Quentin Judge met Cayce Harrison in 2002 through mutual riding friends in Chicago. Quentin and Cayce met Daniel Deusser at Jan Tops' stable in Holland and become friends (Deusser served as best man at their 2011 wedding). When Judge moved back to the U.S. in 2008, he started working for Double H Farm. Quentin and Cayce now run Double H Farm in Ridgefield, CT, and Wellington, FL, managing show jumpers, sales horses and breeding for eight top stallions. The Harrison family's start with horses came with Cayce, who was a very successful junior and amateur rider. In 2003, Harrison joined forces for the first time with McLain Ward, who was looking for someone to purchase half of two horses owned by Harry Gill: Couletto K James and the one and only Sapphire. “Sapphire was a year older, we bought her. To this day, actually, we joke that he should have bought both,” Ward recalls.
It means a lot to open some doors, to see them compete at a world level. None of them had a silver spoon in their mouth.
Ward has a smile on his face as he talks about his connection to Hunter Harrison, comparing him to his father Barney, who passed away last year. “He was the type of man that I was very used to, growing up with my Dad – no-nonsense, very competitive, and a strong personality. Hunter, in many ways and in different times in my life, has been a father figure. It's very intense, rewarding, gratifying and sometimes frustrating. But there's emotion behind it. That's something I was always very comfortable with, and he really loves the sport, you can tell,” he says. Ward and Harrison went their separate ways in 2006 (Olympic Gold Medalist Rodrigo Pessoa and Irish show jumper Darragh Kerins also rode for Double H Farm), but renewed their partnership in 2014. Ward has been winning regularly with two new Double H horses, HH Cannavaro and HH Carlos Z, who stable at his Castle Hill in Brewster, NY.
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Harrison quips, “You don't know what you missed until it's not there. McLain has been a welcome addition back to the team, and he's been very helpful to Quentin.”
OTHERS TO LEAN ON In 2013, a friendship between Deusser and the Harrisons became a partnership, when Harrison purchased half of Cornet d'Amour, a top prospect owned by Stephex Stables and Stephan Conter. It was clear then Cornet d'Amour was one to watch. But while he was owned by one of the top dealing stables in Europe, he was always for sale until Harrison stepped-in and secured the ride for Deusser. Deusser laughs when he remembers the situation of being told that Harrison had purchased half of Cornet d'Amour. Deusser only received one phone call, and only one question from Harrison. “He called me and asked, 'What do you think about the horse?' I said, 'From what I know about him and what I rode, I think he really has a lot of quality.'” A few days later, Deusser learned Harrison had bought the horse for him to continue riding. “Other owners would ask a hundred questions before a contract. He didn't ask any further questions; it was amazing. It gives you confidence that he trusts in your opinion.” That confidence helped Deusser become a continual presence in the top 10 riders in the world (currently he stands number 8) and on championship teams for Germany. Deusser's greatest achievement came with his and Cornet's victory in the 2014 Longines FEI World Cup Finals in Lyon, France. Double H Farm is also half-owner of Fyloe VH Claeyssenhof, a nine-year-old Belgian gelding by Burggraaf that Deusser believes is his next big horse. Judge explains that Harrison has always had a “vision of a team of horses and riders working together to reach the top of the sport.” He adds, “We all have our own horses, our own barns and teams that we work with every day, but we are never more than a phone call away. When we are all together, it is nice to feel like you have others to lean on, especially when you do not have a great round and there is another Double H horse coming up in the same class to save the day!”