Off The Track Thoroughbred owned by Stacey Grace
Photography: Amy White Media
In Stacey’s words:
“It was love at first bite for me… It was late 2020, and I was in the market for a horse. I wanted something special for my 40th birthday (27 December), and my requirements were extremely reasonable; I wanted a perfect horse who was beautiful and had the most loving nature… It’s fair to say I had high standards.
My trainer had been following a horse’s journey on Facebook; she described him as a good-looking horse with lots of personality. He was off the track and by Cape Town Noir out of Lite A Fire (sired by National Emblem).
He Will Reign (aka King) had only five starts in the racing, and his last race was in March 2021. He’d had no wins and no places, so it was safe to say he wasn’t going anywhere in his racing career. He really was banking purely on his fabulous personality and good looks to find him a future.
King came to my yard on stable rest from a minor injury, and, as I said, it was literally love at first bite for me. His personality and presence are absolutely all-consuming, and he demands attention (even with his teeth on occasion!)
I decided to start him with dressage in 2021, which was a tall order as I had never done any dressage myself. I started fresh in the walk/trot tests (to see a video of how this went, you can check out my TikTok, where there is a video showing a Friesian jumping straight into the arena mid-test, which King handled like a pro).
King really tests me. He likes to show off his cowboy moves every now and then to express his excitement, and there have been many tears of frustration, but the love and respect I have for this boy is just immeasurable. He is the sun, the moon and the stars and everything in between for me.
We ended 2023 by winning the KZN ESP Series Adult Novice Thoroughbred.
I am so excited to see where our journey takes us. Thank you to my team, Mariska Arends (our dressage coach) and Sarah of KZN Clipping Equine Style Guru (who makes him even prettier); they are as in love with him as I am.”
Follow Stacey, Mariska and Sarah on Instagram at:
Stacey Grace: @_stacey_grace
Mariska Arends: @poppi.zn
Sarah Brauns: @kznclippingequinestyleguru