# WOW! EZD Falcon Rowdy (Racking Horse) Video



## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

This was amazing ... the guy riding is the horse's owner.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Shazam!!!! that horse is FAST!!!


that looks like so much fun. not a ripple in the champagne glass.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

And gosh, look, no ridiculous shoeing packages! Just a nice, natural horse. And a beauty at that.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

and the horse looked so happy doing this thing, an obviously great relationship with his rider. What year was that filmed?


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

The rider looks like he sitting a long way back, apart from having further to travel if the brakes suddenly go on, is there a reason for this?


That horse is Fast!!!!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

The gaited horse folks all seem to ride in what we'd think of as the back seat. That seems to be where the center of balance is for that type of horse. I've noticed the plantation saddles and other saddles built for gaited horses sit further back than English or Western saddles and have heard folks talk about not interfering with their shoulders. I've only ridden a couple of horses that did something other than WTC, so I'm no expert, but from the folks I know with the TWs, Pasos, Racking, Rocky Mountain Spotted horses, they all sit further back like that.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Yes^^^^^ we sit back on our pockets. 

When my 14.3H TWH Duke was alive, we got into quite a few Neighborhood gaiting races. I never used a saddle. I would just sit back, give that super competitive little horse his head and hope nobody's dog jumped out from behind the bushes. Lollol. Duke was a step pacer with a phenomenal reach. When he kicked things up a notch, I could feel his back end coming under him, like turbo boost. It was quite a high for someone who likes that sort of thing. Duke was undefeated, even against horses much taller than him and therefore had bigger reaches. 

This is Virginia Gravedigger, a TWH who was clocked at 25 MPH. I believe he is a bit younger than Falcon Rowdy, although up in years by now. Like the Rowdy video this video is also older. This horse loves what he is doing


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> And gosh, look, no ridiculous shoeing packages! Just a nice, natural horse. And a beauty at that.


I thought the same thing @Dreamcatcher Arabians! Beautiful gait, smooth as silk and NO show pads!! Awesome!



tinyliny said:


> and the horse looked so happy doing this thing, an obviously great relationship with his rider. What year was that filmed?


 @tinyliny, I don't know the year. I found the video through a 9/2016 Equus article by Deb Bennet on development of American riding horses. Here's the blurb from the article about Rowdy:


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Ripley's Speed Racking Horses has a pix of him:










and says:



> No horse or rider can compare to EZD'S Falcon Rowdy and Johnny Demetris.
> Johnny made EZD'S Falcon Rowdy a winner both on the trail and in the ring. He was the 1983 World Grand Champion Speed Racking Horse.


Rohde Fine Art has a fantastic painting of him:










And says:


> EZD's Falcon Rowdy was an exceptional horse who was named World Grand Champion Speed Racking Flat Shod Horse in 1976 and 1983. A foundation sire with both the American Racking Horse Association and North American Single-Footing Horse Association, EZD's Falcon Rowdy turned heads for both his shimmering buckskin color and incredibly fast, smooth gaits. The flashy stallion's descendants continue to be highly prized by speed racking horse lovers in the American South as well as other parts of the country.


Pretty fascinating horse!


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I love Gravedigger. I have had that video saved on my computer for years. Someday I will have a horse like that.... just because it looks like a blast 


Some of the folks that ride the speed rackers are a little, uh, ******* in their riding for my tastes, but as long as the horse is happy, so be it.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

SilverMaple;197055109
said:


> Some of the folks that ride the speed rackers are a little, uh, ******* in their riding for my tastes, but as long as the horse is happy, so be it.


Lollol. Believe me, I was not one of those who went to sanctioned racking races. But when all the Walking Horses in the neighborhood managed to get together for an occasional Sunday trail ride, it was inevitable the ride would end with a gaiting race.

My Duke looks innocent enough in that regard but he was an alpha horse and he was competitive. When I saw a slight flick of his left ear, I knew it was game on. I would drop the reins a bit to let him know "go" was ok, then sit back to enjoy the ride

Duke was 14.3H, short backed and stocky built. Nobody could believe the tremendous reach he had plus the speed if there was reason for speed --- like winning, lol. He was something to watch, even in the pasture

RIP my beloved Tennessee Walker, Bonafide Genius, aka Duke.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Interesting historical tidbit-- many of the first 'thoroughbreds' also had an amble and a saddle rack in addition to the gallop. It was thought that one must condition the horse in the rack at speed and over long distances to get a good gallop, so most of the early colonial racehorses were also rackers.


I have half-heartedly kept an eye on some of the Standardbred racehorse rehoming sites... if the right horse pops up, I would seriously consider taking a pacer with a tendency to rack under saddle... it just looks like fun.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

That's interesting about the TB's. The history of the Walking Horse is linked to the Canadian Pacer, and the Naragansett Pacer.

It is fun, not to mention "the glide ride" is great for back issues. That was why I went to riding Tennessee Walkers in the first place. Duke was my first -ever gaited horse, with a stepping pace as smooth as the running walk. He bought me 20-some years more of riding that the doctors and PT's said I would never have.

So that's one more reason to seriously watch those Standardbred rehoming sites


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

my mare is a standardbred and prone to pacing although she never raced or was harness trained at all, and i've always wondered how to cultivate that into a nice riding gait vs the 'jackhammer at speed' that a brisk pace can be like for a rider lol.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

walkinthewalk said:


> Duke was 14.3H, short backed and stocky built. Nobody could believe the tremendous reach he had plus the speed if there was reason for speed --- like winning, lol. He was something to watch, even in the pasture


He is awesome! I love him! You were fortunate to have each other ... sounds like a great relationship.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

When I first "discovered" racking horses, I was stunned. Because why do people put all those stack and stuff on walking horses when you can get this gait naturally! The rack is a bit different from a running walk, but STILL, if you can get a horse that moves this way naturally, why on earth would you do anything artificial? 


This is my favorite racking horse on the internet:






I am just mesmerized watching this feet. And look how smooth! Man, I would love to own that horse. 


I have gotten into gaited horses a bit. I now have Missouri Fox Trotters. Because those are the gaited horses I could find and afford where I live. But I would not turn down a Walker, or a Standardbred, or a Spotted Saddle Horse!  


I enjoy the heck out of my Fox Trotters. When I hit the right gait, I just get this big, stupid grin on my face. It's VERY addictive! 


I believe I've ridden the rack a time or two. Mine don't do it, but a friend's horse occasionally hits what she calls a running walk, and now I'm pretty sure it's actually a rack, because he has no head nod when he does it. He just GLIDES behind and his front end feels like he's swimming. It's a glorious feeling, although my friend doesn't care for it because he tends to do it when he gets excited to go, and he's a Missouri Fox Trotter and that's not his "proper" gait, lol. But I adore the rack! Yeah, too bad gaited horses are an arm and a leg in Arizona or I would definitely find me a nice racking horse. :smile:


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

kewpalace said:


> He is awesome! I love him! You were fortunate to have each other ... sounds like a great relationship.


Thank you very much :cowboy:

Yes , we had a geat relationship --- I knew he was coming home with me the second I looked into his eyes when the seller walked him off the trailer for me to trial ride. The seller did try to back peddle and not sell Duke to me but his riding buddy happened to be someone I grew up with and went to school with, lol

My school friend told the seller he should have never shook hands with me on the price and seller said he didn't think I "would take the horse" as he had asked literally double what good gaited horses were brining at that time, lollol

That was on a Sunday. I took my horse trailer to work with me that Monday day(in a business suit and heels, in case the seller tried to back out again. His wife quietly told me she was glad I bought Duke as she knew he was a special horse and would have a much better home with me than her husband, lol

Duke was with me 24 of his 27 years and was one of the horses who moved with me from PA to SoCal, then to Middle TN to retire. He is laid to rest on this farm, not forty miles from the Harlindale Farm where he was born and Midnight Sun is buried. I love all of my horses to the inth degree bit Duke truly remains my heart horse.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

EdmontonHorseGal said:


> my mare is a standardbred and prone to pacing although she never raced or was harness trained at all, and i've always wondered how to cultivate that into a nice riding gait vs the 'jackhammer at speed' that a brisk pace can be like for a rider lol.


I haven't looked into it too much, and some horses will fall into a rack once you collect the pace a bit, but a good farrier can help you out here-- usually adding a shoe in front and leaving the horse barefoot behind will help a pacer learn to rack, and the opposite (heavier shoe in back, none in front) will help a trotter learn to rack. 

Standardbred Training Tips | New Vocations


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

SilverMaple said:


> I haven't looked into it too much, and some horses will fall into a rack once you collect the pace a bit, but a good farrier can help you out here-- usually adding a shoe in front and leaving the horse barefoot behind will help a pacer learn to rack, and the opposite (heavier shoe in back, none in front) will help a trotter learn to rack.
> 
> Standardbred Training Tips | New Vocations


I have no plans on shoeing her or doing any fancy trimming. i adore my farrier and won't be switching up anything since her feet are great under his care. that whole 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' thing.

she's still green, and has multiple chunks of time off since being started in '14 and restarted in '16, so i'm in no rush to collect or start playing with gaits yet, but i have thoughts of what i want to accomplish with my mare in the future. heck, if i get a steady trot with her for more than one round of the outdoor i'm happy at this point lol. she's had maybe 8 to 10 rides since fall of 2016 hahaha........ gotta love a pasture puff.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

You usually don't have to keep them shod that way for long, just enough to help them realize that gait is what you want and put a cue on it.


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

so why not go the slow route with collection and training vs speeding up the process with farrier work?


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

You can, but some need a little extra help to get the gait. Some don't.


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## evilamc (Sep 22, 2011)

I've always love seeing videos of this horse....most of his horses are SUPER nice!


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

this reminds me of my favorite speed racking vid. dont agree doing this on pavement but it looks like the got him upwards of 30mph!


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