It matters a lot to me to have a show name that isn’t already used. So far I’ve managed to do that. Someone else used one of mine after I used it though! Grr.
i also really like the barn and show name to have some thematic relation or Pronunciation relation
My hunter in the late 1980s was famous in our area. I loved his show name: Good Tidings.
My hunter in the 1990s. His name was Tradition.
Several in the barn in the early 2000s had names I’d thought of.
Up in Lights (Chesnut with chrome)
Calligraphy. (Solid black mare)
Trade Winds
15 Years ago I bought my first warmblood. I bought him because he was by Popeye K (his 1st crop, conceived in Canada), who I adored, so I wanted his name to have a nautical theme.
The tradition of using the first letter of the breeder’s name or farm name was just coming into vogue in the US. (Many people with Popeye K’s put ‘K’ on the end which is INCORRECT and has always made me crazy.) My boy’s breeder was Carleton Warmbloods, so the end of his name was to have a “C”, but I was not a fan of the single letter thing in the hunters, so I was in a real twit.
After much indecision and sturm und drang, the PERFECT name appeared!!! For the last 14.5 years Petey’s (the barn name he came with) show name and registered name has been:
Two If By C 
If I buy another nice horse who does not already have a registered name, I would love to call him “One If By Land”.
The K after Popeye babies names drove me nuts too BUT I seem to recall that his breeder Peter Karneef was ok with it. I still think breeding traditions should be maintained but then I also get irritated when people say their baby is “out of” Popeye.
I had a local hunter with the registered name of “It’s Only Money”, who I showed under Break the Bank.
I remember a paint baby named Spot Remover and a paint mare named Mona Lisa, with another large paint pony named Michaelangelo.
UGH, Calligraphy. Beautiful name.
Now that is brilliant! And historical! Talk about a double whammy, I also did not know about the erroneous K. Thanks for the education on that one 
Well done! Your schoolmaster’s very similar to one I named: On The Mark, barn name Toddy - after the FEI’s horseman out the century, Mark Todd.
Love it!
Was his barn name Duncan? If so, I rode him in a couple of IHSA shows! He and Charlie were my favorite draws because (at 5’1") I always felt much more comfortable on ponies than some of the giant horses in our region!
Edited to add: My new filly’s (pending) registered name is TCR Accidentaly Dunit (misspelled on purpose to fit the AHA’s 21 character limit). I needed something that started with an “a” at the breeder’s request. I had quite a list of possibilities lined up, but, when the mare managed to severely injure her leg 60 days before my foal was born, this name jumped to the top of the list. Lol. Her barn name is Sydney (I was going to use Cidney, but that just confused people, so Sydney it is!).
once had a little black horse I showed under the name ‘Slap and Tickle’ 
Two of my favorites that I came up with (but no one would let me use because they weren’t “hunter-y” enough:
Ex dude ranch horse that came with the barn name of Bubba I wanted to call “Hillbilly Deluxe”
Ex cutting horse mare turned pony hunter “Cowgirls Don’t Cry”. I nearly bought her and that WOULD have been her name!
Those would have been awesome
Oh, gosh, this just made me think of a name for an old horse – Chrome Bling.
We got a pony about 9 years ago at new holland for $150 tied to a pole. I was around 16 at the time and I wondered why he was tied to a pole away from other horses. Turns out he was a full stud, but the testes never descended…and this was just discovered maybe 4 or 5 years ago LOL . Anyways, I put all of the training on him and when it came time to take him to a show, I had to make up a name, and so he was dubbed “McLovin’” because if he was a human, he could quite frankly play the role of Mclovin from Superbad, a constantly horny but annoying nerd who would never be able to get a girl to even look at him… Bless this poor things heart, he was never studdish at all. Only squealed and nickered like a mare in heat ironically when a mare was very close next to him, but not all mares. He loves kids, lives his life as a lesson pony and is now a full gelding after having surgery :lol: [ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“medium”,“data-attachmentid”:10274857}[/ATTACH]
Funny, I knew another McLovin! He totally fit a “dude” bill, probably should have been Lebowski instead.
Love the story.
Around the time Superbad was released, there were probably a dozen McLovins on every local circuit
LOL In the 1970’s I had a QH/TB by Moolah Bux who I named Break The Bank.
Another cute name was given to a paint mare who appeared to be a solid black horse (and, therefore, not qualified for the Paint registry). However, she did have the requisite white, hidden under her tail.
Her name was “Check My Cheeks”
I wish there was a “LOVE” option for this!!! LOL now I want to name a flashy horse Chandler Bling.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
