Hand Gallop Blog Hop: What's in a name?

Blog hops are all the style, and I thought I'd try my hand at one (or two) and see how it goes. At the very least, I'm giving y'all something to write about, right??

What's the origin of your horse's show name and barn name?

Now, I typically use a horse's registered name as their show name. This has resulted in some pretty dorky show names over the years, including: Rocky Ridges Alibi, KW's Flying Bailey, Silk Pajamas, and My Midnight Queen.

Poor Gina has had many names. Her Jockey Club name is hideous: Kimberly K. Who names a horse Kimberly? (Johnny likes to joke that Gina's name is actually Kim Kardashian.) Her sire is Look See and her dam is True Brilliance, so I can only think that she's named after her breeder's daughter or something.

The name on her USEF registration is a marginal improvement- it's Imagine That. I'm guessing that's where "Gina" came from.

At the barn, her nickname has turned in "Eugena" (Moe's nickname is "Mocephus"- you know, like Hank Williams, Jr.'s "Bocephus".) Eugena is a pretty good name, all things considered. Gina's whinny sounds like she's been smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for the last 15 years; doesn't Eugena sound like the name of a crotchety old woman who smokes a lot of cigarettes and yells at kids?

Gina teaching a teenager how dressagin' is done.

At the last show, Gina's show name got an addition. You see, I emailed the combined test's organizer and said "I'd like to scratch Expect Freedom and enter Imagine That instead." When I looked up my ride time, I was surprised to see Gina entered as 'Imagine That Instead'. I laughed hysterically. I mean, come on! "Don't think of this thing, think of something completely different instead!"

Moe's show name has always been his Jockey Club name: Richnfree. His sire is Richrichrich and his dam is Feelingfancyfree, so it's pretty easy to see where that name came from. "Moe", on the other hand, is a total mystery to me. He came with the name, and I've always kept it. (He sort of answers to it.)

I'm certainly curious to know how your horses received their names! Are you a registered name user? Do you make stuff up? Get in on the blog hop and let us know!