48 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
the feld.
Maluso in action is quite a
fascinating sight - his mane
streams down nearly to his
knees and he embodies the
grace and power expected of
a knight’s steed. But Maluso,
for all his big personality, is
only 14.2 hands! Of course,
he looks much bigger from the
stadium, where he has become
something of a local legend.
“Everyone knows who he is,”
says Catherine. “Of course,
they know him as Pegasus.”
Of graduating, Catherine
says, “I miss him a lot. When
I got to school freshman year,
the frst thing I did was fnd out
about the mascot program. I
told myself ‘I’m going to try out
and I’m going to be the knight’.”
And the rest, as they say, is
history.
Maluso will continue to “play”
Pegasus at the University
of Central Florida until his
retirement, at which point the
World Famous Lippizzaners
will take him back and send
in his replacement. But,
Catherine says, “The fans will
know.” Until then, Maluso will
continue to be the Big Man on
Campus, garnering attention
- and peppermints - from
his adoring fans at tailgating
parties, football games and
other school events.
Do you know of a horse
with an interesting career
that deserves a place as a
Sidelines Sidekick? Email us at
editor@sidelinesnews.com for
a chance to have your equine
companion featured here.
By Abby Westmark
Most colleges don’t give
you a chance to meet a
knight in shining armor while
you get your education, but
University of Central Florida
(UCF) decided they couldn’t
let nearby Disney World make
everyone’s dreams come true
alone. Enter Maluso II, a 22
year old Andalusian stallion
that takes to the football feld
before each game as Pegasus,
the UCF Knight’s mount.
Maluso, former star of the
World Famous Lipizzaner
Stallions, has just begun his
fourth season as Pegasus by
kicking off UCF’s frst football
game of the 2012-2013 school
year. Sidelines spoke to one
of UCF’s former knight riders,
2011 graduate Catherine Anne
Cassidy.
“Nobody knows
the
knight is female,” laughed
Catherine. “We get the knight
on immediately once they’re
dressed - they have to take on
the persona.” Catherine was a
knight during all four years of
her time at UCF, as well as the
school’s “mascot coordinator.”
Maluso, she says, “is a
total ham. I think he doesn’t
know he’s a horse - he thinks
he’s a person, a celebrity.” Of
course, that isn’t too far off the
mark - during his time with
the World Famous Lipizzaners
he toured all over the world
and even appeared on “The
Martha Stewart Show” where
he performed and was ridden
by the show’s namesake
host herself! Maluso is fully
profcient
in upper-level
dressage and for UFC’s
halftime shows he piaffes,
passages and caprioles across
e
Celebrating A Different Kind of Horsepower
Maluso II: Big Horse on Campus
Maluso, known as Pegasus, on
the football feld.
Photo by Catherine Anne Cassidy