Happy Birthday OTTBs!
On January 1st, the Northern Hemisphere celebrates a birthday for all Thoroughbreds! (Southern Hemisphere horses, come back to this blog on August 1st for your day.) Racing bred horses were originally agreed to have a universal birthday on May 1st, but after the Jockey Club headquarters in Newmarket, Great Britain, changed their date to January 1st the rest of the racing world eventually fell into stride, too.
At SmartPak, we’ve got a lot of OTTBs on the team! We celebrate them all year long, but this week we’re going to take some extra time to share a few of the horses that cross the finish line first in our hearts.
- On the Track
- Name: Tenacious Child
- Raced: 2 Years
- Off the Track
- Name: Charitable Storm (“Houston”)
- New Job: Hunter/Jumper
Fun Fact: Houston loves to fox hunt and hunter pace!
- On the Track
- Name: Ajhar
- Raced: 2 Years
- Off the Track
- Name: AJ
- New Job: Hunter/Jumper
Fun Fact: AJ is spending his winter learning all kinds of fun tricks!
- On the Track
- Name: Little Bit Okie
- Raced: 4 Years
- Off the Track
- Name: Oaklee
- New Job: Trail Riding (with eventual Jumper goals!)
Fun Fact: Oaklee is our billy goat Owen’s favorite! She is ridiculously tolerant with him so the feeling may be mutual. When Oaklee first arrived home, she was understandably terrified of the goats and their chaotic tendencies. Now, she plays with Owen and lets him lean all over her!
- On the Track
- Name: Yukon Sky
- Raced: 2 Years
- Off the Track
- Name: Yukon
- New Job: Eventing
Fun Fact: Yukon will jump anything! If I let him out into the riding ring to just run around, he will go out of his way to jump the jumps that are set up. He also gets so excited when anyone comes to get him out of his field that he trots to the gate nickering. It’s adorable.
- On the Track
- Name: Golden Challenge
- Raced: 2 Years
- Off the Track
- Name: Golden Challenge (“Rush”)
- New Job: Hunter/Jumper
Fun Fact: Rush sold for 425,000 as a yearling and his career earnings were about 35,000. He was retired due to rain- really! At the next track he was scheduled to run at, the trainer had 3 stalls and 5 horses. The track was going to be wet and Rush does not do well in wet footing, so they sold him!
- On the Track
- Name: JP’s Thunder
- Raced: 8 Months
- Off the Track
- Name: Evanescence (“JP”)
- New Job: Hunter/Jumper
Fun Fact: JP tries her little heart out at everything she does!
- On the Track
- Name: Royal Ignition
- Raced: 6 Years
- Off the Track
- Name: Enzo
- New Job: Eventer
Fun Fact: Enzo had 48 starts and never met an XC fence he didn’t like! I always trusted him to bring me home safe through the finish flags. He’s also let me wrap him head-to-hooves in bubble wrap and Christmas wrapping paper.
- On the Track:
- Name: YouYou
- Raced: 2 Years
- Off the Track
- Name: You
- New Job: Dressage
Fun Fact: You You is a total cookie monster, his affection can be won with food!
- On the Track
- Name: Unbridled Value
- Raced: 3 Months
- Off the Track
- Name: Max
- New Job: Eventing
Fun Fact: Max is a total goofball, and he will pick up anything nearby in his mouth to play with. He loves to “help” clean with brooms, forks, and buckets!
- On the Track
- Name: Roberto’s Amigo
- Raced: 3 Starts
- Off the Track
- Name: Planet Plutarch (“Henry”)
- New Job: Equitation
Fun Fact: His favorite treats were Doritos (Cool Ranch flavor only) & Strawberry Kiwi Snapple.