My "youngster" Shadowfax ... now 19 years old (born 1986).. a thoroughbred gelding (the only way to fly). He's a son of Sham, who was one of only two horses in history to run the Kentucky Derby in under two minutes. The other was Secretariat. Unfortunately, they both ran the same year, and Secretariat was a little faster. So a feat which would have made Sham a world champion in any other year instead earned him a trivial place in the history books and a career producing cheap offspring for 2-bit folks like me. After Little's medical retirement in 1995, Shadowfax was promoted to hunt horse, even though at times he still seems a little ...um ... energetic . Unfortunately, he cut an extensor tendon in September 1997, which ended his hunting career. He is physically mended now, but the time off didn't do wonders for his already doubtful temperament, making it doubtful whether he will return to the hunt field, or to any riding at all. He has been replaced in that capacity by ...
The most recent addition to my family. Arthur, a thoroughbred gelding, born 1985, came to Rivendell in March 1998 after a stint with the Miami (Ohio) University riding program. He seems to be adapting well to the change from cantering around the ring with a cute coed to carrying an old fart cross-country chasing foxes and coyotes. Occasionally his academic background comes back to haunt me when he decides it's time to teach me a lesson.
If you think these guys look a little tame for thoroughbreds, follow the "energetic" link above.