06/14/2023
Ace
Card Shark
March 16, 1996-May 11, 2023
There will never be a more difficult one of these for me to write, hence why it has taken such a long time to be posted. Ace lived an incredible life, and even if he had lived another hundred years, it never would have seemed like we had enough time with him.
Ace was the horse that everyone wanted to show, right up to the very end. He had a presence about him that was unmatched. If you could figure out how to push the go button, you could go into just about any horse show ring and pin. His lead changes were immaculate, and though his stride was a little bit short, the heart that he put into it was unmatched.
Looking at Aceâs racing history, it was no surprise that he was what is considered a war horse, having run 50 races in his career under his registered name of Cellar's Gold. Despite his low career earnings ($21,551), his career spanned 5 years. He only placed first 3 times out of those 50 races. Undoubtedly, someone loved watching him give running his all, just like we all loved watching him in the show ring.
Ace came to Winter Glen so that he could step down from jumping the bigger jumps. He found his niche in the 2â6 divisions and was incredibly successful here until an injury sidelined him. It seemed that Ace was destined to a life of flatwork, so thatâs what he did for nearly 2 years until he decided to perform his signature spin/get rid of your rider move at a school horse show. He finished off his act by jumping a huge pile of jumps and racing around the ring. Peggy never thought he would stay sound going back to jumping, but little by little we brought him back over a 4-month period, by the spring of that year he was jumping 2â6 again! He was so happy to be back to some real work and most importantly, back to horse showing.
As the first person entered the barn on a horse show morning, Ace would always call down the aisle to them! It was almost as if he was saying, âIâm ready!!!â Whether home or away, he loved to show, and I swear he would have put himself on the trailer if he could have. Of course, anyone that has showed in the Capital District in the last 10 years knows about Aceâs one shortcoming - you donât dare ride at him in the ring. Everyone knows because Peggy could be heard across the county yelling, âThis is Ace!â Or âWe need to school Ace stillâŚâ when we had waited to be absolute last in the ring, or âPull on your right hand!â when it was probably already a little bit too late. There was the occasional ring exit, where someone would be too close, and before you knew it, youâd be right back in the ring with them. He was perfect in so many waysâŚexcept maybe that one.
As he continued to age, he stepped down to lower fences, but never gave up his signature moves - teaching a new generation of riders about the virtues of owning a right hand, not leaning left, and always putting on more leg. But he also got softer and kinder and could occasionally be seen toting around a child that was smaller than usual. As a horse that rarely stopped at fence, he would just slow to a stop when he felt his smaller riders get off balance at a cross rail.
Aceâs life was exceptional by so many measures and he is so incredibly missed. He will forever hold a place the hearts of everyone that watched him, knew him, rode him and loved him. Weâd love to see your pictures and hear your memories.
