She lives the jet-set lifestyle, second perhaps only to her owner Jessica Springsteen. She’s Davendy S, and 2015 is officially her breakout year with big wins in CSI5* classes in Vienna (Austria), Chantilly (France), and Wellington (Fla.) and top finishes in Valkenswaard (the Netherlands), Monaco, and St. Tropez (France). Just this past weekend, Davendy S and Springsteen were first and second in five-star classes at Verona (Italy).

The partnership between the 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare “Annie” (Kashmir Van’t Schuttershof—Twendy S, Pachat II) and Springsteen began in the summer of 2014. Ever since, Annie has firmly established herself as the princess of the stables, according to both Springsteen and her head groom Esther Bukkems.

So it’s fitting that we crowned her with the title of “the most adorable ears” at last year’s National Horse Show. Read on to learn all about Springsteen’s No. 1 speed horse:

• Annie currently calls Stal Tops in the Netherlands home, where Springsteen trains with Edwina Tops-Alexander. 

Those ears!

• She’s the nicest horse ever, according to Bukkems, but she’s very particular about her food and has to be fed first.

  “She’s obsessed with food,” Bukkems said. “She drags me all around in search of food. And if she has to wait to be fed, she’ll bite the air. We had to change her to an end stall at home. But after she has her food, she goes back to being an angel.” 

Is that something edible I see?

• Annie’s daily schedule revolves around her multiple feedings and hand walks. She’ll also go in water treadmill and equine spa. “We feed her a lot of oats for energy,” said Bukkems. “She’s not really hot, but she’s extremely fast in the ring.

  “But she’s the slowest ever during her hand walks. And she’s bombproof. There was a lot of construction at Stal Tops and she thought nothing of it.”

• She also loves to go on trail rides. “If we have one in the barn that’s not brave, we’ll say, ‘Go with Annie,’” Bukkems said. “She’s the mom.”
• She goes in a plain loose ring snaffle for hacking and schooling and a ported snaffle for jumping.

• Annie won’t ever kick another horse, according to Bukkems, but she still wears a red ribbon in her tail at shows because the warm-up arenas can be so small. 
• After a class, Bukkems immediately washes Annie and hand-walks her until she’s dry. Often, Annie will also wear ice boots, and Bukkems finds using Tendonil and hoof packs to be very helpful in keeping the mare sound and happy. “She’s actually really easy to take care of,” Bukkems said.

• It’s all hearts for the Springsteen team. “Jessica’s aunt found heart-shaped horse treats,” Bukkems said. And they’ve fast become Annie’s favorite, to the point that they travel everywhere with the horses.

  Hearts are also part of the horses’ body clips. The trend was started by a different groom earlier in the season, and Bukkems has since come around to doing them herself. “At first, I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do it,’” she said. “But I’ll do it—this year.”