On July 17, 2005, Cefnoakpark Bouncer, a Welsh Cob pony driven by Suzy Stafford, won the FEI Pony Driving World Championships Individual Gold Medal (Catton Hall, England) out of 81 entries from 16 countries after only a few weeks of preparation. One of those competitors was HRH Prince Phillip competing for Great Britain with his four-in-hand team of Fell Ponies.

The First Gold Medal for US Driving in a World Championships

The first entry from the United States to accomplish this was Bouncer and Stafford, after only doing one event together to prepare. The duo continued to excel that year, receiving two more driving Grand Championships in the United States. Bouncer was also a Farnam-Platform/USEF Horse of the Year Finalist, nominated by the American Driving Society and the Welsh Pony Society.

A Story of Fate and Talent

It was a story of fate and talent that led to the experience of a lifetime, elevating Suzy Stafford to the status of World Champion and Gold Medalist. Stafford was entered with another pony who, just before shipping to England, had soundness issues.

Owned by Sybil and Wayne Humphreys, Bouncer was imported from Wales in the year 2000. He competed successfully with his owner, Sybil, throughout his career. But the Humphreys knew that for a challenge as big and important as a World Championship, he needed a professional trainer and driver. Sybil Humphreys was in England with Bouncer and another trainer, preparing for the event, but they fell short of the declared list for the US Team and were named a reserve.

Preparations were being made to send Bouncer back to the US after his trainer resigned, and Stafford, selected as a team member now without a pony to drive, reached out to Humphreys to ask if she could drive him.

“I was on the phone making shipping arrangements,” said Wayne Humphreys, “and kept getting a call waiting signal. It was Suzy calling to ask about driving Bouncer in the World Championships.” There was a flurry of calls, arrangements with the US National Federation for Equestrian Sport, USEF. Events were scheduled before the championships, and Suzy flew to England to prepare.

The Event of a Lifetime

Bouncer had competed at the Royal Windsor Horse Show that spring.  Sandringham was the only event for Stafford and the 9-year-old Welsh Cob to get together, and it was not without more drama to follow.

The presentation carriage used for dressage and cones was irreparably damaged, having fallen off the trailer upon arrival. Jennifer Matheson, competing for Canada, saw the dilemma and offered to share hers. “It was like NASCAR,” recalled Wayne. Just after Jennifer was out of the ring, the switch began, and into the arena she went.”

Suzy, with Sybil in a borrowed carriage for Dressage and cones, and Wayne Humphreys as the navigator for the marathon, breezed through the event just two weeks before the Championships. With the help of Bennington, they were able to get a new carriage just in time for the Championships. “The driving community is small but mighty,” commented Wayne. “To have another competitor offer and make the impossible happen is a perfect example of the camaraderie we all share.”

To win a world championship in a sport dominated by Great Britain and 15 European countries with a pony who had been on the reserve list, and a driver who had only done one event to prepare before the competition with him, was a script only written in a Disney movie.

“He’s not very complicated,” Stafford recalls.  “You tell him what to do, and he does it. If you don’t ask for anything, he doesn’t give you anything, but the more you ask him, the more you’ll get. The other ponies that I usually drive are brilliant, but complicated. He was refreshing.”

Even though Bouncer did not win a single phase in the Event, he was consistent and consistently placed in the top positions. It came down to the cones, and as the final pony to go and one ball down, his score, and .075 above second place, put the United States on the Gold Medal Podium for the first time.

Multiple Honors and Bouncer’s Continued Life

Honored by the 2005 USEF Horse of the Year by being nominated along with Brentina (Dressage -Debbie MacDonald) and the famous jumper Authentic, ridden by Beezie Madden. He is also in the Equus Horse Stars Hall of Fame, inducted in 2013

In 2011, on the Florida winter circuit, his owner, Sybil (then 68 years old), and Bouncer won three of the four events they entered, including the last event of their long partnership, the top-rated driving show in the USA, Live Oak International. Sybil and Bouncer also won the Hanzi Award (top horse or pony in the show – ie, grand champion) at Live Oak in 2008. Sybil drove and competed with Bouncer almost exclusively from the time he was purchased until her passing.

“This honor is bittersweet for me, as my wife passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from pancreatic cancer in October 2011, only 6 months after their Live Oak win,” said Wayne.

Bouncer’s Impact and Legacy

“Bouncer has been our family’s focal point to raise awareness and funds to help fight pancreatic cancer,” remarked Wayne. “Bouncer, driven by world-class drivers, including Suzy Stafford, performed exhibitions between Florida and Virginia in front of up to 40,000 people in 2012, increasing awareness of this dreaded disease.”

As a result of the involvement of Humphreys and Bouncer, along with many others dedicated to gaining help and research to fight this disease, President Barack Obama signed a bill in January 2013, which was passed by Congress, to increase resources and focus on the fight against Pancreatic Cancer.

Bouncer’s success led to him being immortalized as a Breyer model horse (#707).

As of 2025, the now-retired Bouncer is still thriving at the age of 29 and still enjoys driving around the farm, keeping the other ponies in line, and being driven by his owner, Wayne Humphreys, as well as teaching others about driving.

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Editor’s note: US Driving For the Disabled results in the Para Driving World Championships
The USA has also had considerable success in the Para Driving Division. Bouncer and Suzy’s first Gold Medal for the USA in the able-bodied World Championships.