Alexis Arbaugh, TAA Success Stories: All-Around Star Jericho Call, Bloodhorse, 15th February 2024. Read full article.
A beautiful dark bay colt named Jericho Call was born May 16, 2009. Over the span of three consecutive racing seasons, from 2013 to 2015, gelding Jericho Call ran in 12 races. During this time, he secured a first-place finish once, claimed second place once, and one third place once, accumulating a total of $18,935.
After his retirement from racing at the end of 2015, Jericho Call was sent to MidAtlantic Horse Rescue in Chesapeake City, Md., for some rest and relaxation before starting his retraining for a second career.
In 2016 Christine McFadden found herself in search of a pasture companion for her aging and retired Thoroughbred gelding. During her search, she came across Beverly Strauss’ MidAtlantic Horse Rescue. As Christine and Bev discussed the specific type of horse Christine was looking for, it became clear that she needed to pay a visit to the farm to see the available horses for herself.
In addition to seeking a pasture companion for her retired gelding, Christine wanted to find a horse she could continue to do some light riding with. On a chilly and windy day in November, Christine, accompanied by her daughters and a friend, made the journey to MidAtlantic to look at and try some of their horses.
The first horse that Christine and her friend decided to try was a young gelding named Mountain Hero. Although he was a good horse, Christine recognized that Mountain Hero was too large for her. However, her friend fell in love with him and ultimately chose to adopt and take him home. The next couple of horses that Christine rode during that visit were quite skittish and anxious, likely due to the cold wind.
Next in the ring was a cute dark bay gelding with a star right in the middle of his forehead, Jericho Call. He walked right up to Christine and sniffed her hand curiously. Although he did seem a little anxious about the wind, Jericho did not let it show or change his behavior for Christine’s trial ride.
Bev shared with Christine that she had rescued “Jerry” from an awful situation—he was found in a kill pen being attacked by another horse. Christine vaguely remembered coming across his story and seeing his pictures on social media. In that moment, she knew without a doubt that Jerry belonged with her on her farm.
Jerry quickly became a beloved member of Christine’s barn after arriving home. She often praised him, calling him “amazing” because of his calm attitude toward anything and everything.
After a lot of hard work and hours of training, Christine entered Jerry in the 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover in the Competitive Trail category. The pair was so good that they even led some of their uneasy group members through the obstacles!
As of 2018, Jerry became pasture mates with one of Christine’s daughter’s off-the-track Thoroughbreds, Chipped Tooth.
Due to Jerry’s exceptional manners and positive attitude, he became the perfect lesson horse for the farm’s trainer to use in her lesson program. He loved the opportunity to teach young children how to ride, even taking some of them to their first horse shows. Jerry became the ideal draw for the local Interscholastic Equestrian Association team, thriving on the attention he received from being ridden by so many riders. He also played a role in the local 4-H club, filling in for kids who didn’t have their own horses. Jerry took these roles very seriously, almost as if he knew his job was to make sure the kids were happy and safe. He became a true all-around equine star in his community.
These days, Jerry enjoys a wide range of activities with Christine, including trail rides, fox hunts, and cross-country runs, among many other adventures. Christine couldn’t be happier with how far Jerry has come, considering that he was once a horse nobody wanted. She expressed her love for him by saying, “I am filled with pride that the horse that no one wanted is the horse that everyone needs.” Christine recognizes Jerry as one of the most versatile and easygoing horses she has ever worked with, and she values his remarkable ability to adapt to any rider, which she considers his greatest asset.
