THE CONSERVATIONIST | 11 YEAR – OLD THOROUGHBRED GELDING | FRISCO, TX
Meet The Conservationist, affectionately known as Theo, the 11-year-old Thoroughbred with a bay coat and a back left sock. Theo is a beloved resident at North Texas Equestrian Center.
Ashton shares her favorite memory with Theo: “Barebacking him for the first time after a clinic is definitely one of my favorite memories with him. I had wanted to bareback him for a while, but I didn’t know how he was without tack. I chose to bareback him after a ride because I wasn’t planning on doing anything crazy, and I didn’t want him to try anything stupid with me. He ended up being absolutely amazing for me, and it reminded me of just how much I love him.”
Theo was the first horse Ashton rode when she moved to North Texas Equestrian Center. “I rode him during my evaluation, and I rode him for a while before we decided to buy him because of how well we were doing together,” Ashton explains. Their connection was clear from the beginning, and it was a perfect match.
Theo has an impressive lineage as one of the children of the 2007 Kentucky Derby winner, Street Sense. Despite his distinguished pedigree, Theo isn’t the most cuddly horse. “He doesn’t have the best ground manners and tends to nip and push you around. This hasn’t bothered me very much because he’s saved my butt more times than I can count while jumping, and I know deep down he loves me because he wouldn’t be saving me if he didn’t,” Ashton says.
Theo is quite picky about his food preferences. Unlike many horses, he doesn’t like apples. However, he loves his minty muffins and carrots.
Ashton’s journey in horseback riding has been filled with ups and downs. “I’ve been horseback riding on and off all my life, but near the beginning of 2020, right before the pandemic hit, I started taking consistent lessons. During the pandemic, me and my parents figured everybody was spread out enough, and this was really the only thing keeping me somewhat sane, so we continued lessons through the pandemic. I had been doing hunters up until July 2023 when I moved barns and decided to start jumpers. I’ve had an incredible journey and am currently (March 2024) showing 1.0m,” Ashton shares.
Ashton and Theo are looking forward to many more joyful and successful years together at North Texas Equestrian Center.
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Karinda K. is a Houston, TX based equine photographer that travels around the United States photographing equestrians and their horses. Karinda specializes in Outdoor Horse & Rider Portrait sessions that bring to life the magical relationship equestrians share with their horses, Senior Portraits, and Fine Art Black & White Background Portraits for those that want a piece of art featuring their very own animals.
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Information shared in this blog is based on information collected at the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, if for any reason this information is incorrect and you would like your horse’s blog post updated, please notify us via email.
