{"id":64053,"date":"2015-02-03T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2015-02-03T14:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=64053"},"modified":"2019-03-31T10:18:12","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T14:18:12","slug":"pegasus-ucf-knight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/pegasus-ucf-knight\/","title":{"rendered":"Pegasus and the UCF Knight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tradition is in full force on game days at Bright House Networks Stadium. The UCF Marching Knights enter the stadium, followed by the cheerleaders, who lead fans through the War Chant. But, before the team arrives and the crowd starts jumping to \u201cZombie Nation,\u201d there\u2019s one more tradition to cheer, as Pegasus and the UCF Knight charge onto the field, rearing as Knightro draws the sword from the ground. While you may have seen this choreographed entrance many times, you may not know how this particular tradition got started, or where our Pegasus comes from.<\/p>\n

The university has had a variety of Pegasus mascots over the years, including horses donated by Burt Reynolds in the \u201980s, and Rick Walsh, \u201970, retired Darden executive and UCF Trustee, in the \u201990s.<\/p>\n

In 2001, the UCF Alma Mater Society, comprised of the university\u2019s Distinguished Alumnus Award winners, established the official mascot program, after presenting a proposal to the alumni association, which partnered with Medieval Times and received a donated horse named Centauro. That same year, the Equestrian Club at UCF and the Pegasus Mascot Team were established.<\/p>\n

The \u201cWorld Famous\u201d Lipizzaner Stallions also donated horses to the program, until last year, when the UCF Alumni Association formed a relationship with Arabian Nights and Al-Marah Arabian Horses in Clermont, Fla.<\/p>\n

The university\u2019s current \u201cPegasus\u201d is a 24-year-old Gray Arabian gelding, also known as Clemmy\u00a0in the stables, who joined the mascot team in August 2013. His job in the former Arabian Nights dinner show was to rear off the bad guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe light work load he does for UCF and our lesson program keeps him in shape and his mind active,\u201d says Zach Becker, breeding manager for Al-Marah Arabians.<\/p>\n

Arabian horses, named after the peninsula, are the oldest breed in the world, known for their small, refined, dished faces, Becker explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, they came from the desert, [which is how they got] their compact bodies and great stamina,\u201d he continues. \u201cThey have a great temperament and willingness to please, as they slept in the tents with their riders when sandstorms arose in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Clemmy, UCF also uses a 14-year-old Gray Arabian gelding named Kizmet for parades and other event photo ops.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to Arabian Nights, our horses are used to large numbers of people, as well as lights and music,\u201d Becker says. \u201cAlso, any new up-and-coming horses ride with us to the game and just hang out at the trailer for the day to get used to the sights and sounds of UCF. The more things we can acclimate them to, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The horses aren\u2019t the only ones who are trained, however.<\/p>\n

Carla Cordoba, \u201994, associate director of constituent programs at the UCF Alumni Association, has been the advisor for the Pegasus Mascot Team since its inception. During that time, she\u2019s overseen five horses and about 15 Knights.<\/p>\n

Knights have to go through an audition process, which includes an in-person interview, as well as a riding evaluation, with current mascot team members, Cordoba and Becker, to see what their riding capabilities are, and to make sure they get along with the horses. Becker then works with those chosen on how to cue and ride each movement, teaching them how to speak the language Al-Marah\u2019s horses will understand.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow Pegasus and the UCF Knight on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Find out more about the Equestrian Club at UCF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

DID YOU KNOW\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

  • Knightro is the athletics mascot and takes on a character persona, while Pegasus and the UCF Knight are a university mascot, although they both appear at athletic events.<\/li>\n
  • In addition to the other criteria required to be a Knight, each rider must also be able to fit into the small costume.<\/li>\n
  • All Knight rider candidates must squire for at least one year before applying. A squire\u2019s main duties including grooming Pegasus, getting him and the Knight into their costumes, interacting with fans, and escorting Pegasus and the UCF Knight onto the field.<\/li>\n

    SUPPORT THE PEGASUS MASCOT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Want to be a part of UCF\u2019s history and traditions by helping to keep the Pegasus Mascot Program alive? Contact Carla Cordoba at carla.cordoba@ucf.edu<\/a> or 407.823.3453 for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The history of UCF’s live mascot program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":64058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1810,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-64053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","tag-football","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\nPegasus and the UCF Knight | University of Central Florida News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The history of UCF's live mascot program\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/pegasus-ucf-knight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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