The Greatest Horse in the World

The Greatest Horse in the World.

The Greatest horse in the world is….?  Right away I can hear a cacophony of cries from the racing community. “ Seabiscuit!” “Man O’ War!” “Secretariat!” are the names I hear loudest.  Then from Canada I hear “Northern Dancer!”  But then from across the Atlantic I hear shouts of derision: “ Those flat racers are just sissies! The greatest horse has to win racing over fences. If they can’t do that they can’t be the “greatest” horse. Arkle! He was the greatest horse and always will be. Three gold cups and the Irish Grand National. Arkle! Arkle! Arkle!”

 

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Arkle and Pat Taaffe by Michael P. Heslop

 

Then from my Canadian compatriots in the jumper world I hear, loud and clear: “Big Ben.”  Ian Millar’s famous horse that no one in Europe wanted and with Ian Millar went on to become a Canadian icon.

 

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Ian Millar and Big Ben ( hrsbstuff.ednet.ns.ca)

 

 

And what of dressage? The discipline I ride and train in.  The dressage horse has changed considerably in modern times and now some of the famous horses of old would not get a look in. Some dressage fans would vote for the Dutch horse Totilas who ushered in the new era of dressage and became a superstar with fans the world over. But no, I can hear so many voices calling out another name. “Valegro!” Winner of team and individual Olympic gold medals,surely he would be the greatest horse.

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But what about these fine horses? Their driver would say they are all the greatest.

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So many great horses to choose from. But here’s the thing. Ask any horse owner who is the greatest horse and they will tell you, most likely without hesitation, that their horse is the greatest horse.

And that is what I will tell you. My horse, Biasini, a 12 year old Hanoverian gelding, born in Germany and brought to Canada as a four year old is the Greatest Horse in the World.  I have been lucky to have some very , very good horses who were just the right horse for me at the time. But Biasini is without doubt the most talented and best trained horse I have ever had.

In the 2 ½ years I have had him we have formed a partnership. I trust him and he trusts me.   He is, for me, the Greatest Horse in the World.

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/discover-challenges/greatest-in-the-world/

Comments

16 responses to “The Greatest Horse in the World”

  1. amommasview Avatar

    So very beautiful

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you.

  2. fearlessinjesuschrist Avatar

    You are very blessed indeed!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Yes and I am very grateful.

  3. dray0308 Avatar

    Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you!

  4. crosscountrylifeblog Avatar

    Wow Cool post, thanks for re-blogging it!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      You’re most welcome.

  5. nathaswami Avatar

    But many other names surface in my mind – Three Wishes, Rock Haven, (the offspring of Rock of Gibraltar and Fair Haven, both fine race horses), Streak of Dawn and a few more veterans of the turf.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      I think there is a long list of horse heroes Nathaswami. I actually , following suggestions that came in when I first posted the “greatest horse” posted a second post that talked about horses in war and the pit ponies that went down the mines. Thank you for adding your horse nominees.

  6. Candice~Marie Avatar

    Beautiful!

  7. Avery Avatar

    I read the title of your post and thought, well duh, my Cheetah girl lol, but I bet she means B!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Exactly! Each horse owner will have a different favourite “greatest’ horse. Not always the super star elite international athletes but the best horse for that rider. I’ve had some wonderful replies on Facebook so I’m going to post a Part Two.

  8. Robyn Avatar

    Beautiful!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you!

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