Ponies of the Track - Applesauce: The TV Star

For the viewers who watched the recent Breeders’ Cup World Championships on NBC or NBC Sports, there was an eye-catching equine star that stood apart from the Thoroughbred athletes like American Pharoah. Seeing former jockey Donna Brothers aboard a stunning horse as she interviews the winning jockey following a prestigious race has become a staple for any horse racing fan who tunes in to these broadcasts and this year’s edition of the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland was no different. This year, she paired up with an eye-catching Appaloosa named Applesauce.

Joining Brothers as she reported from horseback, Applesauce caught his fair share of airtime. Applesauce, owned by longtime pony rider Monnie Goetz, has become a familiar face at Keeneland and Churchill Downs. He is a regular lead pony at these Kentucky tracks, or one of the horses that is used to escort the racehorses in the post parade prior to a race.

Applesauce has been a part of Goetz’s ponying business for approximately ten years now and has proven himself to be a trustworthy partner. A lead pony must be able to handle every kind of racehorse – even the unruly ones who kick, bite and try to get away. According to Goetz, this is not a problem for Applesauce.

“He just knows his job,” Goetz said. “You hook on to a bad horse and you never have to worry. You just know he’s going to be there. Even loose horses or a horse in trouble, he just wants to go to them and help them out. He’s awful smart. He loves his job and he knows what he’s doing. … Just take the worst horse you’ve got and he’ll handle it. He knows when that horse is gonna be bad; he’s very intelligent on that. ... They can’t get loose with Applesauce. He’ll just spin right back around and stay right with those horses. He knows when to pay attention and what to do.”

This work ethic made Applesauce the perfect candidate to join Brothers on broadcasts from Keeneland. Although the duties of a horse used by an on-horseback reporter differ from the regular tasks of a lead pony, Brothers must be aboard one that is reliable and willing to work.

“I need a quiet horse that’s bombproof,” Brothers said. “I do not need to prove that I can ride on that day; I’ve proven it other days! So I just need a really quiet horse who knows his way around the racetrack, doesn’t mind doing his job, and obviously one that will ride up to the off-side of the horse because that’s something they typically don’t do.”

The owner and caretakers of whatever horse Brothers uses are compensated for any money that may be out of their pocket when the horse is used during a broadcast. This prevention of any financial inconvenience, combined with the horse’s appearance on national television, leads to horse owners providing Brothers with the best candidates.

“I end up with horses that I get from people who really take pride in their horse,” Brothers said. “They take pride in how well-behaved they are, how well-broke they are, how beautiful they are. And so I end up with a horse that’s a beautiful horse to ride because they come from somebody who cares about their horse and is honored to see their horse on TV.”

Such was the case when Brothers first teamed up with Applesauce. According to Brothers, Goetz has “the best pony horses in Kentucky,” so it was only logical that Brothers turn to Goetz for opening weekend of the fall meet at Keeneland in 2014 (often referred to as Fall Stars Weekend) – the first time she used Applesauce.

“My very first time riding him, it was a route race,” Brothers said. “When a race is like a mile, mile and a sixteenth, when the horses leave the starting gate, I’ll follow them. So I’m standing behind the starting gate but as soon as they leave the starting gate, I go around the side of the starting gate between the gate and the outside rail and I follow the field a little bit. Now, Applesauce had never done that before and so when I first did that with him, he was kind of a little ‘proppy,’ like he didn’t want to do it. I just had to lay a spur into him a little bit like, ‘No, we really need to do this.’ And he was like, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’”

When Brothers returned to Lexington, Kentucky one year later to cover Fall Stars Weekend again, she was reunited with Applesauce. Considering the gelding had not performed broadcast duties in a year, Brothers was concerned she would have to remind him. Much to her delight, however, that was not the case.

“He was just like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve done this. I remember this.’” Brothers said. “It was zero problem to get him to follow horses away from the gate; it was zero problem to get him on the off-side of a horse.”

A month after Fall Stars Weekend, Applesauce joined Brothers yet again for the broadcast of the Breeders’ Cup. Yet again, he was willing to perform the job, evening seeming proud of himself.

“When the horse would go ahead and jog off with the outrider when the interview was done, he would tuck and throw his neck and he’d kinda prance a little bit,” Brothers said. “I’d pet his neck and say, ‘You are such a good boy, Applesauce. You did a great job.’ And it was like he was so proud of himself because he’d been brave.”

While Applesauce was busy assisting Brothers in her on-air duties, Goetz continued her job as a pony rider during the Breeders’ Cup races aboard another gelding with an eye-catching blanket Appaloosa pattern – Harley, an American Sugarbush Draft, or a cross between and Appaloosa and draft. Although she was too occupied to see much of Brothers and Applesauce, and obviously was not tuning in to the live broadcast, she was certain Applesauce would be performing and enjoying his job.

“He likes to show off a little,” Goetz said. “He gets excited about it. He’s like, ‘Man, this is a lot easier life than ponying!’ Being able to just come out there and just meet up with the winner of the race and not have to do physical work. I think he really enjoyed that part of it, and he did give us the signs that he did. He pranced a little bit. … He’s pretty smart. Nobody’s chewing on him, nobody’s biting at him. He doesn’t have to go all the way around and work hard. He was enjoying that.”

Applesauce was not the only one who seemed to relish his appearances on NBC; his growing fan base enjoyed it, as well.

“I’m happy for him,” Goetz said. “He deserves fans. I don’t ever get to see it because I’m there in the middle of it, too, but I have people tell me, ‘Oh, he looks so good out there.’ I have a lot of people call me and tell me how good Applesauce looked and how good he did.”

Applesauce’s work ethic, kind demeanor and, of course, his unique coloring are a testament to the Appaloosa breed. But most importantly, these qualities have earned him a special place in Goetz’s heart.

“I love the Appaloosas,” Goetz said. “I’ve had a lot of Appaloosas. But it’s his personality. He’s got a great personality. He’ll be one of the very few that I will bury. I will keep Applesauce and bury him when he dies. He will never leave my barn. He’s pretty special.”