Needles Highway - fancy, fun, great jump & will win the flat

Needles Highway, 16.2h 2019 unraced Thoroughbred Gelding located in Lansing, NY.

Brave, goofy, kind and will win the flat and go clear in both jumping phases? Yep, that’s Needles. Terrible name… fantastic creature.

Every time I ride this horse with the purpose of getting images to move him, I end up backing off and putting him back in the “keep” pile. But the reality is, he doesn’t need me – he’s not the quirky, wild, “special” type that gets to live here long term. He is just a ridiculously good, exceptionally talented kid with more personality than he often knows what to do with.

So Needles is available to the perfect fit. Who might that be? I think there are possible variations. Could be a good riding amateur, could be a young pro. Honestly, Needles would love a high quality teen. And regardless of which of those categories his human fell into, Needles would need a situation where he would be allowed to be occasionally goofy, get lots of attention and not have to live in a stall most of the time.

*He tolerates stalls, but he’s far, far happier outside.

**And goofy does not mean bad behavior. He’ll steal your ball cap, follow you all over the field, and stare at you in the barn until you pet him. He has never shown bad behavior under saddle with me. No buck, bolt, rear, spook, spin etc.

Needles has a little bit of show experience and plenty of off property experience. He is working his medium trot and his canter serpentines, jumping 2’6”-3’ with ample scope for more. He is brave – water, ditches, banks, brush etc with no problem, and he’s adjustable on course with a big basculed jump. He’d love to event or hunt, but he’d also be happy as a three-ring horse and no matter which direction, I think with a little training and much attention (he’d like that please and thank you), he’ll work as hard as he can to get it right and make his human happy.

Honestly, listing this guy makes me sad – but I know that when I find the right home, I’ll be excited to follow along as he gets to go take on the world.