Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Lytha, from A Horse Crazy American in Germany, recently snickered over the idea of Speedy not being a very forward thinking horse. That's how I described him in a post from a few days ago. You can see it here. Yeah, I know ... Speedy's not very speedy. So in case you missed it before, here's how Speedy got his name ... When I bought Speedy, I was many years into endurance riding and had completed numerous races. My number two horse was being downgraded to a family trail horse, so I needed a new back up horse for my mare. I was looking specifically for a gray gelding. I spotted Speedy on Endurance.net and made arrangements to see him. He checked off most of my boxes, so I bought him. He was a very green-broke three year old. We made arrangements to pick Speedy up the next day, so on our three-hour drive home, I tried out lots of names. His Arabian Horse Registery name is G Ima Starr FA, but I didn't want to call him Star. I looked at his parents' names and saw that his dam's name was G Im Fast, and her sire's name was Fast Ptrack. That got me thinking. Speedy was to be my next endurance horse, but I didn't know how quick he'd be. Slow or fast, I thought it would be cute if he had a racing name. Even back then I was following NASCAR, so we tried out a few drivers' names: Dale, Jimmie, Gordon - but none of them quite worked. Then I thought of Speed Racer. You might remember the cartoon; I loved it. There was this catchy little jingle that went something like Go, Speed Racer; Go, Speed Racer; Go, Speedy Racer ... Goooooo! So Speed Racer started to get the nod, but then I remembered how much I liked to tell my students not to be such a Speedy Gonzales. If you're old enough, you might remember that cartoon, too. If you were a kid growing up in the 70s like me, you know all about Saturday morning cartoons. And that was it. Speed Racer meets Speedy Gonzales. My gray pony had a name: Speedy G. As it turned out, Speedy never was very speedy. He poked along the endurance trail, but he took excellent care of both of us, never once getting us into trouble. As a dressage horse, he's not very forward thinking, but on the other hand, he's super reliable and fun to show. I've already got a forward thinking horse in Izzy. I don't need two of them. I love Speedy just the way he is ... Not-so-Speedy!
12/8/2016 06:46:18 am
Me too!!!! I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that I am a NASCAR fan now. :0)
jenj
12/8/2016 06:35:38 am
I love stories of how horses get their barn names! 12/8/2016 06:49:04 am
I do too! Izzy doesn't have a fun story. His RPSI registered name is Imperioso. I wanted something to play off that, and Izzy just came to mind, although I do like to play around with it. I ask him "Is he" questions all the time. Izzy big and brown? Izzy hungry? And so on. :0)
Dom
12/8/2016 08:05:52 am
I knew he wasn't very speedy, but I always wondered how he got his name. Great post! 12/8/2016 12:38:32 pm
I've told the story before, but it's been a while. :0)
lytha
12/8/2016 09:28:57 am
If only you knew! 12/8/2016 12:41:06 pm
Even without the "speed," Speedy was an excellent endurance horse. He never wasted a drop of energy, but he went where I pointed, drank like a fish, and ate like a ... well, like a horse! Lol 12/8/2016 12:39:45 pm
Yep. No animal of mine will never be called Lucky. LOL Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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