Did you know that in the 1990's Life Magazine named a horse as one of the 100 all time greatest American Heros? That's right! A little, sorrel, Mongolian mare was a war hero, serving our country and our soldiers during the Korean war. Reckless deserves to have her story told. Watch this touching video!
Staff Sargeant Reckless deserves to become a unicorn. God Bless America and God Bless Reckless as she gallops across the flower-filled fields of Celestia!
Showing posts with label legendary horse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legendary horse. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
SEABISCUIT - looks down from Animal Heaven
With an informative book and movie out about Seabiscuit, you undoubtedly know a lot about this amazing horse and his story. Horse stories are wonderful, especially when they are true! As you watched the end of the video about the match race at Pimlico did you notice the jockey, The Iceman, on Seabisuit turn back after he crossed the finish line and yell something to War Admiral's jockey? I wish I knew what he said! When the two horses were head to head, Woolf said, "So Long, Charlie!" and Seabiscuit took off. Let me back "track" and give you some background on this famous horse: Seabiscuit was born on May 23, 1933. He was the son of Hard Tack and the grandson of Man 'O War. His name came from his father's, both of which stand for the crackers eaten by sailors. He grew up on Clairborne Farms in Paris, Kentucky and was owned by Gladys Mills Phipps. He had a rather inauspicious start in life. He was small and knobby kneed and his only desire in life was to eat and sleep. (Party Hardy in the second book of The Mist Trilogy: Mists of Darkness is like that!) He failed to win his first ten races. As a two year old he was raced 35 times. (Readers of this blog know how I feel about that!) Even with such a hard race schedule, he managed to still win five times and come in second seven times. In the great scheme of things, that is very good. However, he didn't catch any one's eye. Three of those races were "claiming" races where he could have been purchased for $2,500. No one claimed him. Seabiscuit was sold as a three year old to auto entrepreneur, Charles S. Howard for $8,000 who saw something in the awkward, lazy colt that he liked. He hired washed-up and unconventional trailer, Tom Smith. Smith, in turn hired Canadian Jockey, Red Pollard. Their formula worked for Seabiscuit. His fame spread as he began winning races under ever increasing amounts of weight. In 1937, Seabiscuit was the leading money winner, winning eleven out of fifteen races. That was also the year the beautiful War Admiral won the triple crown. (As I wrote The Mist Trilogy, I pictured the evil unicorn Hasbadana looking like War Admiral!) In 1938, Pollard was badly injured while racing another horse so his friend George Woolf, nicknamed the Iceman, was selected to ride the "Biscuit." Throughout 1937 and 1938, while the country suffered under the effects of the Great Depression, speculation was rampant about a match between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. While the west coast favored the Biscuit, the rest of the country put their money, if not their hearts, on War Admiral. The long anticipated "Match of The Century" was held on Nov. 1, 1938. The grandstands and infield were packed with 40,000 people while 40 million more listened over the radio. The video shows you the results of that race! Seabiscuit was named the 1938 "Horse of the Year" and the little brown colt became the national symbol of hope through hard work...something we need now! Not long thereafter, Seabisuit tore a suspensory ligament in a race. He and his friend, Red Pollard went to Charles Howard's ranch to recover together. Slowly, they both learned to walk and run again. Against all odds, Seabiscuit, with Pollard aboard, did race and win again. Their big comeback was in the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap where they walked away with the $121,000 purse. Seabiscuit was retired on April 10 and lived out his life at Ridgwood Ranch in Willits, CA. He received 500,000 visitors a year! A statue of Seabiscuit was erected at the ranch on June 23, 2007. Side note: There was an earlier movie about Seabiscuit filmed in 1949/50 titled "The Story of Seabiscuit" staring Shirley Temple! All of you Shirley Temple fans should check it out!
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
ARKLE - Greatest Steeplechaser of all time
This blog is dedicated to the Noble and Great horses in our lives and throughout history. In Behind the Mist, the reader learns that these are the horses, that are chosen to become unicorns in the animal heaven. Behind the Mist is the fantasy for horse story lovers!
Do any of you remember the movie, "National Velvet?" I LOVED that movie. It starred a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor and a very young Mickey Rooney. That was a wholesome, touching movie that really focused on horses as oppposed to some horse movies where the horses are just an after-thought. That was my first exposure to steeplechasing - races of various lengths that include jumps. This is a cool video with great horse clips from the movie.
Considered the greatest steeplechaser of all time, Arkle was a bay Thoroughbred Gelding born on the 19th of April, 1957. His father was Archive. His mother was Bright Cherry (I like that name!) He was bred at Ballymacdl Stud farm, near Naul, Dublin County, Ireland, by Mary Alison Baker. He was owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster, trained by Tom Dreaper (who also trained his archrival) and ridden by Pat Taaffe.
Arkle had a strange quirk. When he jumped, he crossed his front legs. Even with that, he won 27 of his 35 starts at varying distances and often carrying lots of extra weight. In fact, the Irish Grand National racing authorities devised two different handicap weight systems: one for when Arkle wasn't racing and one for when he was!
Arkle was extremely successful during his short racing career. He won 3 Cheltenham Gold Cups in a row: 1964, 1965, and 1966, plus tons of other big races. In December of 1966, Arkle struck the guard rail at the open ditch while running in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park. He broke the pedal bone in his hoof but finished the race anyway, coming in second. He spent the next 4 months in a cast but never raced again. His owner rode him for pleasure after that. (Called hacking.) Arkle was put down at the young age of 13.
Arkle was so famous and such a favorite in Ireland that the slogan "Arkle for President" was painted on a wall in Dublin. Everyone referred to him as "Himself" and fan mail was sent to him addressed simply as: "Himself, Ireland" and it would get there!
Do any of you remember the movie, "National Velvet?" I LOVED that movie. It starred a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor and a very young Mickey Rooney. That was a wholesome, touching movie that really focused on horses as oppposed to some horse movies where the horses are just an after-thought. That was my first exposure to steeplechasing - races of various lengths that include jumps. This is a cool video with great horse clips from the movie.
Considered the greatest steeplechaser of all time, Arkle was a bay Thoroughbred Gelding born on the 19th of April, 1957. His father was Archive. His mother was Bright Cherry (I like that name!) He was bred at Ballymacdl Stud farm, near Naul, Dublin County, Ireland, by Mary Alison Baker. He was owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster, trained by Tom Dreaper (who also trained his archrival) and ridden by Pat Taaffe.
Arkle had a strange quirk. When he jumped, he crossed his front legs. Even with that, he won 27 of his 35 starts at varying distances and often carrying lots of extra weight. In fact, the Irish Grand National racing authorities devised two different handicap weight systems: one for when Arkle wasn't racing and one for when he was!
Arkle was extremely successful during his short racing career. He won 3 Cheltenham Gold Cups in a row: 1964, 1965, and 1966, plus tons of other big races. In December of 1966, Arkle struck the guard rail at the open ditch while running in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park. He broke the pedal bone in his hoof but finished the race anyway, coming in second. He spent the next 4 months in a cast but never raced again. His owner rode him for pleasure after that. (Called hacking.) Arkle was put down at the young age of 13.
Arkle was so famous and such a favorite in Ireland that the slogan "Arkle for President" was painted on a wall in Dublin. Everyone referred to him as "Himself" and fan mail was sent to him addressed simply as: "Himself, Ireland" and it would get there!
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
BIG BEN - The Show Jumping Legend
This Blog is dedicated to the Noble and Great horses in our lives and throughout history. As you learn by reading Behind The Mist, the Noble and Great horses are chosen to become unicorns in the after-life.
This blog post is about the great Canadian Show Jumper: Big Ben
Big Ben was an enormous Belgian Warmblood. He was born on April 20, 1976 in Kalmthout, Belgium. He was originally named Winston after Winston Churchill. He grew to 17.3 hands. (A hand is 4 inches and is measured at the withers.) Winston was sold in 1983 for $2,000 to a farm in the Netherlands. His name was changed to Big Ben and his price tag became big as well. He was sold shortly thereafter for $45,000 as a mount for Canadian Equestrian, Ian Miller and moved to Miller Brooke Farm in Perth, Ontario, Canada.
In 1984, his remarkable show jumping career began. His list of accomplishments looks like a mobster's rap sheet it is so long! Just to name a few: He competed with the Canadian equestrian team 3 times. He won the World Cup Jumping Championship 2 years in a row: 1988 in Gothenburg, Sweden and 1989 in Tampa, Florida. His total winnings were over $1.5 Million!
In 1992, Big Ben survived a trailer accident that left two horses dead, a third too injured to ever be ridden again and a fourth too afraid to ever go in a trailer again. Not only did he survive, he went on the win a Grand Prix just two months later.Hold on to your heart as you watch this video of him competing!
Big Ben was retired from competition in 1994 at the age of 18 after 11 years of competing. He spent his last days at the Miller Brooke Farm, where he is now buried. He was Euthanized after a serious bout of Colic on Dec. 11, 1999.
He is a Canandian Icon and even has a stamp made in his honor. Big Ben was inducted into the Ontario Sports Legend Hall of Fame and joined Northern Dancer as the only other horse to be inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
A beautiful statue has been erected in his honor along the banks of the Tay river in Perth. The life-sized statue was created by sculptor Stewart Smith and depicts Ben carrying Miller over a 5 and 1/2 foot jump.
You can read more about Big Ben in the book Big Ben by Lawrence Scanlan and in a chapter found in An Apple A Day submitted by his groom, Sandi Hill.
Read about the Legion of the Unicorn in Behind The Mist. You can purchase it here:
or wherever fine books are sold.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Noble and Great Horse: GRANITE CHIEF - 10,800 miles and counting
Some of you are rookies when it comes to riding and actually get SORE after a short, little ride around the arena. Not Karen Chaton of Gardnerville, Nevada. Karen is an award winning Endurance Rider. Endurance riders race over distances from a few miles to a hundred miles! For many of those miles, Karen has ridden her Spanish Arabian, TBR Granite Chief. Chief has carried Karen over 10,800 miles...barefoot! He has been the recipient of numerous AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) awards. Here are a few:
AERC National Mileage Championship 2 years in a row.
Distance Horse of the Year Award in 2005
Winner of the Wendell Robie Trophy twice. Wendell Robie was the founder of the Tevis Cup and the modern sport of Endurance Riding.
In April 2006, Chief won the Ed Johnson Memorial Award for the third year in a row for the XP Horse of the Year.
ENDURANCE RACES: Endurance races are from 50 miles to 100 miles in length. Shorter races are called "Limited Distance" Competitions. Arabians dominate the sport of Endurance racing because of their stamina. The most famous of the Endurance races is the Tevis Cup.
THE TEVIS CUP
The Tevis cup is an endurance race that covers 100 miles in 24 hours. It was started in 1955 and is held in Ptacer County, California. It begins near the town of Truckee and goes over the Sierra Nevada mountain range and ends at Auburn, California. There are manditory rest stops and vet checks at the 30 mile mark and the 70 mile mark.
This video will give you a little idea of what the Tevis Cup is like.
While you are resting up after your endurance ride, enjoy reading BEHIND THE MIST, available wherever fine books are sold or on its own website:
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Future Unicorn MOORLANDS TOTILAS - The World Champion!
Some future unicorns are easier to spot than others! Moorlands Totilas or "Toto" is one of those. He is so beautiful he makes your eyes hurt just to look at him! This blog is dedicated to all of the Noble and Great horses in our lives and Totilas is truly one of the Noble and Great ones!
Please accept my apology if you are not as nutty about Dressage as I am, but if you watch the video (one of dozens on the internet about this horse) you will surely agree with me that this horse deserves to be nominated for unicornhood. Moorlands Totilas and his rider Edward Gal led the Dutch team at the World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in October, 2010. They took away three gold medals and recieved the highest scores in Dressage History. They amased an unparalleled number of perfect 10's. In fact, during Toto's eighteen month career showing at Grand Prix they won nearly every test they entered.
Totilas was owned by Cees Viser. He is by Gribaldi and is half Trakehner. The fabulous black stallion was first put under saddle at the age of five (race horse owners take note!) and was trained exclusively by Edward Gal for the next five years until his unprecidented performance in Kentucky...his first overseas trip. Gal said in an article in the December addition of Dressage Today (my second favorite magazine) that he has never ridden a horse that can compare to Toto. He has so much power and energy but is also supple. His attitude is different, too. He responds instantly and gives all he has and everything is easy for him.
Gal kept Totilas on a strict training schedule. His day started with feeding at 7:30. He rode him at 9:00 for 1/2 hour to 3/4 hour. Then he was given lunch. He was put on the walker at 2 in the afternoon for 45 minutes. Later in the afternoon he was given a hand walk and a graze and another hand walk at 7 p.m. He was never turned out loose in the pasture as he gets too wild and he has been know to hurt himself. Such is the life of the world's top dressage horse.
This is an interesting video of Totila's Grand Prix performance at the WEG (If you watch Gal at the WEG Free Style, even with the one goof, watch the rider. He earned a 10 for his riding at that competition.
Sadly, the incredible pair of Gal and Totilas has been broken apart and the WEG was their last competition together. Either just before, and kept a secret, or just after the World Equestrian Games Totilas was sold to Paul Schockemohle of Germany. Schockemohle was a big time show jumper now a big time breeder. He runs a stable of 3,000 horses and produces 500 foals a year at his farm. Totilas was moved there right after the WEG. It was announced in November that Totilas would have a new German rider: Matthais Roth. I watched a German video of him riding Toto and it made me so sad. Totilas belongs with Edward Gal. I am so sad that Toto was taken from his rider and trainer. It reminds me of Shema being taken from Bethany in Behind The Mist. I imagine that Toto's heart is broken, too.
Totilas will be used for breeding, of course, and a contract has already been signed to breed him with Brentina. See the November Post on Brentina.
Please accept my apology if you are not as nutty about Dressage as I am, but if you watch the video (one of dozens on the internet about this horse) you will surely agree with me that this horse deserves to be nominated for unicornhood. Moorlands Totilas and his rider Edward Gal led the Dutch team at the World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in October, 2010. They took away three gold medals and recieved the highest scores in Dressage History. They amased an unparalleled number of perfect 10's. In fact, during Toto's eighteen month career showing at Grand Prix they won nearly every test they entered.
Totilas was owned by Cees Viser. He is by Gribaldi and is half Trakehner. The fabulous black stallion was first put under saddle at the age of five (race horse owners take note!) and was trained exclusively by Edward Gal for the next five years until his unprecidented performance in Kentucky...his first overseas trip. Gal said in an article in the December addition of Dressage Today (my second favorite magazine) that he has never ridden a horse that can compare to Toto. He has so much power and energy but is also supple. His attitude is different, too. He responds instantly and gives all he has and everything is easy for him.
Gal kept Totilas on a strict training schedule. His day started with feeding at 7:30. He rode him at 9:00 for 1/2 hour to 3/4 hour. Then he was given lunch. He was put on the walker at 2 in the afternoon for 45 minutes. Later in the afternoon he was given a hand walk and a graze and another hand walk at 7 p.m. He was never turned out loose in the pasture as he gets too wild and he has been know to hurt himself. Such is the life of the world's top dressage horse.
This is an interesting video of Totila's Grand Prix performance at the WEG (If you watch Gal at the WEG Free Style, even with the one goof, watch the rider. He earned a 10 for his riding at that competition.
Sadly, the incredible pair of Gal and Totilas has been broken apart and the WEG was their last competition together. Either just before, and kept a secret, or just after the World Equestrian Games Totilas was sold to Paul Schockemohle of Germany. Schockemohle was a big time show jumper now a big time breeder. He runs a stable of 3,000 horses and produces 500 foals a year at his farm. Totilas was moved there right after the WEG. It was announced in November that Totilas would have a new German rider: Matthais Roth. I watched a German video of him riding Toto and it made me so sad. Totilas belongs with Edward Gal. I am so sad that Toto was taken from his rider and trainer. It reminds me of Shema being taken from Bethany in Behind The Mist. I imagine that Toto's heart is broken, too.
Totilas will be used for breeding, of course, and a contract has already been signed to breed him with Brentina. See the November Post on Brentina.
Tell me the story of your Noble and Great horse who probably never had a medal around his neck! Send me a picture and your story to:
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
SECRETARIAT-You've Probably Heard of Him!
In Behind the Mist, Book One of The Mist Trilogy, the reader learns that the Noble and Great horses are trained to become unicorns in their after-life and earn their horns. This Blog is dedicated to the Noble and Great horses in our lives and throughout history.
When I was a newly-wed living in Connecticut while my husband, Tom, completed his undergraduate studies at Yale, we watched and cheered as Secretariat, arguably the greatest race horse ever, burned up the track and won the Triple Crown. I will never forget that horse!
In October, 2010, my trail riding buddies and I went to see the movie Secretariat. I think I cried through the whole thing! If you haven't seen it, it is a must. I was re-motivated to reach for the stars...to run my race. Great movie...go see it. It is also fitting that Penny Chenery Tweety, Secretariat's owner, is a fellow Coloradoan. So, this Blog post is dedicated to the Great Secretariat.
Secretariat's fame rests on his success. Not only was he the 1973 Triple Crown winner, the first in 25 years, but his record in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont still stand. His time in the Preakness is not counted because of a faulty timer. His success is usually attributed to two things: His trainer, Lucien Lauren and his enormous heart. At his autopsy, it was found that his heart weighed close to 22 pounds. The average thoroughbred's heart is 9 pounds. Not only that, but unlike Eclipse's big heart, it was not malformed. Studies have found what is called the X Factor that is carried by the mare that contributes to the large hearts that are found in the fastest thoroughbreds. Secretariat's heart was so large that it was able to pump a huge amount of blood, giving him both speed and stamina. However, because this trait is passed through the mare, his off-spring did not inherit it from him. It is interesting to note that Man O' War is often credited with passing on his speed but, in reality, the mare he was bred to, Brush Up, had a bigger heart than he did and the result was War Admiral and Seattle Slew.
In life, all of "Red's" handlers knew he had a big heart but they were referring to his love of running and his work ethic. His primary jockey, Ron Turcotte, said when describing the horse, "I was just along for the ride." Indeed, if you watch a tape of the Belmont, you will notice that he never uses a whip.
In the fall of 1989, Secretariat developed Laminitis, a very painful and often fatal condition of the hoof. Surgery failed to correct it so the great red horse had to be euthanized on Oct. 4, 1989. He was given perhaps his greatest honor after death by being buried whole at the Claibourne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. By tradition, most thoroughbred's graves contain just their head, to symbolize intelligence, their heart, to symbolize strength, and their legs, to symbolize power.
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
TRAVELLER - Famous mount of Robert E. Lee
Comes Traveller and his master. Look at them well.
The horse is an iron-grey, sixteen hands high,
Short back, deep chest, strong haunch, flat legs, small head,
Delicate ear, quick eye, black mane and tail,
Wise brain, obedient mouth.
Such horses are
The jewels of the horseman's hands and thighs,
They go by the word and hardly need the rein.
They bred such horses in Virginia then,
Horses that were remembered after death
And buried not so far from Christian ground
That if their sleeping riders should arise
They could not witch them from the earth again
And ride a printless course along the grass
With the old manage and light ease of hand.
— Passage from Army of Northern Virginia, a poem by Stephen Vincent Benet
The history of Dressage, which means "Training," is deeply imbeded in war. The horse was long an essential part of war. Dressage was designed as the method of training war horses who needed to respond quickly forward, backward, left or right and turn on the forehand or the haunches. One of the most famous war horses in the U.S. was Traveller, the mount of General Robert E. Lee, who carried his rider into the battles of the civil war.
Traveller, originally named Jeff Davis (yes, weird name...I like Traveller better, too!), was born in 1857 in Blue Sulpher Springs, Greenbrier County, Virginia (now part of West Virginia.) He was half thoroughbred and half Saddlebred. He was originally purchased by Captain Joseph M.Broun of the Third Regiment of the Confederate Infantry from Capt. James W. Johnston, son of the breeder. His purchase price was $175 which would translate to over $4,000 in today's dollar. Captain Broun's brother latter wrote of the horse:
He was "...greatly admired for his rapid, springy walk, his high spirit, bold carriage and muscular strength."
From Thomas L. Broun, Southern Historical Society Papers, Richmond Virginia.
Major Broun also noted that there was never a need for whip or spur with Jeff Davis, the problem, unlike what is written in the poem above, was holding him back!
In the fall of 1861, General Robert E. Lee was camped with his brigade near Big Sewell Mountains, in close proximity to the camp of the Third Regiment. It was there that General Lee first laid eyes on the big, gray, Gelding. He took an immediate fancy to the horse and called him "My Colt." During the winter, both groups were sent down to South Carolina where Lee saw the horse again. Captain Joseph M. Broun offered the horse as a gift, which Lee declined. He said that if Broun was willing to sell the horse he would try him out for a week. After the week was up, Lee paid Captain Broun $200 for Jeff Davis.
Lee renamed the horse "Traveller." While he used Traveller for most of the war, it was not always a match made in heaven. In 1862 during the second Battle of Bull Run, Lee was standing beside the excited gelding on the front line. Traveller bolted and dragged Lee down a steep bank, breaking both his hands! Lee spent the next two years ridng a nice, calm mare named "Lucy Long." I can't blame him!
Lee returned to riding Traveller when Lucy Long got pregnant and rode him for the rest of the war and until the General's death on Oct. 12, 1870. Traveller died shortly thereafter in 1871 after stepping on a nail and developing Tetanus.
Traveller is currently buried on the Campus of Washington and Lee Univ. in Lexington, Virginia. The stable where he lived his last days is connected to the Lee family house that is on the campus. Traditionally, the stable door is left open so Traveller's spirit can wander freely.
I am attaching a link to an interesting video about three famous civil War horses, including Traveller. The video is from the Museum of the Confederacy.
No doubt about it! Traveller has his unicorn horn by now. I just can't decide if the horn is white to match his body or black to match his mane!
Share your story about the "Noble And Great" horse in your life!
email me at:
www.mjevansbtm@gmail.com
email me at:
www.mjevansbtm@gmail.com
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