For Clem McMahon, Pacino was the “horse of his life”. When the stallion died, he didn’t want to let go – and took an unusual step.
Pacino was an exceptional horse: Irish horse trainer and show jumper Clem McMahon has fond memories of his stallion. “Pacino was the horse of my life, he cleared two rounds at the Aga Khan Cup when he was eight years old.” The traditional event in Dublin is considered the most difficult competition in show jumping. For the athletic bay stallion, however, the demanding parkour did not pose a particular problem. “But in 2013 he fell ill,” says McMahon, describing the farewell to his exceptional horse. “He died of kidney failure.”
After all, as a successful stallion, Pacino was allowed to do what many sport horses do in their old age: He passed on his genetic material, his semen was sold to other sport horse breeders and today several of his offspring are also extremely successful. But that wasn’t enough for its former owner. He missed his horse – and forged an unusual plan. He wanted to have Pacino cloned.
Stallion Pacino was considered an exceptional horse
The idea came to him when it became clear that the sick stallion could no longer be helped, he says to “RTE Ireland”. “I had heard about people cloning their horses, so after he died we took a small sample of his skin.” However, even in the 21st century, cloning is still an extremely complicated matter that does not always succeed. Several attempts initially failed. “Then we tried again in 2019 with a company from Argentina and finally got a foal in 2020,” he reports.
At first, McMahon kept secret the identity of the new foal on his farm. He made sure that the animal grew up normally, like any other horse in the stable. It was broken in at the age of three and receives the usual training. “He has a wonderful temperament and is really a 1:1 replica of Pacino,” says Clem McMahon of Pacino II. “It’s almost spooky.”
The clone horse should not take part in show jumping competitions
Unlike the “original”, however, Pacino II will have a more comfortable life: he should not compete in show jumping, even if cloned horses are now allowed to do so. Instead, the young stallion “is allowed” to devote himself entirely to breeding and diligently pass on his genes in order to provide for many, many talented offspring in the usual way.
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Source: Stern
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