Blog Post

This Maverick Is Not The Top Gun

May 01, 2023
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    Maverick and Roxie enjoy some pasture time.

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    Maverick frolics in the field just after arriving at Anna’s farm.

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    Maverick sports his tack and a beautifully braided forelock as he’s quickly learning to ride.

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    Maverick and his new best friend Roxie relaxing together.

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Recently adopted pacer Hello Mr P is now known as Maverick at his new home, but unlike his namesake from the famous movie franchise, he’s not the top gun. No, that title belongs to his new best friend, Roxie, who Maverick outweighs by several hundred pounds as Roxie is a miniature horse.


Anna-Mari Muller now owns both horses. The long-time equestrienne adopted Roxie in 2018. “She’s a spoiled pet and companion who loves attention and scratches but due to her rough past we don’t do cart driving,” explained Anna who has been riding most of her life primarily in eventing and jumper. She also competed nationally in pony club PPG and dabbled in barrel racing, western pleasure and trail riding.


Anna recently started fostering horses for the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society which she was familiar with thanks to her friendship with Emma Christoforou whose mother, Joanne Colville, has helmed the agency for more than 15 years. Anna’s first foster horse for OSAS was Solid Queen who found her forever home earlier this month after learning how to ride from Anna. 


“Queenie” was still at Anna’s when her next foster horse arrived, Hello Mr P aka Maverick. The five-year-old State Treasurer gelding was just two months away from the racetrack where he faced the gate a total of 55 times, winning just over $55,000. His life mark of 1:54f came at Pompano Park as a three-year-old.


When Maverick first arrived, he was put in the paddock beside the one which housed Roxie and Solid Queen to give him a slow introduction. Anna knew the latter mare was going to be leaving soon so: “I kept Maverick and Roxie within sight of each other while I still had Queenie. When Queenie went to her new home I introduced Roxie and Maverick in the same paddock. Roxie asserted her dominance with a few mini mare squeals and then they immediately hit it off as best friends,” she explained.


“The following day they were grooming each other, napping together, happily sharing hay and playing together. They are pastured together outside 24/7 but if the weather is bad they come inside and have facing stalls to keep each other company.”


Like his namesake, Maverick is very handsome and he attracted a lot of attention when Anna posted photos of him on the OSAS Facebook page especially the picture of him with his unlikely new best friend. In that photo Maverick is laying on the ground and Roxie is standing and they look close to the same height.


It wasn’t long after Maverick arrived at her farm that Anna began teaching him the fundamentals of his second career and she quickly made the decision to adopt him herself for a number of reasons including his instant friendship with Roxie. 


“He has a very sweet, docile personality with sharp, handsome looks. He’d only been ridden once before and I have already ridden him on my trails and around my property and he was very well behaved,” said Anna who is aspiring to become a fire fighter. “I am fully trained with all of my qualifications and currently do patient transfer.”


OSAS warmly welcomes Anna and her assorted equines into its foster farm family. Established in 1996, OSAS is the official adoption agency for Standardbred horses in Ontario. One of OSAS’s mandates is to promote the versatility of the breed and their easy going nature which the relationship between Maverick and Roxie certainly exemplifies.


Photos – courtesy of Anna-Mari Muller


Video: The love between Maverick and Roxie is evident in this sweet clip.


27 Mar, 2024
OSAS has been very generously gifted a pair of Toronto Maple Leaf tickets which you have the chance to win by purchasing a raffle ticket. Tickets are $10 each and may be purchased in person through Joanne Colville or Emma Christoforou and paid before the draw via e-transfer, cash, or credit card or email, call or text Joanne at osashorses@gmail.com or 905-339-6748. The game is on Saturday, April 13 at the Scotiabank arena. The Leafs are facing the Detroit Red Wings. The seats are in section 115, row 26, seats 13 & 14 and have a face value of $660. The draw for the winner of the tickets will take place on Facebook Live on Sunday, April 7. Special thanks to Renata and Dave Lumsden for the generous donation.
07 Mar, 2024
March 15th is the final day to place your order for our fundraiser featuring the delicious fudges and spice mixes from Phil's Fudge Factory. The flavours available are as follows: Chocolate Chocolate Coconut Chocolate Pecan Chocolate Mint Swirl Cinnamon Bun Cookie Monster Lemon Cheesecake Canadian Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Explosion Rolo Sour Cherry Tiger Eye For more information on the fudge, please click here to view their Spring Fudge catalogue. In addition to fudge, Phil’s is also offering an assortment of Spice Mixes, these include: Bacon & Chives Baked Crab Bake Spinach Bruschetta Buffalo Ranch Cajun Wildfire Chipotle Bacon Country Ranch Creamy Jalapeno Curried Garlic Dill Delight Everything Bagel Guacamole Herb & Garlic Honey Mustard Horseradish Bacon Island Jerk Mexican Fiesta Roasted Potato Spicy Veggie Spinach Supreme Tiramisu Tomato Basil Traditional Onion Additional information on the spice mixes may be viewed here . The spice mixtures are $5/per while the blocks of fudge are $13 each. We ask that payment accompany your order. Etransfers may be sent to: osashorses@gmail.com . Orders may also be paid in cash to Emma Christoforou at Flamboro or Mohawk. Any questions, please call or text Joanne at 905-339-6748.
13 Feb, 2024
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s 2024 stallion auction concluded on Saturday, February 10, at noon. We sincerely thank each and every stallion owner and farm who donated a breeding to support the official adoption agency for retired Standardbreds in the province. We’d also like to thank everyone who took the time to make bids on these 15 popular Ontario stallions. The results of this year’s auction are as follows:
05 Feb, 2024
A reminder that the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s annual stallion auction starts at noon today (Monday, February 5) and includes breedings to stallions whose books have already closed as well as many other popular Ontario studs. One of OSAS’s mainstay fundraisers every year, the 2024 edition will close on February 10 at noon. This year’s auction is hosted by Easy Auction. To be eligible to bid, please register through the link here. Please note that if a bid is placed in the last 60 seconds of the auction, that stallion’s availability will be extended another 120 seconds, or until all bidding ceases. Bids must be made in increments of $100. If you have placed a bid Easy Auction will notify you by email if a higher bid has been placed. The successful bidders will be notified, also by email, when the auction closes. A $100 non-refundable deposit is required from every successful bidder. The winning bid, minus the deposit, is due to OSAS upon the birth of the 2025 foal. The full listing of sires available is as follows: Alarm Detector All Bets Off Archangel Betterthancheddar Betting Line Big Jim Cattlewash (book full & closed) Century Farroh Control The Moment King Of The North (book full & closed) Lookslikeachpndale McWicked My MVP Sportswriter Sunshine Beach If you have any questions, please reach out to Joanne Colville at osashorses@gmail.com or call or text 905-339-6748. Our gratitude to all who contribute to the stallion auction’s success year after year. The official adoption agency for Standardbreds in the province, OSAS is approaching our 30 th year of spreading the message of the versatility of our breed and finding pacers and trotters forever loving homes upon their retirement. Photos – Control The Moment (courtesy Tara Hills Stud), My MVP (courtesy Winbak Farm)
22 Jan, 2024
The upcoming Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s annual stallion will provide breeders the opportunity to obtain breedings to stallions whose books have already closed for this year as well as many other popular Ontario stallions. The auction will begin on February 5 at noon and close on February 10 also at noon. This year’s auction is being hosted by Easy Auction. To register and to bid please click here. The full listing of sires available is as follows: Alarm Detector All Bets Off Archangel Betterthancheddar Betting Line Big Jim Cattlewash (book full & closed) Century Farroh Control The Moment King Of The North (book full & closed) Lookslikeachpndale McWicked My MVP Sportswriter Sunshine Beach OSAS wishes to thank all of the stallion owners for their generosity again this year and to all of the bidders who make this one of our most productive fundraisers year after year. Additional stallion breedings will be accepted up until date of auction. To donate or if you have any questions, please reach out to Joanne Colville at osashorses@gmail.com or call or text 905-339-6748. The official adoption agency for Standardbreds in the province, OSAS is approaching our 30 th year of spreading the message of the versatility of our breed and finding retired pacers and trotters forever loving homes upon their retirement.
09 Jan, 2024
OSAS’s annual stallion auction, an anchor of our fundraising efforts every year, will kick off on February 5 th and run through to February 10, 2024. We are grateful for the breedings already pledged; the full list of names will be announced shortly. Anyone wishing to donate a breeding, or with questions regarding the auction, should reach out to osashorses@gmail.com or call or text 905-339-6748. We’re pleased to announce that this year’s auction will be hosted by Easy Auction. Terms and conditions remain as in previous years.
18 Dec, 2023
We are very pleased to use a beautiful photo of Tymal Tempo to spread our Christmas message this season. Now known as Teddy, the five-year-old gelding was recently adopted by Marie-Eve Drouin who graciously allowed OSAS to use her photo for our 2023 holiday image. Teddy is Marie-Eve’s first Standardbred and she is thrilled with him. “I love him to pieces, he is the sweetest and most gentle horse I know,” praised Marie-Eve who began riding when she was seven and living in France. Teddy is currently in training. “I ride him Western and English, he is versatile and his strides are beautiful. I wish to show him eventually. He’s amazing in the ‘in the flat’ classes,” she noted. Bred by Tymal Farms, the son of Kadabra was raced by Julie Walker and earned just over $23,000 in his career which saw him face the gate 18 times. His last start was in April of 2022. A full brother to Haveoneforme ($361,784) and Tymal Riggs ($191,000), Teddy hails from a family of trotting royalty. His second, third and fourth dams are all O’Brien Award winners in Filly At Bigs (2002 - 2tf), Mombasa (1996 – 3tf) and Mygal Haw Lea (1996 – Broodmare of the year). This past year has been a busy one for the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society with many horses like Teddy finding their forever homes. We wish all of our supporters a joyous holiday season and extend special thanks to our fantastic foster farms, wonderful volunteers and extremely supportive board. Peace and Joy to all and sincere wishes for a healthy and happy 2024.
12 Dec, 2023
A live draw was held Monday (December 11) evening to announce the winning bidders of the 2023 Santa’s Second Chance Raffle which featured 21 baskets packed with incredible gifts including tickets to the Toronto Maple Leafs and a full harness. The proceeds of this popular event go to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society which facilitates the retraining and rehoming of retired Standardbreds. The results are as follows. Basket Winner Basket 1 – Makes Scents To Me Adele Rossi Basket 2 – For Her Judy Graham Basket 3 – Lucky Lotto Crystal Legace Basket 4 – Dog Lovers Sue Brooks Basket 5 – Chocolate Lovers Shayne Simms Basket 6 – Game Night Robin MacKay Basket 7 – Show Stopper Jenna McNiven Basket 8 – Movie Night Don Pearson Basket 9 – Girls Night Monique MacLean Basket 10 – Equestrian Lovers Brian Laking Basket 11 – Self Care Linda Feth Basket 12 – Preserves Monique MacLean Basket 13 – Hockey Night Blake MacIntosh Basket 14 – On The Go Cathy Walsh Basket 15 – Little Italy Monique MacLean Basket 16 – Harness Racing Kim Marks Basket 17 – Date Night Monica Goss Basket 18 – Spreads, etc. Norah Parks Basket 19 – Bakers’ Basket Monique MacLean Basket 20 – Equine Care Kim Marks Basket 21 – OSAS Swag Fran Brethour Our sincere appreciation to everyone who took the time to purchase tickets and also to those who donated items to be raffled and congratulations to the successful purchasers. We will be in touch to get your basket items to you. A huge thank you to Emma Christoforou for organizing this wonderful fundraiser with assistance from Jean Posthuma and Joanne Colville. Emma’s goal for this year’s event was $7,500 which she far surpassed as the raffle raised in excess of $8,300. Note – full descriptions of all of the items in each basket can be accessed here.
04 Dec, 2023
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is pleased to announce the return of the very popular Santa’s Second Chance Raffles, the proceeds of which go to support the retraining and rehoming of retired Standardbreds. The raffle features a total of 21 gift baskets full of a wide variety of items (including Leaf tickets and a full harness) sure to please even the toughest person to buy for on your list. The tickets are either $2 or $5 depending on the value. You may buy as many tickets as you like and place them in the basket(s) of your choice. Tickets are available for purchase up until midnight December 10, 2023. To pay for the tickets, please send an etransfer to: santassecondchanceraffles@gmail.com and include how many tickets you want to buy and which basket(s) you wish to place them towards – each basket is numbered – in the memo. Please provide your first and last name, as well as your phone number on the ticket if you are not part of the Facebook page which is where all of the available baskets may be viewed. ( Santa’s Second Chance Raffles on Facebook). If you are unable to pick your basket up and would like it shipped, that will be at your expense. There will be a live stream video via Facebook of the draws on Monday, December 11, 2023, time to be announced, likely early evening. Thanks to everyone who participates and supports OSAS this holiday season and kudus to everyone who contributed towards this year’s incredible offerings.
06 Nov, 2023
OSAS has welcomed nine new Standardbreds over the past few weeks including trotter Dia Monde who earned in excess of $446,000 during his racing life. Trained by Tom Durand throughout his career, the now 10 year-old gelding competed in several top level stakes events and was very competitive in the Ontario Sires Stakes as well. Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, the son of Deweycheatumnhowe was a $70,000 yearling purchase at Harrisburg. He is a half-brother to millionaire Looking Hanover and his second dam is the trotting matriarch B Cor Tamara. Dia Monde will enter training before being available to adopt.
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