'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
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.