Sky Watch was a

five-gaited Five-gaited horses are notable for their ability to perform five distinct horse gaits instead of simply the three gaits, walk, trot and canter or gallop common to most horses. Individual animals with this ability are often seen in the American Sa ...

American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. This breed is referred to as the "Horse America Made". Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Nar ...

show horse. He won four open World's Grand Championships and five stallion World's Grand Championships in the

World's Championship Horse Show The World's Championship Horse Show, held at the Kentucky Exposition Center, Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville, Kentucky, in Freedom Hall, is a large horse show that includes the American Saddlebred, Hackney pony, Dutch Harness Horse, and ...

Life

Sky Watch was foaled June 14, 1977, sired by Flight Time and out of Aries Golden Gift. He was a chestnut

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

. His grandsire was

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

, the first six-time five-gaited World Grand Champion. He was born on Earl Teater and Sons Farm near

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, bred by Della Large and owned by Michele MacFarlane. He retired to the

Kentucky Horse Park Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm, international equestrian competition venue, and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75, at Exi ...

in 1998, while he was still being bred. He was euthanized due to age-related infirmities on April 22, 2001 at the Kentucky Horse Park and is buried there near his rival Imperator.

Career

Sky Watch was originally supposed to be a

fine harness Fine harness is a type of driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan, Arabian, Dutch Harness Horse, and Hackney (horse). ...

show horse, but he didn't take to being driven and was soon switched to under-saddle showing instead. He was initially trained by Mitch Clark, who showed Sky Watch to a win in the two-year-old five-gaited World Championship in 1979. Michele McFarlane saw the horse as a two-year-old, bought him for $50,000 and shipped him to California where he was put in training with Rob Tanner. Sky Watch won 4 five-gaited World Grand Championships, in the years 1982-84 and 1988. In 1983, he competed against another champion Saddlebred,

Imperator The Latin word ''imperator'' derives from the stem of the verb la, imperare, label=none, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part o ...

, in a well-known duel that Sky Watch won. He won the five-gaited stallion World Grand Championship in the years 1982, 1983, 1984 , 1985 and 1988. He was named the five-gaited Horse of the Century by ''American Saddlebred'' magazine.

References

{{Reflist Individual American Saddlebreds