‘Magical and Feisty’: Honoring a Horse Who Galloped to His Own Beat

In Greek mythology, Pegasus was a winged horse who flew among the gods and drew the chariot of Zeus as he threw thunderbolts. 

In Clayton, N.C., Pegasus was a horse belonging to Kit and Jocky Creasy whose real-life story was illustrious in its own right.

So much so, in fact, that the Creasys have given their Pegasus a bit of immortality by placing a plaque in his honor in the Gallop of Honor at the NC State Farm and Equine Veterinary Medical Center. 

Kit Creasy, who rode Pegasus competitively for years, says that although he wasn’t large, he was athletic and headstrong. “He was wild, strong-willed and feisty,” she says. 

The Creasys acquired Pegasus when he was about 10 or 11 years old, and he had been a racehorse. When Kit Creasy rode him, he became an event horse, taking part in dressage and cross-country competitions. They were destined to be together much longer than she imagined.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Pegasus is that he lived to be 41 years old, well past the 25-to-30-year average lifespan of a domestic horse. During that long life, he impressed Kit Creasy again and again with his mind and heart.

One time, frustrated that a newly closed gate prevented him from going where he wanted to go, he immediately turned and ran to the opposite side of a 6-acre pasture where he remembered there was a broken fence that would allow him to leap to freedom. Which he did.

He was always doing things that set him apart from other horses.

Pegasus was also healthy. Creasy said he was prone to self-exercising. “He galloped until three days before he died,” she says. But time inevitably catches up with all living things, and in February 2018, it finally caught up with the Creasys’ horse. He was buried at home on the farm in Clayton.

“He was classy, fun and wild,” Kit Creasy says.

The Creasys brought another of their horses, Matador, to the NC State Veterinary Hospital on two occasions to be treated for a bone chip and a joint infection. While there they happened to notice the Gallop of Honor, which seemed like a wonderful way to memorialize a special horse. 

Today, a plaque with a golden horseshoe adorns the Gallop of Honor hall with the inscription, “Pegasus ♡ 41 Magical & Feisty Yrs.” 

“Not just everybody gets to own a mythical creature,” Kit Creasy says. “He was magnificent and spirited, challenged me every time I rode him and was truly the horse of my heart.”

~Steve Volstad/NC State Veterinary Medicine

The Gallop of Honor: Especially in these hard times, a veterinarian is always there for you. Personalized horseshoes are a perfect way to recognize a beloved horse, veterinarian, or friend. For a gift of $250 or more, your horseshoe and personalized plaque will appear on the Gallop of Honor wall in the Farm and Equine Veterinary Medical Center.  With this gift, you will be helping the College set and keep pace with the advances in equine health. For more information, please visit the Gallop of Honor page.