It's one o'clock at this current moment in time but I am entierly too riled to go to sleep just yet, all thanks to Tarantino's current masterpiece Inglourious Basterds. I absolutely ADORE Tarantino and place him directly behind Tim Burton as my second all-time favorite director (what can I say, I am into weird things). Come to think of it, I'm not sure I have a third favorite. Anything these two produce I will go see, no questions asked. And they always deliver.
But that's not quite the point of this post, though related to be sure. The point of this post is this: what's in a name? Dear readers, how did YOUR horse get their current name? Do you believe the tommyrot that says you should never change a horse's name due to bad luck? I don't, and two of my three horses have had their names changed because of it (informally, anyway, as they did keep their registered names). True, the second of these three had THE worst luck EVER; however the one that DID keep his name died a very painful and violently horrible death, so I'm going to guess that names are not really revelant to luck in this case. And really, I DID show him under a name I created, so in that case... all of them had new names, and all of them had equally interesting/uninteresting ways of being christened.
And their names and how they got them? Quincy was the first.... and always Quincy. Quincy came with Quincy, and I think if I didn't associate it with such a wonderful animal I would simple detest the name. It's so petit-bourgeois, you know? And his registered name? Worse. Quintius. Who names a horse Quintius? Quintius is a shared middle name for a bunch of Romans who amounted to absolutely nothing at all. Not something to live up to, really. But there he was, Quincy and always Quincy. I did show him as Quintius for our first ever show, but the name was just repugnant. At the time, I was a HUGE Beatles fanatic (still am, actually, but I do listen to other music now.... doesn't EVERY high school kid go through a phase where they listen to NOTHING but Beatles music for awhile?), and I happened one day to be going through a dictionary looking for something or another for homework. I was in the Q section, and my eyes stopped at the entry for "queue." Q for Quincy.... Queue for Quincy. I've got it! In The Queue, like from George's good old Old Brown Shoe! "For your sweet love I'm in the queue, baby I'm in love with you!" It fit, and In The Queue he was. I still love the name, totally. So barn name Quincy, registered name Quintius, and show name In The Queue. In The Queue was the only change I made.
The second? Metro. But oh no, he did not come with Metro. Metro was... Blue. Yep.... good ol' Blue. Now, he came from THE most awesome family EVER who had him for his entire life before they sold him to me (the mother of the family pulled him out of his dam!), but he did not have the most awesome name. His registered name? "Blue Rodeo." BLUE RODEO? That is the perfect name for a ranch-bred QH... not an enormous, old-blood Trakehner. I later found out that Blue Rodeo is actually a bluegrass band from BFE, Canada, so I guess it had to come from somewhere. So the name Blue had to go. Now, I was a 19 year-old smartass. Really. However, I did not possess a lot in the way of brains. Metro literally got his show name (and subsequent barn name) as my idea of a snarky poke at hoity-toity German warmbloods with their hoity-toity German names. I mean, how many German fancies are out there with the name Wirklichbeeindruckendpferd? Probably a lot. By the way, that's a rough translation of the merged words "Really Awesome Horse." I thought I'd take a little stab at their fancy German names and dub my own fancy German-blooded animal Motörhead. Yep, Motörhead! One joke for the win! Later it occured to me that there's actually nothing German about that... AT ALL. Motörhead was not a German band in the slightest... they were a British rock band. Not to mention the fact that motorhead is a bit of American slang for - you guessed it - a speed freak. And you can say all you want about flying down the highway at at 100mph, but that only applies to this term if you also happen to have a large amount of ice in your system. Nice. But now that my horse had an unintentionally questionable (albeit INCREDIBLY AWESOME) show name, how to find his perfect barn name? Simple. Flip through a catalogue of Motörhead of songs..... and there was one starting with an M, Metropolis. Ah ha! Metro! Perfect. Why just not name him Metropolis? my poor mother pleaded. It's so much more sophisticated. Nay, I told my mother. Motörhead it was, and Metro for short. So barn name Metro (original name Blue), show name Motörhead (original name Blue Rodeo), and registered name Blue Rodeo. I only kept Blue Rodeo because there is no changing a registered name.
And Gogo? Oh my dear Gogo. This is where Tarantino comes back into our story. When I bought Gogo, she came with the name Revelea. Beautiful, just beautiful, yes? But not very fitting as a barn name, and it certainly didn't fit her personality. I was never given a barn name, so I'm not sure what the original was, if there was one different from Revelea. I came very close to naming her Parlez-Vous?, and having the barn name Vous, which I think I would have been satisfied with. However, I just couldn't get over the idea of having to cringe at every show while every announcer butchered the name - ParLEZZZ VOOOSS? Wrong. (I seem to have made it no easier for announcers with her current name however - at Huntington, I vividly recall them announcing her as "Gogo Foxtail." WTF?) This was the summer of my internship, of course, and it so happened one day while I was pondering names that I happened to also be chatting with my supervisor/assistant manager of the place. She, for whatever reason, was chatting about the owner's kids' ponies names, back when they were little, and she mentioned the pony "Gogo" in passing. "GOGO?" I shrieked. "THAT'S THE PERFECT NAME!" In a twist of fate that completely solidified my decision, I happened to be watching Kill Bill Vol. I later on that same day (which I absolutely adore... back to Tarantino). There happens to be a very awesome antagonist named Gogo Yubari in the film, and when she came on screen swinging her spikey ball and chain weapon I made my naming decision. But Gogo Yubari was too much of a mouthful to say... and somehow wasn't fitting. There is another character in the film that works with O-Ren named Sofie Fatale, and I put the two together. Gogo Fatale. My little femme fatale in horse form. I call it her James Bond Girl title. So barn name Gogo, show name Gogo Fatale, and registered (although yet unregistered... that is another story for another day) name Revelea. I do still love the name Revelea and have it on her show halter, actually. But still. Gogo Fatale is honestly THE perfect name for her.
I think I should make it a tradition to name my horses after Tarantino film combo-names. Maybe Gogo's first filly could be Shosanna Fatale. That would be wicked sweet.
Or maybe just weird cause it's 2 o'clock in the morning. Perhaps I should get to bed.
Tell me readers, how did your horse(s) get his/her/their name(s)? I want to know!
(There is much to write about Lady Gogo, but alas, it is bedtime. I will have more tomorrow, I promise. 10 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Proving her heart of gold and guts of steel at the 2009 American Eventing Championships
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26 comments:
Andrea, you just get cooler and cooler. I LOVE Tarantino and Burton, AND Motorhead?!?!
I don't think either of them can make a bad movie, it's impossible. Maybe you should name Gogo's first filly Mrs. Wallace or Mia Wallace? And a colt, we'll call him Jack Rabbit Slim!
Klein doesn't have too exciting of a name story. Her registered name really is Klein's Olinda. I chose to keep it as just Klein because it was a designer name, and it's not your usual horse name like Star or Sparkle, etc... AND I found out it means "small" in German, haha, that just made it even better. If she has a filly her name will be Vanity, a colt...I'm still thinking on that one. Wait, speaking of Motorhead I can think of some colt names...Stay Out of Jail, Ace Of Spades, 999 Emergency, OR a filly Motorhead name would be God Save The Queen :)
I loved the name Gogo especially because it reminded me of the character in Kill Bill. I had no idea that that Gogo was actually her namesake. Too cool!
My horse is named Fjoedur, which is Icelandic. I cannot pronounce it. Mercifully, it translates to Feather, which fits her perfectly. Feather-light if she's being her marvelous responsive self and Feather-head if she's being a spooky idiot.
I am still trying to get over the fact that you actually named your horse MOTORHEAD!!! :) I too absolutely ADORE Tarantino--I mean, he's only done like 5 or 6 films b/c he spends TIME on them...and Kill Bill 1 and 2 are all time favorites. Sometimes I walk around work (im an RN) whistling the nursey tune while I'm carrying something, but NOONE has ever got it. Well, I do SUCK at whistling, but still....
Jackson's full name is: get ready, I B Jackson! How stupid is that? It makes him sound like he has one tooth and can't introduce himself properly. But the Jackson part has always fit him perfectly so I have no interest in changing it. HE is so very much a Jackson. I B Jackson? Not so much! You CAN change an Arabian's name through the Arab Assoc. but I'm not sure about through the Jockey Club. (he's an AngloArab). It costs a pretty penny tho'. When I show him I'll just suck it up. Not like his name is Motorhead or something! --Grin-- You are so funny! :)
~Mindy
I love Gogo's name, and I think it fits her perfectly.
My horse's registered name was Disco Biscuit. He was named after the band, which I hear is pretty good, but I couldn't get away from the drug connection, so luckily, our registry (American Saddlebred)allows one name change. I did not spend my entire life thinking up names for a dapple grey only to have him named for an obscure band I don't even listen to. His sire's name was Deep Blue, so my first reaction was to name him "Deep Blue Something" which would have been very fitting. In the end, it took me 4 years to make up my mind. I can't say my result lived up to four years of contemplation, but the names I really wanted were taken, and I had practical reasons. Here is his blog on the subject...
http://wpgrey.blogspot.com/2009/07/whats-in-name.html
My colt this year was easy. I had the name reserved before he was born. His dam is Sensational Copy, and his sire is First Black Out by First Night Out. So, the name I picked was A Sensational Night Out. Ace for short. I should probably spell it Ase, but I don't want to confuse people.
I'm so boring. xD I just kept the name my horse came with, which is Sofie. She's just a little Paint mare, though, so she doesn't need anything fancier than that. And I don't show, so no show name is necessary. I'm sure she's a registered Paint, but her papers must have gotten lost somewhere, so I don't know what her registered name is.
My mom and I raise sheep, though (and I also raise goats), so I've done a lot of naming in my seventeen years. When I was little I once named a ram lamb Cereal Box...ROTFL. But this year I named one of my doe kids Sasha Fierce. She's black with white markings and blue eyes, and she is definitely fierce.
My AQHA has the registered name "Doctor Bee Lucky" (Ugh). His barn name is and always has been "Bugs" (adorable), so with the exception of a single show in which I entered him as his registered name (I didn't ever do the AQHA circuit), he has been shown as "Bugsy Malone" after the main character in a fictional musical rendition of Al Capone's exploits. Prohibition era gangster totally fits his personality. Although he's kind of a goof, so the fact that his name belongs to the G-rated musical character rather than the actual gangster himself fits as well.
Gogo Fatale is a wonderful name for her!
I have crap luck renaming horses. I mean, really, who names a not-show-quality grade TWH Champ? But it fit him. He was my champion, always. :) And Dixie is stuck with the mouthful "Eagle Eyes Miss Dixie", and I just couldn't come up with a better barn name. At least the further I go from the South, the better Dixie sounds!
My Welsh Cob mare's registered name is North Fork's Queen Arietta...gack. I call her "Ari". I pronounce it Are-ee but most everybody in the barn pronounces it Air-ee, which sounds very blonde to me and my mare is jet black. The only fitting part about her registered name is that I recently met the gal who started her under saddle. She told me that they named her "Queen Arietta" because she was a "royal pain in the ass" when she was a youngster. LOL. She also told me my mare's barn name was "Tess". I almost changed it back to Tess when I found out, but Tess sounds so...tame. And my mare can have quite the 'tude at times.
My previous event horse was a Fjord gelding named "Trigve". It's pronounced Trig-vee. It is a very common first name in Norway. Kind of like John or Steve in America. Anyway. At our first event together we placed 5th and when they announced us, they called him Trigger! *cringe*
My horse names are very simple.....
Minx:
Minx was a rescue from the track and her name got lost.....CHAS named her "Gal" because all their girl horses start with a "G" and all their boy horses start with a "B". I didn't like it because it doesn't roll of the tongue....so I named her "Black Minx" after the Black Stallions filly. She was black, stunning, with a long mane and tail, and *that* look. Later, I started changed her full name to "Gal's Black Minx" to preserve her history. After researching her tattoo, I found out her real name was "Linda". Too close to mine (Melinda). BUT - her dam's name was "News Gal" so I feel like "Gal's Black Minx" still pays tribute to her lineage.
In keeping with the black stallion theme, I wanted to give my little bay arab mare a name associated with the series....I finally settled on "Farley" after the author's last name. It's typically a male name, but not so much that it wouldn't work. Since she is my endurance horse, I liked that it had the word "far" in it to.
I don't think I've ever commented here before (Hi!), but I'm a fan.
I have a palomino paint named Finn. He didn't come with that name though. His name was Rio when I bought him. Now that's a perfectly fine name for a horse, but not for this horse. He was born on St. Patrick's Day, and we live in Savannah, GA. St. Patty's is a Big Deal down here. Like Mardi Gras big. I could not have a horse with a birthday on such an important holiday without an Irish name! So I googled away and found that Finn (or Finnegan or Finnian or any variation of it) means "blond" or "fair skinned" in Gaelic. He's a palomino, and I'd always loved that name, so Finn is was.
Now his show name is different...
He's not registered so I didn't have that to deal with (also a long story). There's way too many horses out there with Finnegan as a show name, so that wouldn't work. I wanted to name him something to do with Irishness, or alcohol, or music. I considered naming him "One Big Holiday" like the My Morning Jacket song, but it seemed kind of dumb. I bought Finn as a 2 year old, and I started him myself when he was 3 1/2. Most of the time I was alone at my barn, riding this baby horse. I would get pretty nervous, so I would sing to Finn calm myself down. He liked it too, even though I totally suck at singing. I always sang "American Pie" by Don McLean to him, because I know all the words and it's my favorite song ever. I still sing that song to him now as a 6 year old, just because.
A week before our first show I was still racking my brain trying to come up with a name for him. Finally, in the car on the way home from the barn, it dawned on me. Maybe that song came on. I don't remember. His show name became "Whiskey & Rye". Some people think it's weird, but for us it's totally perfect.
And I love the name Gogo!! We have an eventer at our barn whose barn name is Kat while her show name is Femme Fatale.
My Paint gelding's registered name is Midnight Dollar, barn name Cash. Cash was fine, and he's always answered to it, so he's been Cash his whole life. But I've always thought that Midnight Dollar was just a DUMB name, so I wanted a cool show name. At our very first dressage show, someone came up to me and told me that his markings made him look like he had a tuxedo on. Seemed reasonable to me, so Black Tie Affair he became.
I thought it couldn't get worse than Midnight Dollar as a registered name, but I was wrong: my new horse's registered name is Special Swing. He's a 16.2 hh solid bay AQHA gelding, and I seriously, seriously thought about calling him Plain Brown Wrapper as a show name, but then what do you have for a barn name (Brownie? Rapper? Are you kidding me???) Besides, a friend pointed out that sometimes horses live up to their names, and I didn't want him to be plain. So, I picked Saga, because when I was a kid, I wrote a book about a horse named Saga, with the goal of getting it published so I'd have enough money to buy a horse. The book never got published, but I've always thought that Saga was a cool name for a big horse, so Saga he is, both at the barn and for shows.
Gogo Fatale is a perfect name for your mare, it just fits her so well! I was actually wondering how she ended up with that name, so thanks for posting this!
Forgot to mention that Farley's registered name is "TKR Triforta" (because she has "Forta" 3x in her bloodline. So "Farley" isn't really connected to the registered name, but it's close.
My horse can to a trail riding place in NH where I was working. He had no name that we knew of, he came from a shady dealer in VT. The trail owner guy stood there looking at him as the horse stepped off the trailer and named him "Possum" The name stuck and fortunately or unfortunately it was quite fitting for him. I would acquire Possum after some unfortunate events and learning a whole ton about the abuse in his past. My horse is a fairly unattractive throw away appy gelding that had a one way ticket to Canads for slaughter until this bleeding heart took him in. I did create a show name for him, and that is Sidetracked. SHort like a race horse name but also captures a little of his personality.
Tucker came with his barn name and didn't have a show name. I started showing him on the local hunter circuit before I owned him, so his show name at the time had to be approved by the barn...we settled on Tucked Away, which was fine but I never really liked, so when we moved out east and took up eventing, I figured I'd make a change.
It was either going to be Rebound--I'm an intermittent basketball fan, and he's bouncy--or Katahdin--because I'd originally planned to hike the AT, but instead I bought a horse--which I liked slightly better, but figured it would be hell on wheels to get pronounced correctly. Rebound it was!
I'm a hypocrite, though. I mostly don't believe in changing horse names unless they're truly awful. If the horse is registered (Tucker's a mutt, so that didn't apply to us), I like to see it shown under its registered name. If it's done much of anything, I like to see the show name stick. If we'd done anything more than local hunters--enough to start to establish a reputation--I would have stayed with Tucked Away. I like horses to be trackable and recognizable for who and what they are. It's a pet peeve of mine when people change, for example, a QH's name to make him sound less QH-y. Be proud of the horse that you have, you know?
- Hannah
Thanks for sharing how your thoughts work! Love reading your adventures. My gelding's name is Bey Sera Sera. He had a horrible barn name when I bought him so I just call him Bey. He's a chestnut so I love calling him Bey - makes me smile
I love the name Gogo Fatale and am so glad you gave us the background on how you came up with it!
My TB gelding's registered name is Duke of Duchess and he was always known as Duke. Ack! I mean, really. Duke is a great name for a dog... a big ol' boxer or something... but not my horse.
I was always obsessed with Roman and Greek mythology, so I knew I wanted to name him after one of the gods from those pantheons. But I wasn't sure which one.
I am completely incapable of making a decision in a reasonable amount of time, so I spent the first four months of having him referring to him as Duke and inwardly groaning each time I called him that.
Eventually I realized I was never going to be able to just pick one already, so I called an animal communicator for help. And she said he wanted his name to be Jove (another name for Jupiter, king of Roman gods; equivalent of Zeus in Greek mythology). So I went back through the old Roman mythology websites and found that one of Jupiter's names was Jupiter Caelestis, which means "heavenly"... and he is, so I got very excited!
Of course, getting everyone at the barn to start calling him a different name has been challenging, but Jove is easier for them than Jupiter and I'm fine with either, so there you go. If we end up showing, his show name will be Jupiter Caelestis. Can't change his registered name, so he'll always be stuck with that hideousness. :)
I've only ever re-named one of my horses. My first horse came off the track with the name Sensyrias, which I loved, and the barn owner bought her before I did and dubbed her "stardust" so I was sort of stuck with it when I bought her, though I shortened it to "Dusty", which was much more fitting. The next horse was "Kestral's Flight" which I actually didn't like. He was already registered in the USEA with it, though, and I didn't want to spend the money to change it (He had also done an awful lot of competing under that name). I called him Kess for short, and I guess I got more fond of it as I knew him longer. My current horse came to me with the barn name "Tango", which I really like. However, his Jockey Club name is Dasl Doc, which is atrocious. When I went to register him with the USEA, I spent a LONG time figuring out what I wanted to call him. Eventually it was between Do The Hansa - a Cure song - and Dance Floor Metaphor - a cruxshadows song. I wanted to keep with the dancey theme of his barn name. Eventually I settled on Dance Floor Metaphor, both because I ultimately liked it better and because the "Hansa" is not actually any sort of dance.
Wait wait wait wait wait wait. Kestral's Flight? The little dark bay with a star? Did you got to Lake Erie for a semester a loooooooong time ago?
My gelding's Jockey Club name is Dario's Double. Double Ugh.
I'm into the metaphysical properties of rocks and wanted to call him "Chalcedony" but it's impossible to pronounce from the way it's spelled- (kal-se-don). However one of my favorite kinds of Chalcedony is Poppy Jasper.
The metaphysical side of Poppy Jasper:
"A stone of energy and courage, Poppy Jasper, also know as brecciated jasper, is aligned to the root chakra. It is useful in matters of health and survival, and in raising vitality and energy, allowing the wielder to grow in healthy and organic ways. A protective stone, it enhances physical endurance and helps the wearer to ground and brings balance between the emotional and the physical. It was used in the Middle Ages by warriors to promote courage during battle and helps one to maintain a happy outlook and can-do attitude. Some say that it is also useful in attuning with animals."
Sounds pretty good for an eventer, eh? We call him Jasper. It's fine although kind of un-origional. I think his show name will be Chalcedon, which is the town that Chalcedony was named after.
BTW, LOVE LOVE LOVE the name "Disco Biscuit"!!! Haha!
LOVE the name Gogo Fatale. It just fits her perfectly.
Pandora's USEA name is Fleur d'Lis. Not sure why, and I'm giving serious thought to paying the $10 to change it.
I named her Pandora because I really like like mythology (Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian for the most part). Pandora was so curious that she opened a gift box she was not supposed to open and thus let out all the evils of mankind (war, disease, etc), but inside the box she also found hope.
I don't really go with the stigma of changing names. With Pandora, since she has a bit of a nasty rearing backstory, it was like the name change meant that behavior didn't have to stick anymore ;)
Considering showing her as "Outside Pandora's Box" but that is a bit of a mouthful so I'm not sure.
Roommate Horse's real name is Marvelina. Which is horrid. Really, truly, putridly awful. Who lets a little girl name their first horse?? Marvy's owners, apparently.
I have never seen her papers so have NO clue on that one, although she is Jockey Club so i am sure her registered name is terrible.
I tried renaming her "Indy" (as in Indianapolis 500) which didn't stick. She is stuck with Marvy, which is funny because there is nothing marvelous about my fugly 16 year old TB with a bolting issue.
I show her (unsuccessfully if you judge by ribbons, successfully if you consider that, hey, at least i can stay ON) as Wild Card. She is a freak-o so it fits. It is a tip of the hat to the Wild Karrde, Talon Karrde's ship in the Star Wars books by Timothy Zahn. Um, nerd alert.
Roxie came off the CBER lot as Lee. Her mom was Sarah and she was Lee, get it?
Neither did the people who rescued her, as their son named her Roxie and i loved that so i kept it.
She shows as "Rock Steady" because a) she is, and b) it is my very favorite No Doubt album. The whole thing is actually a disco album, which rocks. :)
And i also think "Disco Biscuit" is pretty sweet. :)
Yup, Kestral and I spent a semester at LEC.. well, a semester and a bit. That was back in like... 2004? I think? I left in 2005.
I remember you!! Do you remember my Metro (and me)? I think I actually have a picture of Metro and Kestral together at LEC's little mini trial thing that fall. I have a whole bunch of pictures of Metro and Gunnar and Conner out playing in the snow too.
I definitely remember you and Metro! I actually have a photo album FULL of pictures from Metro, Gunner and Kess playing in the snowy paddock. I should scan a few and send them to you! I think I also have a few from the mini trial. I didn't put 2 and 2 together at first, then you mentioned Metro in one of your posts. I was really sorry to hear about him, he was a lovely horse.
A recent reader and fan here. I cannot believe that your mare's parents are LemGO and FandanGO, and that is not the reason she is Gogo!!!
My mare is Molly Brown (registered Trakehner) and cannot be anyone but Molly. That's just who she is.l
Thanks for writing such an outstanding blog!
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