Hand Gallop Blog Hop: What’s in a Name?

So the question asked was:

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

So Stampede first. I use his registered name for shows as well, and kind of wish I had used something else because I think it almost sounds rodeo or something. I think it would have been cool to give him a show name of “On Stilts” or something like that, but too late now. Anyways, Stampede is registered with the jockey club (I know, how is that beast a TB right?) as Gator Stampede. Obviously you now know where his barn name comes from. And when your horse is huge and gangly and tries to jump in your lap when he’s scared Stampede kind of fits.

So the name Gator Stampede comes mostly from his sire, Alota Gator Bait. As far as I can tell he never does much of anything but look handsome, make babies, and supposedly has a good disposition. His appendix cross babies are popular on the AQHA somewhat from what I’ve read.

Alota Gator Bait – so this picture amuses me to no end…

Stampede’s dam was Virginia Cousin, an off the track TB who turned into a hunter in later life. From what I’ve been told she showed on the B circuit in my area in her hay day, but I can’t find any proof anywhere.

Baby Stampede with his mom

Here’s the link to Stampede’s pedigree if anyone is interested. I do think it’s crazy that somehow we got from some fairly well known racehorses to Stampede’s beefcake of a sire. Maybe I just don’t know enough about breeding! Either way Stampede turned out more slender like his dam but tall like his sire. How he made the jump from a 17.2 sire to his 18.1 self is pretty amazing to me as well!

On to Phoenix, who has a very unfortunate registered name that I imagine being said in a some kind of country accent somewhere – Fancy Quincy. The fancy portion comes from his sire, Mr. Fancy Bonanza, who I have talked about a bit once before. The article I linked in the other post is really interesting, as Phoenix’s sire was really a quarter horse kicked out of the AQHA for having too much white, and thus became a foundation sire of the APHA. I love this level of white, those AQHA people were crazy!

P’s daddy – Mr. Fancy Bonanza

Phoenix’s dam was Miss Quincy Mount, hence the Quincy portion of his registered name. I can’t find much info on her either sadly. Here is a link to Phoenix’s full pedigree though.

What I do love about the APHA, is that there is a picture of the horse with their papers. Who doesn’t love a Mr. P baby pic?

Baby Phoenix!

Obviously Fancy Quincy is not the kind of name I wanted to take into the show ring, and his barn name was already Phoenix, which fit him well, so he became Phoenix Rising, the mythical bird rising from the flames. Probably most people know what a Phoenix is at this point from the Harry Potter series, but when I was younger no one had a clue.

Phoenix Rising