October 9, 2026 
With winter just around the corner, the days of sunbathing and luxuriating in sprawling grass fields are, sadly, at an end. In response, the horses of the Northern Hemisphere (like many of their human counterparts) are bulking up before the winter chill arrives—and they’re not the only species.
In Alaska, celebrating winter-ready bear physiques has been a beloved tradition for the last dozen or so years. In fact, the annual Fat Bear Contest honoring the brown bears of Brooks River in Alaska’s Katmai National Park has gained international attention, treating rotund grizzlies to a March Madness-style bracket tournament to determine which ursine’s pre-hibernation figure reigns supreme.
This year’s winner: “Backpack“, or Bear 89, a 20-year-old male who received a whopping 103,344 votes!
But why should the bears have all the fun? Enter the first-annual ‘Winter-Bod’ Horse Contest, and five of our leading contenders for this year’s top prize.
1. Chip (a.k.a. Redman’s Chip ‘n’ Dale)
Age/Breed: 10-year-old American Warmblood
Job Description: Lesson horse/2’6” packer
Personal Motto: “Things just got a little out of hand.”
Beloved at his local lesson barn for his natural jumping ability and tendency to get a piece of the hack, Chip’s usually enviable hunter physique underwent a bit of a renaissance this season when the leaves began to fall. “I’m a snacker,” admits Chip, who counts German Horse Muffins and granola bars among his favorite indulgences. “I guess that’s just what happens when you’re on the receiving end of so many ‘good-boy’ treats from lesson kids.
“I’ve got my sights set on the first-annual ‘Winter-Bod’ Horse title, and so, I’ve let the calories get away from me a little bit this season. But I’m still the same horse who won the $5,000 Bit-of-Straw Derby in 2024 and—whatever happens here—I’ll be ready to defend my title again next summer.”
2. Jenga
Age/Breed: 11-year-old QH
Job Description: Ranch horse
Personal Motto: “Work hard, play harder.”
After a long season moving cattle to the high pastures, Jenga looks forward to his winter turnout and hard-earned vacation time—and he means it. “Nobody is faster over 400 meters than I am,” he says. “I can cut a calf in the blink of an eye and that’s after I put in 15-mile days carting around my too-tall cowboy who—let’s face it—has not gone easy on the Bud Lights and Krispy Kremes these last couple of years, himself.
“Bottom line: I’m not one of these ‘all hat and no cattle’ boarding barn horses. When I’m working, I’m working, and when the job’s done, I’m out to P-A-S-T-U-R-E. At that point, what I do on my own time, and with my own body, is my own business.”
3. Royal Welcome (a.k.a. “Tilly”)
Age/Breed: 22-year-old Welsh pony
Job Description: Medium children’s pony hunter extraordinaire
Personal Motto: “A lady never tells.”
Having conquered the medium pony model divisions from Devon to Kentucky in her prime, Tilly is a bit of a legend among top trainers and society pony moms, alike. In recent seasons, however, she and her now-grown-up pony kid have retired to a life of leisure in Lexington—and all the acres of rich Kentucky bluegrass that come with it.
“When I was competing in the model divisions, I would have been mortified to gain even 75 pounds or so, but not anymore. I’ve learned to embrace my new crest and curves, and I’m feeling better than I ever have,” reports Tilly, adding that she’s proud of her ‘Winter-Ready’ figure and is eager to return to the spotlight to close-out her long and storied modeling career with one more championship title.
4. Chuck (just “Chuck”)
Age/Breed: 10-year-old (?) pinto; breeding unknown
Job Description: Petting zoo pony; self-declared “pasture puff”
Personal Motto: “Like the life you’re living, live the life you like.”
After narrowly escaping the auction block alongside his mother as a foal, Chuck has fully embraced the low-maintenance life of rescued petting zoo horse and says he has “absolutely no complaints.” Chuck is always the first head over the fenceline for a pat, and beams when the children say, “Look at his spots—he’s so pretty!” He also accepts every treat he’s offered like a gentleman—even from the smallest hands.
“My friends in the corral next door have been telling me I’m a shoo-in for this contest for years! It’s been a busy summer here, and I’ve been pulling double-shifts, eating my own carrots and then the carrots for some of my field mates as well. They tried to saddle me for the pony rides the other day, and couldn’t find a cinch big enough to fit! I think I’m off to a good start.”
5. Midnight Sonata (a.k.a. Ethel)
Age/Breed: 15-year-old draft-cross
Job Description: Riding horse/senior adult-amateur companion
Personal Motto: “Pretty is as pretty does.”
As the final and most reluctant entry for this year’s ‘Winter-Ready’ Horse contest, Ethel is the first one to admit it was her owner’s decision to enter, and she’s mortified to even be on the list. “My lady Judy sent in my application on a lark, but honestly, I can’t quite find the humor in it,” she says, primly. “With the exception of a couple of old sheets that clearly shrank in the dryer over the summer, all of my fall blankets fit the same way as they always have. Ask anyone.”
When questioned about the three occasions over the last two months that she picked the lock on her stall door in the middle of the night and snuck into the grain room to help herself to the OTTB’s bag of sweet feed, Ethel was quick to deflect: “Why, I’d never.”
Which horse do you think will reign supreme?
