'Untouchable One': N.B. champion race horse rescued from kill pen
A champion race horse from New Brunswick has been given a second chance and a new lease on life after being rescued from a kill pen in the United States.
Untouchable One is a brown pacing horse that was born on Cheryl Geldart’s farm in Norton, N.B. back in 2010 and quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the racetrack, racking up more than $264,000 in winnings.
“He ended up being one of the best horses that I’ve ever had born on my farm,” says Geldart.
“He spent two years racing in the Maritimes, Breeders Crown champions both of those years, and set a few track records that may not stand now, but at the time.”
His racing career took him down to the U.S. where Geldart says he raced in and around New York and New Jersey until he was about seven or eight years old.
“Usually they go to their second career a lot of the time as cart horses for the Amish,” says Geldart. “Once they’re not sound enough, or getting up there, they sadly end up in a shipping pen they call it.”
Geldart says after his racing career was over, she had started to watch for him on rescue sites – she says she had a feeling she might find him, and one day, she did. Untouchable One was discovered in a kill pen in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
To rescue him and bring him home to New Brunswick came at a cost of around $3,000, and many people stepped up to help.
“It was amazing, people that watched him as a race horse here that loved him donated money, friends donated money, strangers donated money, it almost makes me cry thinking about it,” says Geldart.
On Saturday, Untouchable One and Geldart returned to the Exhibition Park Raceway in east Saint John – the track he raced so many years ago – as part of Standardbred Rescue and Adoption Awareness Day.
“We’re using Untouchable One as sort of a starting point for a conversation about where these horses are going, what they’ve done and what they can do,” says Tracey Norwood, one of the people who helped organize this event.
“Untouchable One too, also made me more aware of how many [of these horses] are going to slaughter,” says Sandra Nason Sewell, another event organizer.
“I think we have a responsibility to them to give them a second job or even a retirement after their race careers are over.”
For anyone interesting in rescuing a former race horse or learning more about them, Norwood suggests contacting members of the group through the Facebook event page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.