Illusionist

[James Rowan]

Diaz 1
Diaz 2
Diaz 3
Diaz 4


Show Name:
Illusionist

Barn Name:
Diaz

Owner:
Jamie Rowan

Age:
6

Gender:
Male (gelding)

Breed:
OTTB

Training:
Western, English, Racing, & Bareback

Color:
Dapple grey

Markings:
Heavily dappled on his legs, neck, chest, shoulders, and hindquarters... dark grey mane and tail

Height:
16.3 hands

Build:
Diaz is rather stocky for an OTTB, looking more like a large, slightly slimmer Quarterhorse than a Thoroughbred. He has an elegant head with medium sized ears set on a long, slightly arched neck. His back is short and his legs are long and clean. His shoulder is a bit straight and Diaz has powerful hindquarters. His hooves are strong and hold shoes very well, though he has a tendency to over-reach and sometimes pulls shoes.

Personality:
Diaz is a one-person horse. Even before he and his owner met, the grey never tried his hardest for any of his riders and trainers, something that frustrated them to no end. He won’t be the first horse to run up to the fence when he sees a stranger, but he’s not the last straggler either. If Jamie’s at the fence, the grey is usually the first horse there and will then try his best to keep other horses away while not moving from his place. The bond that Diaz and Jamie share is amazing, but Diaz can still be a temperamental thing.

Diaz loves to run and absolutely hates being cooped up in a stall. He’s got a habit of banging on the stall door when he’s bored or wants out (which is usually anytime he has to be in a stall). He hates people nitpicking at him over the stall door and will quickly become agitated when people do that to him. Diaz loves his Jolly Ball and will play with it for hours out in the fiend. The grey also loves water. He’s energetic and always seems to have a lot of it and he’s a sweet horse once you get past his ‘stand-offish’ personality around strangers.

He does buck on occasion and he’s been retrained in English and Western as well as trick-trained thanks to Jamie’s only uncle on his dads’ side (Colton Rowan; who retrained Diaz after his injuries healed). Diaz knows how to rear, buck, lay down, bow, shake ‘hands’, nod ‘yes’ and ‘no’, sit, and give ‘kisses’ on command. Also thanks to Jamie’s uncle, Diaz is calm enough for a person to shoot a gun off his back and can be hunted off of.

Due to a summer and a year of living in Mexico at Jamie’s grandparents cattle ranch (grandparents on his mothers side), Diaz has plenty of experience in herding cattle, roping, and things such as that.

Other Info:
Diaz was retired from racing as a three year old due to an off-track injury with a hot-walker and an electric fence that left his right hind leg in a bloody mess with severed muscles and ligaments down to the bone. The on hand vet said he’d probably never ride soundly again, but Diaz bounced back amazingly and is just as agile, sound, and ridable as any other horse today. His right hind leg is scarred up, but due to his dapples, the scars aren’t easily visible. Diaz does get a little stiff sometimes during the winter months and may need a longer time to warm up, but otherwise he’s just fine. Diaz has raw power and his powerful hindquarters can really give him a boost when running. He’s extremely fast and, if not for his injury, would have been a winner in the racing circuit.