Meet Steve – the former racehorse who gets a cheer wherever he goes thanks to his cheeky one-tongue salutes.
Top Shots Photography managed to catch Don’t Blame Me, as he is officially known, joining in as his owner Jacqueline Potts saluted the judges at the Malvern Hills Riding Club dressage championships on 29 January.
Jackie told H&H she has to present dressage judges with a veterinary letter to confirm Steve’s poking tongue is caused by a medical condition rather than any discomfort.
“People don’t tend to cheer when you finish a test but they do cheer Steve; everyone knows him because of his tongue!” Jackie said. “He’s just the best.”
Steve won a couple of Flat races during his career, when he was trained by Clive Cox for Paul Rooney. Paul’s racing manager Jason Maguire, who owns Ivy Lodge rehab yard, is a friend of Jackie and her equine vet husband, so Steve was given to her as a six-year-old, four years ago.
“I’ve retrained him; he couldn’t really trot properly at first!” Jackie said. “We had a setback last year when he got cast and tore his glutes so he goes back to Ivy Lodge for treadmill sessions and we’re building him back up. We’ve done a bit of unaffiliated dressage, and this show was our first time back out.”
Picture by Top Shots Photography
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Jackie found out about the diastema two years ago, when her “kind” horse was acting out of character.
“My husband had a look and said we needed to see the dental specialist, who found it,” she said. “The gaps round their teeth are the wrong size, so food gets stuck and then the gums get inflamed. You can’t see it and Steve’s so stoic, he didn’t let me know.”
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Steve now goes in every three months to have the gaps flushed and packed with dentine to ensure he is comfortable, but the tongue-lolling has stuck.
“I think it started as he was trying to push food out but it’s become a habit,” she said. “When he’s concentrating in a dressage test – he doesn’t do it jumping – out it comes. Then [the photographer] Miles got that brilliant picture, which was perfect.”
Steve had previously won fans across the world when Jackie bought a fan for him one hot summer and took a video. This was shared by Ivy Lodge, then World Horse Racing, and went viral. Jackie is now aiming to build him back up so he can jump, and is aiming for the Retraining of Racehorses championships this summer.
“He’s the kindest horse,” Jackie added. “He is quirky and has his moments – I’ve hit the deck more times than I did with my warmblood mare – but it’s never nasty, he’s lovely.
“He’s always the same horse; never silly or sharp, he’s just the best, like a big dog. He’s testament to Clive and the girls there, and I’d recommend a horse like Steve to anyone. He’s my best friend.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
