This Week in Horse History - June 21st Through June 28th

June 21, 1998 - Tulip, the Morab gelding who holds the title of endurance riding's most enduring equine, was born. Tulip is the first horse recorded by the American Endurance Ride Conference to ever travel more than 20,000 miles in endurance competition. He is owned by Dr. Les Carr of Somerset, California. Carr and Tulip cover around 1,000 miles in competitions per year, although in 2006 the pair covered 1,970 miles. During their careers, Carr and Tulip have covered more than 20,805 miles in competition.

Information and photo courtesy of THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF HORSES

June 24th, 1979 - Thoroughbred racehorse Affirmed became the first horse to earn $2 million when he won the Hollywood Gold Cup. His jockey for the race was Laffit Pincay Junior. Affirmed won the race while carrying the very heavy weight of 132 pounds. He would retire as the richest horse in history at the time with a total career earning of $2,393,818.

Information and photo courtesy of Triple Crown Winner Affirmed Euthanized

June 25th, 1876 – Comanche, the horse of Captain Myles Keough, is sole survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn. During the battle between Custer's US 7th Cavalry and the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne, 210 men were killed. Comanche was shot seven times, yet was found alive. Comanche was retired in April of 1878 and lived until 1890. He was given a funeral with full military honors, though his body was displayed at the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas. Although Comanche was declared to have been the only survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn, numerous historians believe that other horses may have survived and were captured.

Information and photo courtesy of COMANCHE, SURVIVOR OF THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN