by Kathy Ratcliff and Jerry Zosel

Commercial Point, OH — At age 20, and not one day older, the trotting mare Ceremonial died Dec. 31, 2014, at her Commercial Point, Ohio, home.

Ceremonial was the dam of three $100,000 trotting horses — Don’t Know Chip 1:52.1 ($492,619), Deep Chip 4,1:57.2f ($157,536), and Can’tcutthatchip 3,1:57.1f ($134,444), all sired by 2002 Hambletonian winner Chip Chip Hooray.

Ceremonial didn’t do anything the easy way. She found it difficult to get in foal, difficult to stay in foal and difficult to keep her foals. All those bad experiences ended when she met Chip Chip Hooray and Midland Acres. The match was magical.

Ceremonial’s first Chip Chip Hooray foal, Don’t Know Chip, was the Horse & Groom final winner in 2011. Second foal Deep Chip won the Ohio Triple Crown in 2008. Her last foal, Can’tcutthatchip, was a surprise to all. He arrived weeks early, the morning after the worst storm we can remember. A little dorky at birth, Can’tcutthatchip was non-stop ornery within a week. Now four, he has picked up a few wins, including two Ohio Sires Stakes in 2014.

By Supergill, out of Crimson Robe, by Royal Prestige, Ceremonial raced only at 2, taking a Q1:59.1 record and earning $25,967.

Ceremonial suffered a twisted bowel, so she didn’t leave this world the easy way either. She is held in high regard by her owners and is missed by her paddock friends.