http://useventing.com/blog/?p=20025
I guess I get this lady's point, namely that OTTB is supposed to be an adjective, but 99.9% of the equestrian world uses it as a noun. Apparently she has an issue with that. What I still don't understand is why. Is she an English teacher in addition to being a highly successful Thoroughbreds-Who-Used-To-Run-Races re-trainer? Does she think we are defaming the great name of the Thoroughbred breed by using this term? If it's the former (which I highly doubt), well, I'll admit to being a bit of a grammar Nazi myself, and bad writing and spelling irritate me no end, but really... If we all went around correcting people's speech we would not be terribly popular (and we'd go berserk after five minutes in a Walmart).
If it's the latter, I really don't understand. Isn't the word Thoroughbred actually part of the term OTTB, with the letters T and B standing in for the breed? I believe that is *cough* another commonly-used acronym. It's not like we're dismissing the fact that they are a breed. Furthermore, I, for one, am careful to use the word Thoroughbred to describe a horse of that breed which is currently running on the track, or one that never ran on the track. I only use OTTB when the horse has had some kind of racing career. It can now be a pasture potato or out competing in 4**** events (yay, Courageous Comet!*), but by golly if it is an "Off (the) Track Thoroughbred" it's okay to call it that. I think so, anyway. And I can't wait to own one!
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| Love, love, love this logo. I will immediately purchase an embroidered saddle pad from http://www.ottbdesigns.com/ just as soon as I need one! |
Good news from Eventing Nation:
"When asked about having another great grey horse, Becky (Holder) mentioned that she hopes that Comet's time off is only temporary. Becky said that Comet has had a "no setback" recovery and he might be out at a few dressage shows this autumn and that she hopes he will start back eventing in the spring. We are all keeping our fingers crossed to see Becky with two great greys next spring."
