Page 16 - The Hunt - Winter 2023/24
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TRIBUTE
(Below) Sheppard at the 2015 Pennsylvania Hunt Cup with jockey Keri Brion.
14 THE HUNT MAGAZINE
winter 2023-24
was a racing official, and British rules wouldn’t allow him to find work as a trainer.
Sheppard came to the United States in
the early 1960s, riding for Hall of Fame steeplechase trainer W. Burling Cocks. In 1966, he won his first race in a steeplechase event at My Lady’s Manor, Maryland. One of his great racing partnerships was with George Strawbridge Jr., an accomplished amateur steeplechase jockey who wanted to spread
his wings as an owner in the Augustin Stable silks. Beginning in 1974, Sheppard helped Strawbridge and his Augustin operation become steeplechasing’s leading owner a record 23 times.
Unequaled in the steeplechase community, Sheppard’s list of accolades is staggering. Amongst other things, he was one of the winningest trainers in United States jump- racing history, with 1,242 victories. Between 1972 and his retirement in 2020, he led with
