William Shatner, a.k.a Captain Kirk from Star Trek is well renowned for his acting career. Shatner has appeared in numerous TV series and movies and is world-renowned for his acting skills. However, there is a lesser-known fact about the 92-year-old. The Canadian actor is an avid equestrian, and he absolutely loves horses.

As an equestrian, Shatner has bred, ridden, owned, and shown numerous horses. He has been an earnest participant in the Saddlebred and Quarter horse industries. For Shatner, horses are more than a mere hobby. He describes them as a reprieve from the difficulties of life and happiness like none other. Not only does he adore horses, but he is also a master at riding them as well

William Shatner is an abundant horse lover

William Shatner has shown in saddle seat, western, and driving disciplines when it comes to Saddlebred. According to Horsey Hooves, Shatner is also a World Champion. He has won Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show in fine harness and roadster to bike divisions. In 2019, he won the Amateur Roadster to Bike Championship with his road horse called Track Star.

His expertise is not only limited to Saddlebred horses. He has also achieved success in showing Quarter horses. After riding Saddlebreds for many years, he had a newfound interest in reigning. His reigning prowess also earned him the 2018 NRHA (National Reining Horse Association) Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award. His impact on the horse-showing industry has been profound. A separate category has been created in horse showing, called the addle & Bridle ASB Shatner Western Pleasure Finals. These finals are held at St. Louis National Charity Horse Show in St. Louis, Missouri. Saddlebreds compete from all across the country to show in the finals, and the winner gets the William Shatner Perpetual Trophy.

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Shatner has been extremely vocal about his love of horses. According to him, “I have been to truly sacred and highly spiritual places. I’ve been in sweat lodges, I’ve been in smoke ceremonies where a shaman drifts smoke over you, I’ve been at the confluence of several mountains near Mount Everest where there was a great Buddhist temple. For most people — perhaps all? — wherever they love to be, that place is a cathedral to them … For me, it’s a stable.” He has also authored a book about his love for horses.

Shatner worships the tall four-legged beauties

William Shatner’s passion for horses prompted him to pen a book named Spirit of the Horse: A Celebration in Fact and Fable which was published in 2017. In his book, he writes that the relationship between man and horse is one of “power, courage, mindfulness, and healing that they can inspire in us.” Shatner is so enamored with horses that his favorite episode of Star Trek, “Shore Love”, had a horse as well.

What is ironic is the fact that Shatner got his first horse in an accident. While at a Quarter bid, Shatner was making a gesture of refusal when a boy said, “that’s the horse you should buy.” His gesture of saying ‘no’ was understood to be an acceptance by the auctioneer.

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