Gladius The Show – Horses
Featuring over 20 horses of different breeds, the soul of the show is the spectacular presence of our equine brethren. Join us in our journey and learn about all of our beloved four legged cast members.
THUNDER
Meet Thunder (Belgian), our “delicate little flower”. Standing at an impressive 19.1 hands and weighing 2500 lbs, he proudly holds the title of the “World’s Biggest Vaulting Horse. He is the epitome of a Gentleman Giant with a huge heart to match his size.
KAYMAN
Kayman (Percheron) is our veteran. He Teaches all the newbies to roman ride, he is a big water baby who’s also strangely afraid of puddles. He is a percheron who can do fancy things under saddle and is probably the “World’s Biggest Trick Riding Horse”.
XENA
Xena (Percheron) is the black beauty at Gladius The Show. She is the dependable lady who takes care of our vaulting kiddos of all ages every week. With her calm and composed nature, she is the rockstar who fearlessly carries a rider lit on fire on her back during the show. Xena can be trusted in almost any situation.
Gaia
Gaia is a stunning Azteca mare with a Charro background. She came to us in 2018 and has great promise for both trick riding and dressage as well as liberty. She has a very sweet personality and is adjusting very well to her new life with Gladius. With her gorgeous mane and physique, she is sure to be one of our most photographed beauties!
Aries
Aries joined the herd in 2014 with high hopes of being a flashy liberty horse. He’s a Azteca stallion with a large affinity for food and treats. He has come a long way in a few years and he’s growing rapidly in to a shining star.
Frøya
Frøya is one of two Norwegian Fjord rescue horses that joined the herd in 2015. She’s sassy and sweet and so appreciative of being recued and having a purpose and love. She is a superstar racing chariots and has also learned to jump and Roman ride!
Balder
Balder is the second half of the Fjord rescue team. Like his sister, he can race chariots and also jump. He’s learning to Roman ride and will love you forever if you bring him carrots. There’s nothing these little Fjords can’t do.
Thor
Thor is one half of a Norwegian Fjord pair that was rescued in 2019. He was rescued from a kill pen by the Norwegian Fjord Horse Rescue Network and adopted by Gladius. He had a lot of trust issues at first and we worked with him to build it up and develop a lifelong bond . These days, he’s debuted jumping in the show and he’s doing great! We are so happy we got to give him his forever home.
Floki
Floki is the other half of the pair of Norwegian Fjord rescues in 2019. Like Thor , he was pulled out of a kill pen and rescued by the Norwegian Fjord Horse Rescue Network. He was sadly separated from his lifelong partner and came with a lot of emotional trauma. He had no trust for humans and it took us a long time to create a safe bond with him. These days, he’s a totally different horse! He’s the sweetest thing, loves his treats and is even doing chariots in the show. We are so grateful to have given him a second chance at life here.
Chente
Chente is the tiniest horse of the herd and is a black miniature stallion. His energy is like no other and it’s pretty normal to see him running around , riling up the others. He’s the newest addition to Darren’s clown act and we have no doubt he’s a born star.
Atlas
Our prehistoric-looking galapogus with a heart of gold. Riding him feels like a real life rocking horse, and he also reminds us of Manny the mammoth from ice age! He has progressed beautifully in Roman riding, under saddle and a steady vaulting horse!
Echo
Echo had a bit of a traumatic life before she came to us, as one of our many rescue horses. Now she’s blossoming into an amazing character and her trues sweetness is emerging. She’s a vaulting horse in the making and also learning all the tricks under saddle as well as roman riding.
Hercules
Hercules is the biggest personality in the herd and the sweetest lapdog horse we have ever had. He is also the youngest at 4 1/2 and he is still growing. (So far he’s 19 hands tall!). He loves to give affection, and smile, showing his cute teeth. We are lucky to have such a kind soul in the herd.
Apollo
Apollo is a tall handsome sweetheart, that came to us very underweight but he is munching down and growing everyday learning all the stuff to perform in the show and really starting to excel at Roman riding. (He’s also BFF with Hercules). This guy is a total stunner and we can’t wait to see where we go with him.
Renata
Renata is an Azteca mare who came to Gladius in hopes of working in the dressage acts. It was soon discovered she was very affectionate and quirky and definitely motivated by some treats! This grey beauty has also settled in to liberty. She can tend to get a little stressed and the liberty work was the perfect addition to balance her out. Her personality is one of a kind.
Pixie
Pixie is our little unicorn halflinger. She is another horse that came to us full of trust issues and scared of humans. We have been spending a lot of time with her in groundwork and liberty work to develop a trusting bond. We have discovered that back scratches get us a long way in her book and a few carrots don’t hurt either . When she does decide to trust you, she’s the sweetest thing around! Things are looking up for Pixie and she’s doing a lot better in riding and also is a great driving horse . We are looking forward to her future magic in the show .
Titus
Titus is our entitled little brat (said with love) who pulls all the pranks. He came to us as a baby so he’s grown up here with us. He’s talented across the board but most of all specializes in vaulting. We like to call him the most graceful baby hippo that ever lived. His talents are remarkable!