Honour The Name rubbed shoulders with equine superstars, but the now 21-year-old gelding also has an exciting story ‘Off the Track’.
An impressive racehorse in his own right, Honour the Name was trained by Lee Freedman and won the 1999 Group 3 McNeil Stakes and the 2000 Group 2 Angas Brut. He lined up against the best in the 1999 Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, won by Redoute’s Choice, with Testa Rossa and Commands finishing second and third. It was later judged one of the greatest stallion making races of all time.
As a four-year-old in the spring of 2000, Honour The Name won the Listed John Monash Stakes, before running fifth in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes and second behind the mighty Sunline in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes.
Honour the Name went to Perth in the summer of 2001-02 for what would be his final race. Following a string of injuries and setbacks, he was retired to equestrian Lori Blechynden, with whom he still lives.
The gelding spent a few years in a paddock, heading out on weekends for a relaxed ride with his new owner. In 2008, Blechynden moved to Wagga Wagga in southern NSW to work in the new veterinary school at Charles Sturt University, with BJ, as he was now known, joining her not long after.
BJ boarded at the university’s equine centre, where a student, Lianna Ramage—who now competes on the Victorian Eventing State Squad—took an interest in him and started his competition career ‘Off the Track’. He tried everything from eventing, straight dressage and hacking at local agricultural shows while Ramage was a student.
For seven years he boarded at the equine centre, where he spent his days in a paddock with six other geldings, and at night was tucked up in his stable. The university’s equine hospital next door and staffed by specialists, so Honour the Name has always been afforded the best care.
Blechynden described the process of re-training BJ as rewarding, yet challenging. “He wasn’t an easy horse to train or ride,” she said.
“He has a kind disposition, is pretty fearless and has a great work ethic, but he got very upset if he didn’t understand what was being asked of him.
“We had to learn to ask him to do new things rather than tell him, and if he didn’t understand we had to come up with different ways of asking the question until he did understand. Once he got it he was fine, until we asked the next question!”
Honour the Name had a strong work ethic and was a fearless competitor, attributes that made him a worthy athlete in all his post-racing pursuits.
“He has been a versatile all-rounder and a pleasure to take anywhere,” said Blechynden. “I think his temperament, plus his exposure to big pressure and crowds while a young racehorse, set him up to be pretty bombproof as a pleasure horse. He never blinked an eye at the sideshows.”
BJ was retired when aged 17 to enjoy his days being the boss of the paddock. With arguably the most important job of his career, he is now teaching horses to mind their paddock manners.