Ferrari's picture is at http://asterlil.home.sprynet.com/ferrari.JPG

Ferrari is indeed named after a certain automobile logo. I don't know what he was called in his earliest years. He was born and raised a mustang¹ in New Mexico, where he lived until he was captured by stockmen when he was 4. Now, Ferrari is a very good-looking black horse (except for the star on his forhead and snip of white on his nose) and his conformation looks to be a throwback to his Andalusian ancestors, those horses brought over by the Spanish conquistadores. He is also very independent-minded and objected so strenuously to the idea of being ridden that the stockmen sold him on to a big rodeo outfit based in Albuquerque.

This turned out to be Ferrari's big break in show business. He showed such talent and style in the art of bucking that he became the best-known bronco on the circuit. This is when he came to be named Ferrari because of his grand style and the speed with which he divested himself of riders. It was a good life with only about five minutes of real work in any given week and plenty of time to think up new techniques for losing cowboys in the dust. But after a while he became bored and aspired to another line of work. He'd been watching the parades and began to fancy himself a show horse like the prancing flag bearers in the next paddock. Why not? After all, he had the looks.

That evening the hands saddled him up and took him to the chute as usual, and a terrified cowboy slipped onto his back and made ready. But, when the chute opened, instead of wheeling and sunfishing and turning handsprings, Ferrari broke into an elegant canter, neck curved like a swan. The crowd was silent for a few moments, then broke into boos and catcalls. Ferrari was surprised, his rider was embarrassed, and his bosses were disgusted. He was sacked without notice the very next day and found himself right back on the hills where he was born.

The layoff was nice at first, but Ferrari soon grew bored and wandered out in search of some action. And this is how he wandered into the frame, so to speak, at a moment when I had called for a horse to walk on as part of the action in a thread on h2g2. The rest is history.

He is now Sir Ferrari of the Aroma Cafe, ever since Irving Washington (proprietor) borrowed him to go on a quest on behalf of Queen Bludragon of Damogran. Apparently a courtier knight named Afgncaap5 worked some sort of magic on Ferrari, such that, when he enters Damogran he sprouts wings. But outside of that realm, here in our real world, he is Resident Horse at the Cafe, and Mike A's good companion. They're both fond of riding off into the oak wood by the cafe and playing cowboys and indians all day. He has a rather wicked sense of humour and has already put Mike through a window in the Aroma Cafe with one of his famous "dirty stops". You are warned not to treat this animal like a public pony ride: if you are not one of his three riders and you don't have permission from his owner, Asteroid Lil, he will throw you off immediately.