Lexington, Ky. - There were a lot of activities occurring outside the competition ring during the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™. One area that saw a lot of traffic was the Defender Kids Drive, which featured not only miniature Defenders for kids to drive, but for a few hours on Friday and Saturday, a miniature horse!  

Pixie, a 13-year-old American Miniature Horse mare, usually lives at the Breeds Barn at the Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) but has a history of interacting with people young and old at events around the region. 

Overall, Pixie received a positive response from event visitors. 

“It’s been great. This is my first time bringing all my kids, so it’s exciting,” said Julia Kilver. “They love seeing the horses.” 

“I liked petting (Pixie),” said 5-year-old Junia Kilver.  

Her sister, 7-year-old Amelia Kilver, added, “She’s cute, and her hair is really soft.” 

Five fun facts about Pixie: 

1. Pixie was originally a therapy horse. 

“Pixie came to the Kentucky Horse Park in October of 2023, and before she came here, she was owned by Rockin R Farms in Jeffersonville, Ky., where they used Pixie for equine therapy,” said Angel Antonaccio, the Kentucky Horse Park’s education director. “They would bring her to nursing homes. They would bring her to schools. She would literally do whatever they asked of her. She can put on little performances and even do obstacles.” 

Since coming to the KHP, Pixie still does therapy work and now attends Kentucky Horse Park events.  

“She will do the Breeds Barn show on occasion and show off the breed of American Miniature Horse, and then love on people,” Antonaccio said. “Other than that, that’s pretty much the extent of her career.” 

Antonaccio described Pixie’s personality as “sunshine and rainbows and butterflies.” 

“Pixie just loves getting loved on, getting attention, literally hanging out with whoever. I confidently can hand her a one-year-old and I know she's not going to do anything. She's even had little babies on her back.” 

“She is the sweetest and probably one of the most social ponies we have in the park,” said Liberty Carter, a seasonal employee in the Kentucky Horse Park’s education department. “Like Angel said, you can take her anywhere with anyone and she will be perfect.” 

Lexi Cawood, a 15-year-old event visitor, agreed. 

“(Horses) are very happy, loving animals,” she said. “I love them, they love me.” 

2. Pixie has a form of dwarfism, which gives her minor deformities. 

“You can see it mostly in her head and her hooves and a little bit in her back, but that does not stop her from doing all activities,” Antonaccio said. “She loves running around. She loves walking around the park and meeting new people.” 

3. Pixie sometimes gets “sassy” around larger horses. 

“The only time she gets a little angry is when some of the big draft or mounted police horses come by, and she gets a little like ‘I'm better than you guys,’” Antonaccio explained. 

4. Pixie has a little bit of driving experience.  

What type of carriages can a Miniature Horse drive, you might ask?  

“Very small ones,” stated Antonaccio. “They're very small bicycles, usually two wheels. Pixie has driven a couple times, but she's not the best at it. She ends up getting a little bit more full of herself than she needs to be. She took off with her old owners with the cart. They were on it, and they were driving, and they were trotting along, and then Pixie got a little too excited and did a little hop, jump, and a skip, and off she went. Everybody was fine; they were laughing literally the entire time.” 

5. Sneak Attack! 

Despite her positive demeanor, Pixie has a “sneak attack personality,” according to Carter.  

“She's sweet and spicy. She has fun days where she just wants to hang out and just sit with you and eat some grass, but then other days, she really tells you, ‘Hey, I want to run around today,’” Carter said. “She just has a lot of duality to her personality, but it's always with positivity.” 

“She's the kind of horse that you can take anywhere, and when I mean anywhere, I mean you can literally bring her into your bedroom, and she's perfectly content. She's like, ‘Oh! This is so much fun,’” Antonaccio added. “There’s no mean bone in her body. She's just there having fun.”