[Ag-eq] Horse gaits

[Jewel]

Let me tell you of the most incredible, from amongst a long list of incredible wins of Australia's 
Melbourne Cup run on the first Tuesday in November and is one of the world's best known races for 
stayers.
The horse was simply named "Kiwi" and was not your conventional racehorse, but was, in reality just 
a farm stock horse with the extra attributes of extreme speed and staying power.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this unforgettable Thoroughbred.

Kiwi


Sire
Blarney Kiss (USA)

Grandsire
Irish Lancer (USA)

Dam
Malrayvis (NZ)

Damsire
Messmate (GB)

Sex
Gelding

Foaled
1977

Country
New Zealand

Colour
Chestnut

Record
60:13-8-2

Earnings
NZ$549,839

Major wins

Wellington Cup (1983)
Melbourne Cup[1] (1983)
Last updated on April 3, 2009

Kiwi (foaled 1977 in New Zealand, died 1995 in New Zealand) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who in 1983 
won the Wellington Cup in New Zealand and won the Melbourne Cup in Australia. Kiwi, who raced from 
1980 to 1987, remains the only horse ever to win both cups.

Kiwi was bred by H. B. Fischer and bought by Waverley sheep farmer Snowy Lupton for only NZ$1000, 
originally to be used as a stock horse on the farm, and was never intended to be tried as a 
thoroughbred racing galloper.

Local legend[citation needed] has it that as Kiwi proved to be a fast and tireless horse on Lupton's 
farm that friends convinced him to enter Kiwi in a race at nearby Wanganui, to see how he ran. Kiwi 
instantly showed promise, especially over longer distances. He was an unknown quantity at the 
two-mile distance (3200 metres) when he was entered in the 1983 Wellington Cup, yet won with ease, 
coming from well back to win.

No Wellington Cup winner had previously won the Melbourne Cup, which is esteemed as the premier 
staying race in Australia and New Zealand. Some[who?] considered this reflects a lower quality field 
in the Wellington Cup, however it is more likely to be related to when the races are held - the 
Wellington Cup in late January and the Melbourne Cup in November.

When entered for the Melbourne Cup, despite having won over 3200-metre distance,Kiwi was considered 
very much an outsider and started with odds of 10/1. As usual, Kiwi (ridden by jockey Jim Cassidy) 
settled at the very back of the 24-horse field. At the turn, on the Flemington track, with 500 
metres to run, Kiwi was second to last (ahead of Amarant, which was running lame). With a storming 
run through the field, Kiwi won the race by just over a length. So quick was his run that many race 
commentators only picked up Kiwi as he neared the finish line..."and here comes Kiwi out of the 
blue".[2] His win has become one of the most memorable performances in the history of the Melbourne 
Cup,[3] especially as it illustrated a classic stayers victory.

On winning the race, Kiwi became a household sporting hero in New Zealand, an example of the 
underdog winning against the odds. And showing that a simple trainer, with good horse can win the 
greatest prize.[4] As incredible as it may seem[by whom?] for a champion horse, Lupton openly 
admitted that Kiwi was used to 'round up the sheep' when having a break from racing.[5]

Kiwi entered the 1984 Melbourne Cup but was controversially scratched due to a veterinary check. His 
trainer, Snowy Lupton, always maintained Kiwi was fit for the race[6] and could have won. Some 
historians[who?] consider the scratching had elements of bad sportsmanship due to the rivalry 
between New Zealand and Australia. Kiwi ran in the 1985 Melbourne Cup, running fifth and in 1986 
looked to repeat his 1983 'come-from-behind' victory but pulled up lame close to the finish line. 
Later that year, he represented New Zealand in the Japan Cup, running a creditable fifth. After this 
race, he was retired to the Luptons' farm.

Kiwi died in 1995 and is buried on the Lupton farm. The headstone simply states: "Kiwi, 1983 
Melbourne Cup". A plaque commemorating Kiwi is also located at the Waverly Racecourse, Taranaki, New 
Zealand.

That was what Wiki had to say, and I will wrap it up
by wondering what speed Kiwi was doing over the final 500 metres?  Not only did the overhaul and 
pass the entire field bar 1, but what made it winning run even more amazing was that it was not a 
straight run as is so often done in races these days where a back runner will pull out and come down 
wide out on the outside rail, Kiwi wove his way through the field, so he covered far more than 
500metres in that never-to-be-surpassed run.


       vJewel

From: <nfoster at extremezone.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2014 2:39 PM
To: "Agricultural and Equestrean Division List" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Horse gaits

Hi Aleeha:

Do you know any other show terms for the gaits?

I'm most familiar with the Missouri Fox Trotters and their gaits.  I know very
little about what's required in shows, so would love to learn anything you
know.

Nella