what’s in a name?

Kat wrote earlier this week about all the various names and registries for her sweet Butterball, and I’m shamelessly stealing the idea too — because as we all know, names and nicknames can be steeped in memories, lore, and love. And who doesn’t love getting into all that?

Mondeuse on the backside, circa May 2023

Doozy is registered with the Jockey Club as Mondeuse, a New York born Big Brown filly out of Toga Tiger (Hold That Tiger). There’s nothing obvious in her pedigree to say where that name came from, other than it’s actually a French red wine grape from the Savoy region. Perhaps they looked at her rich deep color with no chrome, and felt it fit?

my Pépé, also circa May 2023

Regardless, I’m notoriously not fantastic at choosing names for animals, so it’s generally my preference to stick with what they got. Especially with thoroughbreds, for whom so much of their lives is searchable via the various internet databases etc. 

And anyway, I happen to like the name Mondeuse and its link to French heritage. My grandmother was French, and the whole family lived abroad while my mom was growing up. So it was actually quite a fun little exercise to browse the Mondeuse wikipedia page with my oenophile grandfather looking for nickname ideas.

one of our earliest rides in the outdoor dressage court

Somewhat shockingly, there was nothing super obvious jumping out about the wine grape itself — neither a descriptor or alternate name or appellation or region or anything — that seemed to lend itself as a suitable nickname for this precious mare. 

But meanwhile, my grandfather proved quite useful in helping me with the correct pronunciation of Mondeuse: said like Mun-Duzz. Which… would not have been my first instinct, as a non French speaker… and is absolutely not what usually comes out from announcers either. Most common is something like ‘Mon-Dooze,’ although every now and again someone will try to be fancy with “Mon-Doo.”

lots of hacking out in the first month together!

Naturally, you can see how ‘Doozy’ then comes from all that (Duzzy doesn’t quite have the same je ne sais quoi!). ‘Monde,’ as she was called at the adoption facility, sounded a little too pedestrian imho despite its high society translations.

Which then gets into the litany of various nicknames… Most common among them being Mamacita or Señorita (I’ve been credibly informed that she does, in fact, speak Spanish!). Tho sometimes it’ll be “My-Dooz,” obvi. And naturally, Princess, Ms Thing, Ma’am, or MARE! when I really mean it LOL. 

looking formidable in one of our earliest off farm adventures!

It was perhaps a questionably bold call to name this fiery little critter “Doozy,” what with all the associated connotations etc… Google AI informs me that:

A "doozy" (or doozie) refers to something extraordinary, outstanding, or unique of its kind, often used to describe something very large, severe, or impressive. The term frequently denotes something "a real doozy" (e.g., a massive storm or a significant mistake). Synonyms include stunner, beaut, knockout, or corker.

february 2024, already starting to grow into her elegant frame <3

Not sure how “corker” fits into all that LOL but it did seem clear that this very sweet, pretty and highly engaging little lady needed a slightly nicer name for when she’s on her best behavior — thus, she can be, on occasion, a sweet little Biscuit <3

Tho lol… There’s also the name bestowed on her by the resident barn kiddos: “Troll,” because you have to pay the toll to cross the bridge pass by the mare in the crossties. Consider yourself warned!