One in a Million - Tango

This article is from the September 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

Tango aka "Devs Delight"

Age: 30yo (will be 31 in November)
Height: 15.3 hh
Breeding: Standardbred (pacer) 

Owner’s Details

Name: Amanda Bettesworth
State: South Australia

How did your One in a Million horse come into your life? In 2015, I was volunteering at a horse rescue sanctuary and sponsoring a pony who was soon rehomed. Soon after this, an elderly, emaciated horse was brought in by the RSPCA for rehabilitation. He was a 25-year-old Standardbred ex-pacer gelding with a body score of one, and he was shut down with “dead” eyes. I met him in his yard and when he saw me he looked up from his hay and came straight over for a pat. All I had to offer him was part of my half-eaten apple, but he turned it down. I soon learned that carrots and liquorice were his favourite treats.

At that first meeting we clicked, and I knew that here was my “heart horse”. I sponsored him and helped to care for him at the sanctuary and subsequently at his foster home. I formally adopted him on the first of September, 2016 – on the official birthday of Standardbreds.

Known history before you? Tango was bred in WA, and started his harness racing career there as a two-year-old in 1992. He came to SA in 1994 and raced extensively at many of the state’s harness racing venues until retiring in 1996, after 74 starts (2 wins, 14 second placings and 6 third placings) and prize winnings of $7,469.

The next 19 years of his life are unknown to me, but when the RSPCA seized him, he was in a shocking state of neglect, with teeth so overgrown and sharp that he was unable to eat. His hoofs were cracked and split, and he had large patches of keratosis on his hind legs.

Share with us why your horse is One in a Million. Over the next few months at the sanctuary, Tango put on weight and his health improved. He ceased to be shut down and his true character emerged. He loves people and attention, he can be quite pushy at feed time and is the boss in his small herd of four. He is very intelligent and inquisitive. Because of his age and past life, Tango is unridden, but he is certainly no “paddock ornament”. He loves to be active, including going for in-hand walks with me, and doing groundwork agility obstacles, both led and at liberty. We joined the International Horse Agility Club in 2017, and we do the monthly online video competitions, having now worked our way through the Starter, First and Medium Level classes and winning many rosettes along the way. I was really proud when Tango and I were awarded the 2018 Ambassador of the Year and the 2019 President’s Award by the Standardbred Pleasure and Performance Horse Association of SA for our promotion of retired Standardbreds.

What is your horse up to today? Tango now lives at the Lincoln Park Horse and Human Rehabilitation Centre in Monarto, South Australia, where I volunteer. We take part in all the regular activities at Lincoln Park, including the monthly Trail Walking Club, Agility and Natural Horsemanship clinics and Equine Therapy sessions. In February this year, Tango competed in his first show at 30 years of age, barefoot and in a bitless bridle! I entered him in three led Newcomer classes alongside the youngsters at the Standardbred Pleasure and Performance Horse Association of SA State Championships. He handled the show ring atmosphere like an experienced show horse, and we placed in all our classes, with both judges commenting on how well we worked together. I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have Tango as my One in a Million horse.

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