Winter 2023-2024 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Winter 2023/2024 Page 21 44 Edgefield Rd. • Quarryville, PA 17566 By Tom Law, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Press Release The National Turf Writers and Broadcasters will present Cindy Hutter, who continues her inspiring recovery from a severe brain injury sustained in a training accident in July 2022, with the Bill Mooney Award for displaying courage in the face of tremendous adversity. Born and raised in Romans- ville, PA, near the horse-centric area of Unionville, Hutter started riding at a young age before going to work for trainer Bruce Miller after she turned 16. Hutter later worked for D. Wayne Lukas, galloping such stars as Winning Colors, Thunder Gulch, Open Mind and Flanders; and later for Todd Pletcher, working with more greats such as More Than Ready, Jersey Girl and Graeme Hall. Hutter and her husband, trainer George Weaver, launched their own stable in 2002. With Hutter serving as assistant and lead exercise rider, the couple campaigned Grade 1 winners Lighthouse Bay and Vekoma and graded stakes winners Christine’s Outlaw, Daddy Is a Legend, Devil’s Preacher, Drum Major, Falling Sky, Isotherm, Main Event, Majestic Dunhill, Pass the Champagne, Point of Honor, Saratoga County, Tizahit and Together Indy. Hutter suffered injuries July 3, 2022, when a filly she was galloping on Saratoga’s Okla- homa Training Track collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack. Unconscious for sever- al weeks, Hutter continues to bounce back through rehabil- itation and therapy all while making her presence felt at the barn even from a distance. “We’re very honored to win this award,” Weaver said. “Cindy was tough beforehand, and we ended up finding out how much tougher she was after everything happened. We’re doing every- thing we can, and she continues to improve. She’s still got a strong work ethic. “She might come out to the barn once a week, once every couple weeks. She came out the other day, spent the whole morn- ing with us. And, of course, there was no shortage of comments to do this, and to do that.” Hutter joins five prior Mooney winners – the award’s namesake who died after a long battle with cancer in 2017: horseman Kiaran McLaughlin, retired jockey Joy Scott, retired jockey and owner Rene Doug- las and horsewoman Martine Bellocq. She will be honored along with the NTWAB’s other four award winners at the orga- nization’s 63rd annual Awards Dinner at The Woolf Den by The Derby in Arcadia near Santa Anita Park, Wednesday, Novem- ber 1. Hutter to Be Honored by Turf Writers (Continued on page 34)