The annual Missouri Horse Shows Association(MHSA) took place in Columbia on January 25, where the William Woods University Equestrian Science (EQS) program scored some prominent awards. Gayle Lampe, professor Emeritus at William Woods, and her personal horse, Chuck Taylor, were named the best Ladies Five-gaited pair in 2024. The “Here Comes the Boom” horse show produced on the William Woods campus and managed by Brenda Benner, a William Woods graduate, was voted the best two-day show in the state for 2024. William Woods also received the “Star Show of the Year” award for the Hunter/Jumper shows, including the WWU Fall Derby, also held on campus.
However, the big winner of the night was Lynn McCallister, who received the coveted MHSA Horse Person of the Year Award. McCallister, daughter of the former William Woods College chaplain Raymond McCallister, possesses one of the more familiar names in recent WWU history (the second floor conference room at the university’s Academic Building is named after Raymond McCallister). In addition, her grandfather was Ronald Reagan’s roommate in college, and was instrumental in getting Reagan to give the commencement address at William Woods.
“With horse shows and organizations like the MHSA dwindling, I see it as my calling to do everything I can to keep the industry going,” McCallister said, on being named Horse Person of the Year.
The prestigious recognition cites McCallister’s “contributions to the growth, knowledge and enjoyment of the equine industry,” which is fitting for a woman who has dedicated her life to it. Lynn grew up in Fulton, and at an early age she discovered the horses at William Woods and was eager to learn to ride. She talked the legendary Lampe, who pioneered the EQS program at the Woods nearly 60 years ago, into giving her private lessons on the college horses in the summer.
“Gayle started the program, the administration at William Woods saw the value in it, and now it remains one of the best places to earn a degree in Equestrian Science,” she said.
McCallister’s dedication and love for the industry actually started before she entered William Woods in 1976. In exchange for lessons, Lynn helped out at the stables doing many varied jobs taking care of the horses, and was a great asset to the program for many summers. While at William Woods, Lynn showed many horses, most notably when she showed Lord Genius to two back-to-back Reserve World Championship titles in the Five-Gaited Pleasure Division at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. While at The Woods, Lynn made many lasting friendships with people she still networks with in the horse world today. After working around the country in the industry, she opened her own business in Overland Park, Kansas, McCallister Stables, (founded in 1997), where she continues to show Saddlebred horses, teach and train aspiring equestrians, and run horse shows and tournaments.
“I am proud to be recognized for all the work to keep the industry viable in this area,” McCallister said. “Missouri is no longer the agriculture state it used to be. We have lost many of the little county fairs, so we don’t have horse shows all summer long anymore like we did ‘back in the day.’ I have just decided to pick up the ball and provide and run horse shows because we have needed them.” She cited two show facilities in Columbia that no longer host shows – Midway and Boone County Fairgrounds.
“So I started and now continue to help manage a show called “Central States” in Kansas City,” she went on. “This show started out small, and has now grown into a very nice show attracting exhibitors from many states, including a major exhibitor, Barbara Goodman Manilow from Chicago. I also put on Central States Fall Classic, a small show with academy classes in addition to show classes held in Sedalia in October. I am proud to say that Sarah Track brings many William Woods students and horses to compete in this show.”
“(Lynn) saw our stables when she was very young and, of course, she wanted to learn to ride,” said Lampe. “Once she learned to ride, I took her all over Missouri to show horses during the summer. We had great fun, plus her father blessed the horses before each show! At one time she divided her time between music and horses, but finally the horses won out. She eventually became a college student at William Woods, and we continued to go to shows all summer. Back then, there were shows every weekend all over the state of Missouri, and I don’t think we missed a single one of them. I am so proud of what Lynn has accomplished since she graduated from William Woods!”
