HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'AGT' Season 17: Who is Pepino? Meet the 'world's most talented miniature horse' that can dunk a basketball

One of Pepino's famous skills is dunking the ball 'over the rim' at 5 feet despite being just 30 inches tall

NBC's hit talent-hunt show 'America's Got Talent' attracts several unique performers looking to showcase their "wild" talents with the world. Over the years we have seen every unimaginable talent ranging from dislocating shoulders and putting them back in place as part of a dance routine to various death-defying stunts! As the NBC show is all geared to return for it's much-awaited season 17, the new season will be introducing us to a slew of more wild talents.

One such talented performer hoping to bag the million-dollar prize money and an opportunity to headline at Las Vegas is a mini horse named Pepino. The adorable little hoofed mammal will be showcasing his unique talents before the returning judges- Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara. Accompanied by his instructor David Lichman, Papino is all set to show off how he earned the title of 'world's most talented miniature horse'. 

RELATED ARTICLES

Fans say 'AGT' finale was rigged, claim Aidan was 'cheated' as Dustin Tavella wins

Who is Matt Mauser? 'AGT' singer's wife died in Kobe Bryant chopper crash

You can watch Pepino's dunking skills here:

Who is Pepino the Mini Horse?

Hailed as the "World's Most Talented Miniature Horse", Pepino a six-year-old American Miniature Horse (AMH) is already a celebrity of sorts on the internet. If you're wondering what's so special about this mini horse aside from its small stature, then you may be surprised to learn that he can dunk a basketball! Yes, you read that right. One of Pepino's famous skills is dunking the ball "over the rim" at 5 feet despite being just 30 inches tall. 

Aside from dunking the ball and showing off his athletic abilities, Pepino's other talents include answering the telephone, sitting in a chair, saying "yes" and "no". blowing a kiss, and even opening a mailbox or a cabinet. He was named after the farmhand on the 1950’s show, 'The Real McCoys', Pepino Garcia. Pepino's trainer/ partner-in-crime David Lichman was inspired to teach the mini horse how to dunk a ball after watching 'Mister Ed'. 

Lichman is one of the top-rated instructors at Pat Parelli's institute. "I travel all over the world helping people to get extraordinary results with horses. Teaching Pat's system has taken me from Vancouver to Virginia and from Hawaii to Heidelberg. I have handled thousands of horses at hundreds of clinics, from every breed and discipline.," he shared on his website. Lichman won the World Grand Championship. 

Thanks to Pepino's dunking skills he even tried out for the Sacramento Kings mascot spot! You can learn more about Pepino and his many hidden talents here and here. We can't wait to watch Pepino's talents on 'AGT'.

'America's Got Talent' Season 17 premieres on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at 8 p.m. on NBC. Following the show's premiere you can catch all-new episodes every Tuesday from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT. For viewers who wish to tune in to the show without cable, they can do so using any of the following streaming services: Sling TV, fuboTV, Hulu With Live TV, AT&T TV or YouTube TV.