tattersall. She was taken aback when Tattersall greeted her with a big hug and told her that she had something for her.

“She handed me her Wilberry, which I now call my Gemmberry,” recollected Sandra. A Wilberry is a small stuffed horse that was created by a young British eventer named Hannah Francis who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her pelvis, right hip, lower spine, and lungs. The Wilberry Wonder Pony Charity was created, and several top international eventers began sporting Wilberry’s on their vests in memory of Hannah’s life and support of her mission, Tattersall included.

“That was her personal Wilberry that had ridden around WEG, Badminton, Burghley, and Pau, all the top-level international competitions. To this day, my Gemmberry rides around as a passenger on my cross-country vest to watch over me, give me good luck, and keep me safe.”

And of course, Sandra can’t look back at the past two years without reflecting on her relationship with her husband, Ian.

“We actually met at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. He was grooming for Australia, and I was grooming for Canada, and we got married in April of 1985. The cancer journey for him was very scary because he didn’t want to lose someone that he loved. He was my absolute rock through the whole thing. He came to every single chemo treatment.”

While Sandra admits that Ian wasn’t super keen on her competing at first (mostly because like most horse people, he wanted to keep her safe and put away in a padded stall for protection), he has stood behind her 150% through the entire process. His love and support are not something that has gone unnoticed.

“The man is my soulmate. He is the love of my life, and I wouldn’t have made it without him. I embraced my diagnosis as openly as I could and we both met it head-on, fighting with everything we could possibly fight with. Ultimately, it is going to get me, but it’ll get me when I have done everything that I have wanted to do and we have done everything that we have wanted to do as a couple.”

And those are the true words of an Ironmaster.