“Red Alert” took home the Thoroughbred Incentive Program Award from the IHSA Nationals at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington in early May!

Fittingly, the 2016 TIP Thoroughbred Award at the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association’s National Championship was awarded in the heart of Thoroughbred country, with the four-day show taking place at Lexington’s Kentucky Horse Park. The award is presented annually at the IHSA’s National Championships to the highest-placing off-track Thoroughbred.

The Thoroughbred Incentive Program (or TIP) was created by The Jockey Club to help encourage second careers for racehorses when they retired from the track. The TIP sponsors Thoroughbred-only classes and divisions at shows and events all over the United States, helping to spotlight the Thoroughbred’s athletic ability as a sporthorse.

The collaborative award with the IHSA is a relatively new addition to the TIP lineup of honors, first awarded at the National Finals in West Springfield, Massachusetts in 2015. In IHSA competition, riders compete on horses selected via random draw: shows rely on horses typically provided by participating schools. As off-track Thoroughbreds work in lesson programs and as collegiate mounts all over the country, the IHSA and the TIP teamed up to recognize the contributions made by these hardworking horses.

The 2016 TIP Thoroughbred Award was given to Red Alert, a 2007 Iowa-bred gelding originally Jockey Club-registered as Mac Goo. “Red” is by Winter Glitter out of Halo Doll and had one start at Prairie Meadows for his owner and breeder Carroll Rumbaugh. Red is now a regular lesson mount at Olive Hill Sporthorses, home of the University of Kentucky equestrian team.

Red’s owner Diana Conlon, coach of the University of Kentucky equestrian team, describes the horse as “a great horse for my lesson program.” Red will likely make appearances at future IHSA shows, as well as a local shows with Conlon’s regular students.

A personable horse, “he’ll follow people around all day. His best friend is his puppy dog and he’s one big puppy dog, too. And beggar of treats!” described IHSA teammate Alexa Prettyman.

The off-track Thoroughbred is well-suited to second careers in a variety of disciplines, and we’re happy to see OTTB school horses recognized on the national level! To learn more about the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, please visit the association’s website. For more information about the Thoroughbred Incentive Program, please visit the website.