Theodore O'Connor (May 8, 1995 – May 28, 2008), nicknamed "Teddy," was a

pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

(though of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

) who competed internationally at the highest level of

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

. Ridden by Olympian

Karen O'Connor Karen Lende O'Connor (born February 17, 1958) is an American equestrian who competes in three-day eventing. Although she did not come from a family of equestrians, her interest in horses started at an early age, and she received her first hor ...

, he performed exceedingly well at such events as the

Rolex Kentucky Three Day The Kentucky Three-Day Event, currently the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event due to sponsorship, is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Land Rover Kentucky is a CCI5*-L eventing competition. Five st ...

and the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. His success and small stature earned him the nickname "Super Pony."

Breeding

Theodore O'Connor (or "Teddy") was by the

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

stallion Witty Boy, who finished his

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

career with a record of (40-5-1-3) and earnings of $50,518. Witty Boy went on to sire more than 300 horses in the United States, including winners in-hand,

hunters Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

, eventers, endurance horses,

jumpers Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing * Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...

and

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

horses. Notable progeny include the

show hunter The Hunter division is a branch of horse show competition that is judged on the horse's performance, soundness and when indicated, conformation, suitability or manners. A "show hunter" is a horse that competes in this division. Show hunters, id ...

I Don't Know (2000 USAEq National Champion) and the

Anglo-Arabian The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred, part-Arabian horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is the result of a Thoroughbred (hence, the prefix "Anglo") being crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made betw ...

VSF Otis+/ (completing 100-mile endurance competition). Theodore O'Connor was out of Chelsea's Melody, a mare of 1/2 Thoroughbred, 1/4 Arabian, and 1/4 Shetland Pony breeding. The sire of Chelsea's Melody was a racing Thoroughbred by the name of Honest Turn, a great-grandson of

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

. Her dam, Esker Electra, was by the stallion JR Lyraff, who was strongly linebred to the extremely influential Arabian stallion Raffles, son of Skowronek.

Pedigree

Competitive career

Theodore O'Connor was started at the age of three years by his breeder and began his competitive career as a

, later showing a bit as a

jumper Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing *Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United State ...

. He began

when he was six and continued up through Preliminary under rider Nicole Villers, before Christan Trainor rode him on through the Advanced level and finished in 8th place at his first CIC**. Olympian Karen O'Connor then rode him at the Advanced level, eventually taking him to his first CCI**** at the

where he finished 3rd with 4.4 time faults cross-country. He then qualified for the

as part of the US Eventing Team, where he won the team gold and beat out several more experienced horses to also win the individual gold. He finished 6th at the 2008 Rolex CCI**** and was short-listed for the Olympic Team.

Achievements

2008 * 6th

2007 * Individual and team gold medal at the

* 3rd individually at the

* 1st The Fork CIC*** 2006 * 7th at the Poplar Place CIC*** * 9th at the Jersey Fresh CIC*** * 7th at the Fork CIC***

Death

Theodore O’Connor was humanely euthanized on May 28, 2008 as a result of an injury sustained at Karen and David O’Connor’s barn in The Plains, VA. The attending veterinarian stated: :"He spooked at something while being ridden and bolted. The rider came off and the horse ran toward the barn. He got into a freak accident and slid into the side of the barn and lacerated his right hind leg about 4 inches above the fetlock on the back of the leg. It looked like a knife cut it; he severed the superficial and deep digital flexor tendons, ligaments, cut both branches of the arterial blood supply, and nerves. My experience with injuries like this are that the chances of reattaching the vascular supply and nerve supply and reattaching the tendons and ligaments is almost zero. Even if there has been a 10% chance of us being successful to recover him (from surgery) … but with the nature of the injury, that wasn't going to happen," said Allen sadly. "Karen would have done anything for that pony."Brown, Kimberly S. "Vet Calls Theodore O'Connor Euthanasia 'The Right Thing to Do'". ''The Horse'' online edition, May 28, 2008
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References

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External links

1995 animal births Eventing horses Individual Arabian and part-Arabian horses Horses in the Pan American Games