American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame member Abigail Kawananakoa died December 11 at age 96

© Scot Martinez

HONOLULU, HI–DECEMBER 12, 2022–American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame member and Hawaiian royal heiress Abigail Kawananakoa, 96, died December 11, 2022, according to an announcement released by Olelo Hawaii at Iolani Palace on Monday morning.

The translation read:

“With profound sadness, the Kawananakoa Family, the Hale O Na Alii O Hawaii and Iolani Palace announces the passing of Her Royal Highness, Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa at 6:45 p.m.

“We join each other in a period of mourning. Please allow the Kawananakoa Family this time.

“Services for the Princess are being coordinated; when plans are finalized, they will be shared. We place before you this manao with mournful aloha.”

Born April 20, 1926, as the last of the royal lineage descended from legendary King Kamehameha of Hawaii, “Miss Abigail’s” home was in Honolulu, but her passion was in Quarter Horse racing.

Introduced to the sport in the 1970s, she made a profound impact on the breed as a breeder and owner.

As an owner, she raced 119 starters, including 26 stakes winners, who earned more than $6.8 million.

Among her great horses was A Classic Dash, who won for her the 1993 All American Futurity.

He grew into a champion earner of $1,078,617 who went on to sire the Kawananakoa-bred champion Royaltime Classic, 34 other stakes winners and the earners of more than $6.7 million.

Miss Abigail bred her first Quarter Horse in 1980 and nine years later got her first homebred stakes winner, Royal Trips. The six-figure-earning Royal Trips was just the first of more than 350 winners bred in Miss Abigail’s own name. Horses she bred have earned more than $10.5 million, and include 44 stakes winners, putting her among the all-time leading breeders.

Among her elite breeding stock was Trippy Dip (TB), who stands alongside her in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. One of Trippy Dip’s great foals was Florentine, who earned more than $1.1 million and who Kawananakoa bred to Chicks Beduino to produce This Snow Is Royal, who sired champion Blazin Fire, 43 other stakes winners and the earners of more than $13.9 million.

And then there was Evening Snow. A full brother to champion This Snow Is Royal, the flashy gray gelding was acquired at birth when Miss Abigail bought Florentine in 1993. Evening Snow became the first Quarter Horse in history to break the 21-second mark at the quarter mile when he clocked :20.94 in October 1996.

Miss Abigail was named the AQHA champion owner in 1994-1995.

She supported many charitable causes and was a significant supporter of Colorado State University’s equine medicine program; they gave her an honorary degree in 2016.

Miss Abigail was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2018.

"Horses have always been the next-most important thing in the world to me, besides my friends and Hawaii," she said. "What can I say? I’m catching the rainbow."

She was a great supporter of Hawaiian causes, using her wealth to support Hawaiian institutions such as Iolani Palace Bishop Museum and Hawaiian language and history projects.

In the final years of her life, she was tied up in a legal battle over her massive fortune.

The battle over control of her trust began when a judge approved Jim Wright, her longtime attorney, as a trustee after she suffered a stroke. She claimed she wasn’t impaired, fired Wright and married Veronica Gail Worth, her partner of 20 years.

She inherited much of her wealth when the Campbell Estate trust dissolved in 2007.