William Shatner Is Honored for His Work with Horses
Image: ARHPA / World's Championship Horse Show.
AUGUST 28, 2023 – When William Shatner isn’t captaining the USS Enterprise across the galaxy or blasting off to the edge of space in a real rocket ship, he might be spotted in a saddle or sulky, guiding horses around an arena. Such was the case recently at the Kentucky State Fair, which was playing host to the World’s Championship Horse Show, in Louisville. Shatner also received an honor that’s been a long time coming.
In addition to competing the horse show, Shatner was also inducted into the American Road Horse & Pony Association Hall of Fame (ARHPA). He told the Louisville Courier Journal that he’s been working with horses a long time and that it was a “prestigious honor. I’m very happy about it.”
According its web site, the “World’s Championship Horse Show is held annually in conjunction with the Kentucky State Fair and crowns world champion Saddlebreds in different divisions. The show attracts competitors from across the world and includes over 2,000 horses competing for more than $1.5 million in awards determined by a panel of equestrian professionals.”
The ARHPA educates about and promotes the training and exhibiting of road horses.
Shatner breeds and shows American Saddlebreds and Quarter Horses. (That was one of his own mares, Great Belles of Fire, which he was riding in Star Trek: Generations.) He has a 360-acre farm near Versailles, Kentucky, and he previously won a world championship with a Standardbred road horse while showing at the World’s Championship Horse Show.
David is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. He is a librarian, baseball fan, and book and movie buff. He has also written for American Libraries and Skeptical Inquirer. David also enjoys diverse music, but leans toward classical and jazz. He plays a mean radio.
