What's in a name?

Beam me up Scottie.

Sir Scooby-Doo.

The Good Witch.

Welcome to the world of horses.

That last one isn't a horse's name, at least not at The Event at Rebecca Farm.

But the others are among the four-legged world-class competitors at this week's renowned Eventing competition in Kalispell, which started Thursday and runs through Sunday.

While the riders on top get the most attention most times, below them there are quiet characters doing the leg work, so to speak.

What's their story?

Horses often are remembered by their names, and that's understandable.

At Rebecca Farm this week, there's no shortage of memorable name tags, whether it's a 1,200-pound campaign slogan on hooves (Yes We Can) or a 6-year-old Sonofagun.

Whoa Henry sounds like a feisty competitor, while Tullibards Hawkwind could be confused for a Harry Potter character when in reality it's a world-class Danish Warm Blood.

Even the plainest of names - there's a female thoroughbred named Joe - don't necessarily mean a horse has led an event-less life.

"This is Gelinas. He's a pretty boy," Sandra Donnelly said while patting her bay-colored Canadian Warm Blood, who chomped green grass in the shade of his stall with a braided mane before competing in Thursday's Dressage.

Donnelly travels across the country for Eventing competitions, but Gelinas is new to the whole experience, The Event being only his fourth show.

"He's new to this game," Donnelly said.

While Gelinas doesn't stand out compared to some of his competitors' colorful names - Hollywood Diva, Dipped in Chocolate, Kidnme - there is a story behind the subtle giant's namesake.

In the twilight hours of May 3, 2004, the Calgary Flames hockey team was tied with the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup semifinals when an unassuming star took the puck and scored the game-winning goal in overtime that won the series.

As Donnelly and the rest of Calgary were celebrating the name Martin Gelinas, a Canadian Warm Blood was born. Donnelly couldn't resist that player's name, even though she already had another horse named after a sports figure - Babe Ruth.

"I have my two sports stars," Donnelly said. "I had to laugh at that once when I was looking at their names. How did both my young horses have sports star names?"

Then there are the horses that go the route of some Hollywood stars, using two names - in this case, a barn name and a show name.

Take McCool, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse that wagged his tail like a dog when patted before competition Thursday.

McCool competes in the CC1*, an introductory level for the Three Day Event. But when it comes to showing in front of the judges, McCool ditches the tail wagging and becomes the gallant Master Hill.

"With barn names, I think a lot of people just pick them and name them whatever they want to name them," said McCool's, err, Master Hill's 19-year-old rider Arielle Eccher. "But the show names mean a lot. Like Master Hill just reflects his breeding, because his sire is Master Imp and his mom is out of the sire Clover Hill. So it's not creative, but it shows that he has good blood lines, I guess."

But sometimes a name can be, say, Just For Kicks, like Katy Hover-Smoot's chestnut thoroughbred.

"He was bought as a 3-year-old off the track, and was the last horse in a group," Hover-Smoot from California said. "They named him For Kicks just because they bought him for kicks.

"He actually doesn't kick, it's great."

Reporter Dillon Tabish may be reached at 758-4463 or by e-mail at dtabish@dailyinterlake.com