Phoebus is a Standardbred gelding who swapped a life on the racetrack for a life as a knight’s charger in early 2020. After some initial suspicion about horses not running in the same direction as him, he quickly took to armour and weapons and classical dressage. He has been to various parades and public shows with the King’s Horses and graciously accepts treats and pats from his fans.
He is a true multi-talent, enjoying mounted combat including melee, skill at arms, jousting and horse archery as well as trail rides. In addition to walk, trot, and canter, Phoebus can also amble, which is a great asset for a trail riding horse. He is a handy horse at home on the farm, it’s his job to pony all the green horses, as well as looking after visitors if we need a dependable horse. He has also dipped his hooves into movie work.
He has been exceptionally enthusiastic about classical dressage, and has mastered shoulder-in/out, travers/renvers and halfpass in walk and trot and is getting there in canter. His favourite trick is Spanish Walk, but he also does piaffe and passage. Particularly handy for the mounted combat sessions is his ability to do pirouettes in collected canter and and terre-a-terre, and mezair. We are also working on the school halt and hope to eventually put everything together for a Sarabande. Whenever he is told his done great, he looks very pleased and and somewhat smug, which is quite understandable.
