'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
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.