The Owls Approve Blog Hop: History of the horse

The ever-awesome Beka at The Owls Approve is celebrating Archie's impending 18th birthday with a blog hop! Her first topic? Before you met, where was your horse?  Who bred him/her?  What do you know about his sire and his dam?  What do you know where he came from?  Tell me about the time before he had a trainer.

What a great topic!

Moe

Moe is a native Tennessean! He was bred by Hackett Brothers Thoroughbred, Inc. in Manchester, TN. (Where Bonnaroo is held for you music festival fans.)  He was foaled May 2, 1995 (just realized I'll be getting married on Moe's birthday- cue collective awww) and is by Richrichrich and out of Feelingfancyfree. To my knowledge, he has no full or half siblings. His pedigree has very few notable relatives, but he does have Turn To on both top and bottom; Turn To is an ancestor to many successful Thoroughbred event horses.

As a long 3 year old, Moe made his debut in a maiden claiming race on September 11, 1998 at Fairmount Park in Collinsville, IL. The race report states "Richnfree bumped hard start, send wide, outrun." He finished 9 out of 10 and won a whopping $36. 

I'm not sure what happened over the next five years. At some point, he was acquired by Brenda Wagnon, a trainer in the middle Tennessee area; a fellow Pony Clubber knew Brenda and knew I was looking for a reliable horse. I was between competition horses at the time. I saw Moe for the first time at my Pony Club's spring horse trials. He was 8 years old and had just won the Beginner Novice division on his dressage score. I rode him at the show very briefly; he scared me a little because he was faster and flightier than other horses I'd ridden.  

My parents were divorced by then; while there was some bickering over who was contributing what, they managed to agree long enough to buy him. So in 2003, for $3500, Moe became my horse. (He came with the name- I don't know where it came from!)

At our first Pony Club Rally at the Kentucky Horse Park, June 2003.

Gina

Gina is registered with The Jockey Club as Kimberly K, which is a stupid name for a horse. 

She was bred by CS Ranch in New Mexico, which is known for its cattle and outstanding Quarter Horses. They've bred Thoroughbreds and polo ponies over the years, but seem to be totally focused on QHs now. She was foaled March 16, 1997 and is by Look See and out of True Brilliance. She has two full sisters, Ute Queen ('95) and Lardeo Rose ('96). Both made it to the track, but weren't terribly successful. She has several half-siblings who had varying degrees of success as racehorses. Gina never raced. 

In 1999, she was sold to Grand Oaks Sporthorses in Oklahoma, where she lived until 2002. She has two offspring, both by the Oldenburg stallion Wradar. She was approved by and entered into the main mare book for The Oldenburg Registry North America and International Sporthorse Registry (ISR-Oldenburg NA). She was also approved for the Oklahoma-bred incentive program, so any of her racing offspring by an Oklahoma stallion would be eligible for additional purse money. 

Gina and baby Kassandra.

Gina's daughter Koko- I'd love to find this mare- they're almost identical!

In 2002, she was purchased by a man in Glenpool, OK- just south of Tulsa. In 2002, he sold her to the owner of KJM Equestrian in Tulsa, a hunter/jumper barn. In 2005, almost a year to the date, KJM sold her to a teenage girl who rode at Saddleback Equestrian, another hunter/jumper barn. This owner kept her for 5 years, until 2010. In 2006 she was registered for life with the USEF as Imagine That.

Gina and her old owner in 2007.

In 2010, her owners donated her to a therapeutic horseback riding program; in 2011, I purchased her for $1205. (Note to self: do not rely on pictures of horse jumping as proof that it jumps.)

Our first dressage show, September 2011.