Hey guys.
It's SmartPaker Sarah.
And I'm here to do SmartPak's first ever tag video.
And we're really excited.
We love engaging with you guys on YouTube
and on all of our social channels.
And so we are excited to do our first tag video
and get you guys involved in the action.
Today's topic is going to be one of our favorite things
to talk about.
And I think this is pretty universal for riders
everywhere-- talking about horse names.
So we're going to take kind of a trip down memory lane,
talk about current horses, and just talk about all things
names.
And then we can't wait to hear from you guys.
So my first question is, what is the name
of the first horse I rode?
And you would think, because I'm the first one doing the tag
video and because I came up with the questions,
you would think I would have a better answer for this.
But I actually don't know definitely
the first horse I rode.
There was a lot of pony parties and stuff like that.
And you're riding at fairs and things.
So all of those count.
But I don't know any of their names.
The first lesson horse that really made an impression on me
was a horse named Deuce.
And he was a big chestnut with a big blaze.
And he was just a really steady guy.
I've always been a fan of Quarter Horses.
And he just had the Quarter Horse mentality.
He had the Quarter Horse personality,
work ethic, and actually reminds me
a little bit of this guy on the wall behind me.
This is in our conference room Congress.
And so it's where we celebrate all things all around Western.
And so Deuce was a really awesome horse.
And while it's not the first horse I rode,
I would also be remiss if I didn't mention
a lesson horse named Peter Pan.
He was a very special little pinto pony, probably.
I thought he was huge at the time.
But he had a lot of really interesting personality quirks.
He was really quiet, really patient,
but just kind of did his own thing
and really wasn't going to go at anyone else's
speed but his own.
And he had these ears that flopped out
to the side like little airplane ears,
is what we used to call them.
And he was just so laid back and awesome.
And I loved him so much that I actually
made a little embroidered-- "embroidered,"
I'm using loosely here-- wall decoration
that-- I didn't really understand
why people used so many stitches when
they were doing embroidery.
Because you could just get the same length in just one stitch.
So I made that.
And I still have it to this day.
I treasure it.
And all of my friends treasure it, and my sisters as well,
as something to make fun of me for.
So that's a relic of the impression
that Peter Pan made on my life.
So those were my first horses.
And the next question is the first horse
that I owned or leased.
And it's actually the same answer for both.
The first leasing opportunity that I had,
thanks to the kindness of my parents,
was a wonderful little leopard appaloosa,
a pony of the Americas, named Cocoa Puff.
And he was very adorable.
And a little bit, had a face only a mother could love.
Looking back on the photos, he has a big Roman nose
and a really modeled muzzle, and around his eyes,
too, with the modeling.
But he was adorable.
And I loved him.
And we had such a good bond.
We did horse shows and parades and everything together.
And in my very first horse show with him,
I won the trail class.
Because he was the only horse who
wasn't afraid of the mailbox.
And I was very, very proud of him.
And so that was my first horse.
The next question might be my favorite.
What's the name of the naughtiest horse
you've ever ridden?
I, for my whole life, have been very short.
And still to this day, I'm a pretty modest height.
But when I was a kid, I was 14 and still barely 4 feet tall.
And so I had the pleasure of having a lot of experience--
I had the advantage of having a lot of experience,
but also having a small size.
So I had the pleasure of riding all of the challenging ponies
and making them be good for the little kids.
And one such pony we got was named Herbie.
And he was about 12 hands tall.
And he just had one of those manes that
shot up and then out on both sides and a huge forelock
and just looked like a Thelwell pony,
like a typical-- almost just came out of the dryer
and was just like, poof, so big with his hair.
He was ridiculous.
And he had the personality to match.
And Herbie was particularly troublesome.
He was a little bit naughty handling him on the ground.
He'd bite you.
Whatever, typical pony stuff.
But when you got him under a saddle,
he would just grab the bit in his teeth and run.
And I can remember a Saturday afternoon,
my instructors trying to do lessons in the arena.
And I'm trying to make Herbie cooperate in any sort of way.
And he just takes the bit in his teeth
and starts tearing around the ring.
And I can remember having like a five-minute conversation
with my trainer about, like, I can't stop him.
I don't know what to do.
And he's just running tirelessly with no goal in mind,
just absolutely wanted to do his own thing.
And yeah, he pretty much did that for the rest of his life.
He would be really, really good for 75% of the rides.
And then a quarter of the time, he
was just a wild, naughty thing.
But I think he taught a lot of kids a lot of good lessons
and about always preparing for the unexpected.
I know for me that was a big lesson
that I learned from Herbie, and never to be too proud.
Because he could make anyone feel foolish.
My next question is, what is the name of my current horse?
And my current horse has a very good, very standard and stoic
Quarter Horse name.
His name is Cody.
And his real name is Counts Copper Cody.
And he was my first real big show horse.
And we did Quarter Horse shows in New York,
in Connecticut, New Jersey.
We went out to the Quarter Horse Congress together.
And then I eventually took him to college with me.
By that time, I was doing more of the hunter-jumper stuff.
So he was starting to no longer be my competitive horse.
But he's always the one that I'll have with me.
He lives right now at a barn that's
owned by family friends of ours in New York.
And he works in their lesson program.
He also works with some of the cadets
at the local military academy.
And he also works a little bit in their therapeutic riding
program.
And he is just a treasure.
He's the horse I will always have.
And so that's my Cody man.
My dad calls him the Code Master,
which is very, very nice.
That's for you, Dad.
And what is my favorite name for a horse?
This is our last question.
And this is not the favorite name
of a horse you've ever had.
But what would be your favorite name for a horse
that you could ever think of naming a horse?
And I just think there's something
about-- so for me, it's always ponies.
I always want to name ponies.
Because ponies are adorable.
And I love when ponies have really, really
cute, really charming names.
And they go into the ring.
And the girl's in braids.
And it's just a little trit-trot.
And they're so perfect.
Sunday's Best was one of my favorite pony names
that I ever heard.
I thought that was adorable.
Because most horse shows are on Sundays.
And everybody's all dressed up.
And that's just so wonderful.
But I've thought about naming a pony Argyle, like little argyle
socks.
It always feels very preppy and very proper, little Argyle
pony.
And then also, I don't know.
There's something just really cute about it.
So little Argyle is the pony that I would probably
name, maybe if one of my kids wants to ride one day.
Although, they'll probably hate that name.
So I'll probably have to think of something else.
All right.
So now is the fun part where we get
to tag people who are going to continue
on the tradition of the tag video for horse names.
And I am going to be tagging SmartPaker Brooke to talk
a little bit about some of her favorite horse names
and her walk down memory lane.
And then we also want to tag two of our awesome YouTube fans
who like to engage with us on our videos
and leave us comments.
I want to recognize you guys for being awesome,
so my fellow SmartPakers are also going
to be tagging a couple of fans.
I will be tagging FastestFinalFurlong
and SnickerBunchies because I think
that is also a name for a pony that I would like to steal.
And so you guys, you are tagged.
It is your chance to do the video.
And any of our other fans who want to join and get
in on the fun, we would love to have you participate and share
your horse names tag video.
Tag your friends.
And keep the fun going.
Thanks a lot.
And have a great ride.