I bet a lot of you have heard of today’s featured OTTB who his mom affectionately calls a “mean ass bastard horse.”  I don’t believe it for a minute though, and neither should you.  🙂  Cuna from SprinklerBandits is the kind of horse we all are lucky to have at least once in our lives… and to top it all off he’s an OTTB too!

What is his/her registered name? His Jockey Club name is Acuna, but the USEF knows him as Hakuna Matata. I’m told the switch came because helpful show secretaries were always “fixing” his name at shows anyways.

Lineage? Awesome x Adorable (Fancy x Cute). For those who are tied to “actual facts”, Cuna is an Executive Partner baby out of Cabernet Dawn (Cox’s Ridge). Further back, he has bigger names, but my good friend the pedigree researcher found out that Executive Partner raced until he was 10 and lived to be a hearty 32, while Cox’s Ridge is known for putting good minds on his babies. I want Cuna to channel that awesome longevity, so I’m thrilled with his lineage.

Did your OTTB race? Yes. Cuna raced like he jumps–enough to pay the bills, never putting himself into a bad situation. He ran for 5 years, won $25k, and only won once. He retired sound with clean legs, just because his trainer (wish I could have met her) thought he needed a new job.

What do you do now with them? Cuna and I do everything together. We trail ride, dabble in eventing, play in the jumper ring, and just entered our first dressage show(!!). He also has an extensive wardrobe that I force him to model so I can take pictures. Given enough cookies, he can be a good sport about almost anything.

If your OTTB was a musician, who would they be? Johnny Cash in his later years–gravelly voice, don’t give a shit attitude, acoustic style, universally beloved.

Your OTTB is on a desert horsey island. He/she can bring three items – what are they? His stall, a groom, bell boots. He does not believe in “roughing it”.

Your OTTB is deathly afraid of… Loose horses galloping straight at him. Maybe bears. That’s about it. Horses are fine if they gallop past him, just not at him. Don’t think he’d like bears.

Your OTTB is really brave about… Pretty much everything. He is a cool customer and he always looks out for #1. That includes not wasting energy on being scared of stupid shit.

If your OTTB could change one thing about his environment or training, what would it be? More galloping, ditch the dressage. If we could alternate cookie/pampering days with XC and gallops, that would really be ideal. Also we would jump like 4 days a week.

How would your OTTB introduce themselves to a new herd of horses?
“This is my spot. I am a mean ass bastard horse and I will dismember your ass if you come in it. Can I go back to my box now? Hate turnout.”

And finally, your OTTB makes you proud every day because… He’s the best horse ever? Seriously. He is my jumping school master, he is sane and level headed, and his darling face and dorky personality make me laugh every single day. I can run XC or give pony rides and the day is better just because he is in it.

Want to submit your OTTB to be featured on this blog? e-mail me answers to this set of interview questions and some pictures to be featured, and maybe next time you check She Moved to Texas your horse will be featured as the OTTB Spotlight of the week!

You may also like:

OTTB Spotlight – Viper OTTB Spotlight – Bohemian OTTB Spotlight – Marley OTTB Spotlight – Moe OTTB Spotlight – Henry