News for Rutgers Football Fans

I got a call last week that the Rutgers Knight is going to have a new steed this year.

As you know, the symbol of Rutgers University is the "Scarlet Knight". This romantic tradition comes to life every fall during football season, when the stadium is full of alumni and students, dates clapping and cheering, as a real-life, real-time armored knight inspires fans.

You know that glorious white charger flagging his tail, dashing down the field, carrying the triumphant Rutgers Knight? Well. Let me introduce "Zeus".

I never knew him by any other name, although I am sure he had one, probably Sam or Spotty because he was piebald when I first met him a decade ago. He was shipped on a trailer from somewhere in the middle of the country and, as he clambered down the ramp, the thing that first impressed me was his attitude. He was purported to be a cross between a pinto and a percheron. One look at his head carriage and noble face and I thought of Andalusian or Lippizaner... except for the spots.

He lifted his head and there was the regal look of eagles...but he was marked like a mustang.

He snorted like a stallion, loud "woofs" from his nostrils. He had been gelded but that apparently was not going to stop him from showing off for the other horses as he pranced down to the barn. He was not as tall as the 17 hand thoroughbreds already in the field, but his nicely balanced deep body, good straight shapely legs and a crested neck made him look like a heavy set Arabian...with big black patches.

That first week was a challenge. He was so strong all he had to do was walk up to a fence and lean on it until it collapsed. There was real danger that he might teach the other horses to crash fences as well. It was necessary to string paddocks with electric wire to stop him, and soon all the horses knew when the fences were "live". With that settled, the piebald started to pay attention to people.

Eventually Zeus became a part of a family that included a momma, poppa, two little girls, pony, dog, cat and three other horses. He learned the basics, walk-trot-canter (simple, my dear Watson) and then proudly took his policeman rider on long trail rides with the rest of the family.

He learned to jump. He took to fences like they were not even there. Then the worry was that he might jump out of his paddock like the fabled Snowman, but thankfully that never really became a problem. Besides the whole family would ride to hounds and as one huntmaster said, "That whole family, even the pony, rides hell-bent to leather!".

The family toured Valley Forge and rode on horseback through the historic battlefields. Visiting with friends, they rode to hounds in the Carolinas. Zeus and his policeman boss even led family trail rides into the waves at Long Beach Island. Zeus loved his new life.

As the years went by, his coat lightened and spots roaned out so he seemed to be one silver white color. You could see black patches as changes in his coat when he was bathed and his hide was wet, but he appeared white. Lippizaners are born bay or dark colors and become snowy white as they age; perhaps he carried their noble genes after all. That could also explain his attitude and ability.

Zeus went to many horse shows as the mount for both girls. He learned the finer points of dressage and the championship ribbons covered bedroom bulletin boards and the walls of the tack room. An enormous photo of him jumping a fence even hung in one of the meeting rooms of the historic Clarksburg Inn before its recent devasting fire.

One of my favorite Zeus memories is of watching him one glorious day in Maryland. This white Pegasus streaked over the cross country course, long silver tail streaming like a banner over each jump, as he confidently carried my 14 year old granddaughter to many, many ribbons. He was magnificent.

This year one of the girls graduated high school and was off to college. Now there were too many horses in the barn so Zeus became a companion horse, enjoying semi-retirement with a local stable of horse-smart people... because, after all, he was not just a backyard horse.

And then suddenly out of the blue, through the grapevine, a college recruiter for Rutgers heard about Zeus. His resume was impressive so he was interviewed, just like anyone trying to get into college or get a job. The contact was made... and the rest is history.

So if you go to the Scarlet Knight's stadium at Rutgers this fall, breathe in that river air, scented with mum corsages and popcorn. Take a really big breath so you can bellow out a lusty cheer for our latest college freshman....er...freshman-horse.

"Zeus!"

"Zeus!"

"Zeus!" Yeah, Rutgers!

Horses rock.