The cute little guy on the right is Theodore O'Connor, the first pony in history to compete at the Pan Am games, where he led the US Eventing Team to a gold medal. He was slated to represent the US at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing with his rider, Karen O'Connor. Unfortunately, he died in a tragic accident at his home barn on Thursday, May 29.Teddy, who was 1/4 Thoroughbred, 1/8 Arabian, and 1/8 Shetland pony, stood at only 14.2 hands--that's practically a midget compared to his 16+ hand competitors. But, rider O'Connor says, "The first time I saw him jump, I was stunned by his athletic ability and scope for his size. I mean, you were in the presence of something that is at the very 1 percent of the class or less."
RIP Teddy. Sadness.
No comments:
Post a Comment