Constant Joy (1984–?)
Thoroughbred gelding Clint was an off-the-track thoroughbred who was a very bad race horse, and so had a change of career after only eight races (the best he ever placed was third). His owner went bankrupt and so his entire string of horses went up for sale. The farrier, who hadn't been paid, offered to sell them so he could get his money back. I bought Clint in 1987 as a very timid 3-year-old. He had never had much attention, and he was pathetically grateful for any fussing and treats. He was a very sweet horse. Nothing mechanical or manmade bothered him, but nature freaked him out. He literally didn't know how to walk down a hill when I got him—I had to teach him he wouldn't fall over on uneven ground. Why "Clint?" Well, I didn't get his registration papers for a few months after the purchase, and no one seemed to know what his name was. I had to call him something in the meantime, and it just so happens that I saw one of those Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns on TV. I said, "He's like Clint Eastwood, the Man with No Name—he's the Horse with No Name!" So he became Clint, after Clint Eastwood. When I finally found out his real name, it was something that couldn't become a nickname (Constant Joy? What can you do with that?) so Clint he remained. Clint was supposed to be a jumper, but he was scared of fences. If he could walk up to the fence and examine it, then he would happily jump it, but obviously that wasn't going to work at a show. He might have become a dressage horse, but I didn't really know how to develop him in that discipline, so we more or less just hacked around and had fun. I finally decided that I wanted more out of my riding, so in 1993 I found him a home where he was pampered and never asked to jump or do anything complicated.
|
 |
 |