Glorious Alliance: An OTTB Who Tweets

Glorious Alliance and Karen Graninger in Glory's second career as a show jumper. (Photos courtesy of Karen Graninger)
For most off-the-track Thoroughbreds, third careers usually come in the form of being retired to a pasture where their only job is to eat grass. But Glorious Alliance isn’t your typical Thoroughbred.
“Glory” started off her life like most Thoroughbreds, making 12 starts during her racing career with her only win coming at Golden Gate on May 26, 1995 as a 3-year-old. Later that year, she was retired from the track with a tendon injury but her journey was just beginning.
It took Glory and her current owner Karen Graninger some time to find each other with Graninger spotting the then-12-year-old mare at a California ranch where she was a lesson horse. Two years later, the pair started a successful show jumping partnership, showing in some of the toughest shows around.
“Glory was age 12, in between owners and unsuccessfully trying a career as a school horse. I came to the ranch looking for a horse. I saw her, saw the intelligence in her eyes, then leased and finally bought her,” Graninger said. “I began showing her at the HITS Indio Desert Circuit in 2005, when she was 14. At age 20, she was 10th out of more than 50 competitors in the $1000 Children’s/Adult Jumper Classic at the HITS Thermal Desert Circuit 2012 with me. It's hard beating the kids ... They're fast. She’s also shown dressage successfully at training level.”
While her second career brought her ribbons and a far amount of attention, she finally found her true calling a few years ago in her third career.
Described as highly intelligent, inquisitive and sweetly devious, Glorious Alliance’s temperament sets up perfectly for a Twitter account. And with over 2,500 followers between her two Twitter accounts, it seems that her fans agree.
“Glory has an acute ‘horse-onality’ and intelligence which lends itself to brilliant achievements, uproarious mishaps and meaningful moments up and down the scale of importance. Mostly, she makes humans smile. She wanted a Twitter account to share her life with creatures from all over the world. Like I could say no to her?” Graninger said.
GLORY BREAKING HER MAIDEN

Most days, Glory (and Graninger) engage in conversations with their followers while also sharing stories about her day, life lessons, and even sharing some photos from her show jumping days. The popularity that came with her first account, @GloriousAlliance, has been a pleasant surprise and even helped during a hard time last winter.
“We did not [expect the popularity], but both she and I are so happy that it has. Glory and I value her followers beyond belief. It is because of them that her voice carries farther than it ever could if she were just in her pasture. We also believe that her followers' prayers and well wishes helped bring her through her devastating colic last winter. The energy was there. No doubt about it,” Graninger said.
The opinions of her followers have also helped shape that account into something that has a little bit of everything for everyone, from red carpet chats during awards season to advice about what equine products to use.
“Mostly we found a meeting of the minds with followers when it came to her horse related topics. We hope we offer a fresh voice, original content, a positive attitude and a willingness to share the information we've learned as we explore different ideas, exercises, theories and products throughout the horse world and beyond,” Graninger said.
But even while tailoring the account toward what her followers want to read, the mare’s personality still shines through. Glory often talks about giving Graninger a hard time, which doesn’t only happen on social media.
GLORY AND GRANINGER

If Graninger is at the barn and eating anywhere near Glory, she has to show Glory what she is eating and let her smell it or the mare is prone to throw a temper tantrum. That’s just one of many food quirks the mare has as she often changes what treats she’ll eat and where she’ll eat them and she refuses to let her alfalfa and grass hay to touch each other.
“[She] picks and chooses what treats to have and where she'll eat them,” said Graninger. “[The current] treat update is she only eats Nickerdoodles near her stall, only carrots in the pasture, and peppermints wherever, but that changes every few days. She also does not like her alfalfa and hay to touch each other on the ground. She noses them away from each other.”
But on social media, the mare does have a softer side in addition to her tough exterior.
Graninger has found that people open up more to the mare than they would to other people on social media and that has led to the creation of The Pasture Bar, a website and Twitter account where more serious advice is given and people can talk late at night.
“Due to her bottom line, at times brash and opinionated horse-onality, some of her followers started spontaneously [direct messaging] her with their issues, horse related and otherwise, asking what she would do. After telling them she's no psychiatrist, just a horse, she got more inquiries. Humans open up to her like they won't to other humans,” said Graninger about the creation of The Pasture Bar.
The Pasture Bar also led to Graninger writing a book called “Bedtime Stories From The Pasture” that gives backstories to the other creatures Glorious Alliance talks about on her Twitter in addition to sharing some of her musings and advice.
While Glorious Alliance may be the best equine “psychiatrist” on Twitter and her tweets make her seem like an outgoing mare, Graninger said that something that may surprise people is that the mare can actually be shy when meeting new people. However, Graninger and Glory still are open to their Twitter friends visiting, something that always delights Graninger.
“She sometimes becomes so shy meeting a new human or horse that she'll hide her head under my fleece or shirt and nicker softly,” she said. “[Having people come meet Glory is] the stuff of dreams. Glory has changed my life and when others visit her, I know she's changed their lives too. I can see it in their faces, especially when they see her for the first time.”
GLORY IN THE PASTURE

Her time with Glory has reinforced Graninger’s love of a Thoroughbred and she would recommend the breed for anyone looking to show horses.
“If you're interested in showing competitively … Thoroughbreds, generally speaking, are more sensitive, faster and intelligent, which enables you to learn to ride correctly at lower jump heights,” she said. “That doesn't mean a Thoroughbred can't be used as a casual companion or pleasure horse, but in general, that's not what they're best at.”
If there is only one thing Graninger could have people take away from their interactions with Glory other than a love of Thoroughbreds, it is a lesson she has learned from the mare during their years together.
“Every horse is a unique individual and should never be treated as stock,” she said. “Each and every one of them needs both mental and physical care that's adapted to their unique needs, so they can perform the best at whatever discipline horse and human decide to pursue. That's when the magic happens. She's taught that to me.”
While Glorious Alliance has had success in every career path she’s taken, her job as an ambassador for off-the-track Thoroughbreds on social media may be the most important career she’s ever had.