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Whatsinaname?
Original article written by Kelley Wachter posted 12 years 3 weeks agoWhat’s in a name? When it comes down to the task of naming your horses, sometimes the task can seem daunting. Just ask Nikki Sherman, who for the last two years has offered up lucrative contests just for helping her with naming her 200 plus foals as they turn to yearlings. But for those of us who enjoy coming up with inventive, original monikers for our steeds the naming game can be quite an enjoyable aspect of the SIM.
In a previous article, I discussed the rules regarding naming the horses in the SIM. The rules must be kept in mind when choosing the ideal name for your foal or unnamed horse. The easiest (and hardest) is that the name must be longer than two and no longer than eighteen characters (including punctuation and spaces) in length.
The approach to naming horses varies wildly across the SIM. Some players choose to name their foals as soon as they are born. The Steward pretty much follows this routine as she knows immediately what a horse’s potential will be and can therefore give the “good” names to the ones hopefully destined for greatness. Other breeders may reserve naming for a group at a time. For example, when asked about her routine, Gigi Gofaster said, “Unless a name comes to me right away, I'll wait and name a load of horses as a batch. I like to get into the 'zone' for naming.” Then again, some players wait to see how the horse gallops and works before bestowing a name to lessen the chance of giving a “good name to a bad horse,” as remarked by Leonard Beagle. Charles Bunbury commented that when he started in the SIM the only option was to name right after breeding. Once he had the choice to not name immediately, he found he liked to take advantage of that to be able to name after proceeding with workouts and therefore spend the time in naming the foals he expects to be half decent.
Names run the gamut from strictly a combination of Sire and Dam’s names (i.e. Perfect Night who is the son of Night Shade and Perfect Soul) to popular characters or celebrities(i.e. Harry Potter, Lexluther, Krasinski) to movie or music titles (i.e. A Day In The Life, I Dreamed A Dream) to all out random word choices. Gofaster and Beagle both say that they try to include something from the sire and dam, but might veer away if they have another name in mind. Beagle said he tries to include the dam if possible because he likes to continue a theme with the mares’ progeny. That said, sometimes owners follow themes like Alysse Peverell did with her mare Royalty. All of the mare’s foals had names that had a “royal” association and then Peverell continued on those lines when naming the descending foals of Royalty’s daughters Tiara and Crown. In my breeding barn, I have a nice little mare named Colour Of The Sky and I try to make sure that each of her foals has the word “blue” in their names. And, speaking of themes there is a very “controversial” SIM-wide grasping on of anything relating to Harry Potter and using it upside down and every way but inside out to name horses. Open At The Close is one such and his breeder/owner Peverell also recently spent $25,000,000 in order to get THE Harry Potter when he was offered for auction as a yearling by The Steward. Grindelwald, Dumbledore, and Accio Firebolt are just a few of the HP names you may have stumbled upon in the SIM.
How does one go about coming up with a truly original or unique name once all the Prince, Princess, Blaze, Star, Thunder and Lightning names are gone? Inspiration for a laudable name can come from anywhere and these days the glory of the internet is at your fingertips, so search on! I personally enjoy references to musical lines or poetry and literature and will often have some notes in already in mind when I start going through my lists of unnamed foals. Jeb Clampett, who has run the “Best Named Horse” contest on the SIM Forum in the past, seeks inspiration in naming her horses and admits to being a fan of using the thesaurus and will also Google for ideas for names when a handle doesn’t just jump out at her. Wikipedia is Gofaster’s tool of choice when she is stumped to see if she can find something historical or popular relating to a sire or dam’s name that might glean something useful. With a penchant for finding relevant references, Gofaster’s success in Sherman’s naming contest last year speaks for itself, and she says, “Dorisstrikesagain was one of those; by I am Legend out of Successful Heist, she's named after the famous (infamous?) superannuated cat burglar, Doris Thompson.” Beagle (who was also host of the Best Named Horse Contest at one point) notes several of his favorites which were designed with a creative note from sire and dam: Do The Twister (My Tornado x Attractive Dancer), First Star I See (Star Signs x Wishes And Dreams), and Heza Drunk (Gin On The Rocks x Sheza Winner). Stating that he does not follow a particular naming strategy and likes to go with popular culture, geographical references and other inspirations of the day, Bunbury has a neat story behind one future name: My “favourite name that I haven't used yet [is] Alastmunchofgrass. When Rewilding broke down last season at Ascot (real life racing) John Gosden was quoted that while holding the reins he let Rewilding have a last munch of grass. I have to have a decent foal for this name, maybe re-name a Steward bred colt. (turf router please?).” [author’s note: that was his plea, not mine ;) ]
The actual feat of giving a horse a name is fairly simple. Enter a name and if it isn’t taken and follows the SIM stated rules then, poof, your horse is named. Of course, it is widely understood that not every horse is destined for the Hall OF Fame or the praises of the whole SIM society, so sometimes you can throw caution to the wind and make a humorous remark or witty criticism with a horse’s name. However, some practical consideration must be put into the actual choice. Should this horse be fortunate enough to win a Steward’s Cup race or the Louisville Derby, will you be proud of the name and the image it brings to mind or will you be embarrassed when The Steward mispronounces it or has to call “Bunny Boo is trying to hold on for the wire.” Would you breed to stallions named “Slow And Slower” or “Undescended?” Probably not. So while trying to be humorous or creative or formal, choose wisely as you never can tell what the future will bring for your horse!