​​Registered Name: Elle Tempo

Born in Florida on February 3, 2006

Sired by Eltish Out of Uhavethebeat by Unbridled

Though Elle found sanctuary at Unbridled, she was never sponsored.

No breeder.
No former owner.
No one from her past stepped forward to secure her golden years.

She had given her body, her youth, her labor. Like so many purposefully bred Thoroughbreds, when she could no longer produce or perform, she was left without provision.

For seven years, the community who gives to Unbridled became her lifeline. Together, you provided more than $100,000 in care — feed, veterinary treatment, farrier services, shelter, and daily guardianship. A responsibility that ethically belonged to those who bred, bought, raced, and profited from her, yet ultimately fell to us.

There is no ethical engagement with horses — especially those intentionally brought into the world — without a lifelong plan for their protection. Breeders and every subsequent owner share that obligation. Anything less is abandonment delayed.

That a mare as luminous as Elle was never secured in her later years is precisely why Unbridled exists: to correct this failure of stewardship in the world for horses.

Elle was not forgotten here. She was seen, protected, and honored to her final breath.

If her life and legacy move you, please consider making a memorial gift in her honor. Let her story continue shaping a more accountable and humane future for the horses who come after her.

— Susan Kayne
Founder & CEO
Unbridled Sanctuary

Elle’s earliest memories can be likened to those of Black Beauty from his utopian youth; "The first place that I can well remember was a large, pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it. Some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water lilies grew at the deep end. Over the hedge on one side we looked into a plowed field, and on the other we looked over a gate at our master's house …”.

In 2006, when Elle’s dam, Uhavethebeat, birthed her into this world, she arrived atop a bed of golden straw at the iconic Live Oak Stud in Ocala, Florida. Imbued with beauty and elegance, the newborn black filly stepped into her life outside of the womb with confidence and grace. A home-bred of Charlotte Weber, she was born into one of the most elite racing dynasties in America.  

In 1998, Weber purchased Uhavethebeat for $300,000. Eltish, Elle's sire, earned $704,186. Her maternal grandsire, Unbridled, won both the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup in 1990. He retired at four with earnings of $4,489,475.

Elle raced 13 times in the colors of Denholtz Stable. Her lone victory came at the age of three under trainer Hamilton Smith. At the age of four, Elle was retired to Leighton Sport Horses to be trained for a ‘second career’. Elegant and graceful, Elle excelled in the art of dressage. Leighton promoted Elle on YouTube and she was adopted for $3,500.

Eight years later, when we discovered Elle, she was frightened and perplexed and in the slaughter pipeline. We do not know what precipitated her relegation to being deemed unsupportable. On the horse meat broker's lot she was accompanied by Grand Fashion, an elderly gelding who had also been trained by Smith. 

When Unbridled began fundraising to save Elle, our faithful community of supporters rallied the funds to rescue Elle and her feedlot friend Grand Fashion. A few months post rescue, Grand Fashion was adopted as a companion, and Elle was rehomed to ride with a family in Massachusetts. Under tack, unsoundness plagued Elle.

In August 2019, Elle returned to the pastures of Unbridled to live in the peace and plentitude of Sanctuary. As Elle settled into her unbridled life she became a favorite horse in our literacy program Read To The Rescues. Spectrum News featured Elle listening to stories on primetime.​

Elle Tempo is Spanish. It translates to SHE TIME in English -- something Elle will have in abundance for the rest of her days at Unbridle

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