You know friends are special people. Annabelle is such a friend–as many of you reading this are–and a true lover of horses to have shared this video with me today. But she shares so many beautiful thoughts about the horse.
But, she does make me jealous too. She and her horses share such wonderful experiences out there just riding as we all want to do, as we all want our characters to do. I truly believe I lived when horses shared our lives.
Annabelle, may you ride on for all of us and thank you.
J
Category: Fun stuff on horses
Cowboys do this like quarterbacks throw passes
I can’t throw a foot ball and I can’t rope anything. But I’ve always wondered how this was done. I think the video above is great for getting the idea of how to do this. I bet I didn’t let the ‘tip’ tell me when to toss. And I had no idea that when you rope there were so many parts to it all. So I hope this gives the western writers out there some details for their stories.
In the next video you can see the roping in action as well as some great ideas for contermporary westerns. Cowboys aren’t just in the wagon trail days. So enjoy. I did
Ya all come back now, ya hear,
J
Like this:
I found this great article on Yahoo. news today about where theThoroughbred horse got his speed and how it may hope find the genetics to diseases. Really cool. Thank you Mr Potter.
J
All Thoroughbreds Have Same Ancestor
By Ned Potter | ABC News – 8 hrs ago…
“The Bazzani Scully Brand Lawyers Handicap race, Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 26, 2012. Scott Barbour/Getty Images
All the great names in thoroughbred horse racing – from Secretariat to Man O’War, from Seabiscuit to Seattle Slew – they’re all related, and a team of geneticists has now traced their talent for speed back to a single ancestor. The “speed gene” that made them all so fast was apparently a genetic aberration, and it probably started with one British mare who lived in the mid-17th century.
Emmeline Hill of University College Dublin led a team that analyzed DNA in 593 horses from 22 modern breeds, as well as museum specimens from 12 historically famous stallions. Modern genetics have become sophisticated enough that they could tell, with considerable precision, what the horses had in common.
“The results show that the ‘speed gene’ entered the thoroughbred from a single founder, which was most likely a British mare about 300 years ago when local British horse types were the pre-eminent racing horses, prior to the formal foundation of the thoroughbred racehorse,” said Hill in a prepared statement.
She and her colleagues published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.
Lest this seem like some arcane animal study, it does involve a big-money sport and, more important, questions about how genetic characteristics can be inherited and traced. If you can decipher the genes that make thoroughbreds so fast, say the researchers, you can also find clues to genetic diseases in people. Thoroughbred horses are useful for study because the records of their ancestry are – forgive the pun – really, really thorough, going back centuries.
The great speed horses all shared two genes associated with muscle development. The combination did not show up in regular farm horses, or donkeys, or zebras.
Horses with the two genes were consistently top sprinters. It’s no accident that the Kentucky Derby is a mile and a quarter, usually won in just more than two minutes. Other genetic combinations were found in horses that were slower but able to run longer.
Place your bets.
Like this:
I’d heard there was symbolism regarding what the statue of a horse was telling us about the rider on his back…I just found out. Thank you Darla K.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse
has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air,
the person died because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died
of natural causes
Now we know.
I saw War Horse.
And it was well worth it. Lovely story of loving horses and horses loving back. And they do.
There was little I failed to like. Barbwire is always bad. And how could you not have death scenes in a war movie and it was WWI. “War is Hell”
But then as life, there is lots of beauty. A mother’s love of family…a father’s, son’s and friends’. There will always be beauty in that. Beauty between enemies even. There is the beauty of horses both young and old. Both playing together and working together. Beauty and friendship between horses. And they do have friendships as we do.
And the surprised beauty in how life comes in circles by some miracle or divine right. So, be sure to go see this heart warming story of a boy and his horse.
Move over Black Stallion…new kid on the block.
J
Like this:
Let’s lift a toast to the world of racing…to the jockeys, owners, trainers, fans, and of course the beautiful Thoroughbred horses that have qualified to run in
The Triple Crown.
A toast can be anything from water to wine, but each race of the Triple Crown has its own specialty drink that has been enjoyed during all the years of these races. As a writer, you may want to use these traditional drinks, songs and flowers to add a bit of fun in your horseracing stories as a character sensory detail.
Dawn your hat, smell the thick scent of roses, hear voices singing “My Old Kentucky Home” and lift your Mint Julep to the Kentucky Derby. Here’s the recipe for this traditional drink:
The Kentucky Derby Mint Julep
2 C Sugar
2 C water
6-8 sprigs of fresh mint
crushed ice
Kentucky Whisky as Maker Mark or Early Times
Silver Julep cup
Make a syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool in covered container with 6-8 sprigs of fresh mint and refrigerate overnight. Fill a julep cup with crushed ice, add one tablespoon mint syrup and 2 oz of whisky. Stir rapidly to frost cup and garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.
(Approximately 120,000 mint julep are served on Derby day, using 10,000 bottles of Early Times Mint Julep cocktail, 1000 pounds of fresh mint, and 60,000 pounds of ice.)
The Preakness, the second race of the Triple Crown, has the fragrant summer flower, the Black-eyed Susans, even though they aren’t blooming at the time of this race. Spectators sing “Maryland My Maryland” and lift this traditional drink. Here’s its recipe:
Preakness- Black-eyed Susan Cocktail
3/4 C orange juice
1/2 C pineapple juice
3T vodka
3T light rum
2T orange liquor as Gran Marnier
Crushed ice
Garnish with lime slices and/or fresh cherries
Stir together first five ingredients. Fill 2 (12 oz) glasses with crushed ice. Pour orange juice mixture over ice and garnish.
Now, to the Test of Champions- the longest and most difficult of the three races- The Belmont Race. This final race of the Triple Crown has the the sweet-scented flower of the Carnation for ‘love and luck’. If the favored horse has won the two previous races, heart and voices lift to sing ‘New York New York’ and then toast with The Belmont Breeze. Here’s the recipe for:
The Belmont Breeze
1 1/2 oz Kentucky Bourbon or American blended whiskey or 3/4 oz of Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry
1/2 ox fresh lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
1/ 1/2 oz fresh orange juice
1 1/2 oz of cranberry juice
Shake all ingredients with ice and top with half 7-Up and half soda, approx 1 oz of each. Garnish with strawberry, mint sprig, and lemon piece.
So, when you are enjoying these races or using them in your stories remember, a toast is always more from the heart more than the glass. But a beautiful moment is always created.
J
Let me introduce you to Claire Ashgrove, a mother, a rider, writer and a lady who is wild about horses. She has also spent a lot of time and money on rescuing these beautiful animals on her farm. As a writer and a rider she knows the challenges of owning, caring for, breeding as well as writing about them. So I hope you enjoy getting to know her and her horse world both in reality and her stories….
Hi, Judy! Thanks for having me on your blog today!
About me, huh? I really hate talking about me. Let’s see, I’m a former sport horse breeder who lives on a small farm in Missouri . I’ve always written, although I didn’t always know I wanted to write professionally. I wrote for entertainment and to live out girlhood fantasies about being a rock star. Even had my own band in my books who I knew by heart – talk about bonding with characters! Now I write romance. All kinds of romance. As Claire Ashgrove I write steamy contemporaries (most often involving horses in some way) for The Wild Rose Press, paranormal romance for Tor, and historical romance. I also write erotic romantic suspense as Tori St. Claire. Why do I write? To answer the question, What if?
What brought me to horses… well, that’s easy. I was not paying attention in Nobel Lit my Junior year of High School and browsing the school’s job listings. A local stable advertised help in exchange for riding time or riding lessons. I was suckered from there. Shortly after I purchased my first horse, an Arabian gelding. And, as with every horse owner, from there it was all downhill! For the first five or six years of my horse involvement I learned about show life for Arabians and Saddlebreds, I went on to compete in jumping and dressage, and I sucked up every bit of knowledge I could find on a lot of other breeds and disciplines. After college and family I began raising and training sport horses, primarily Arabians, Thoroughbreds and Oldenburgs . I still dabble occasionally – this year I have one foal expected any day now – but the business end of horses is pretty much part of my former life.
What’s my favorite? That’s hard. Very hard. I would have to say above and beyond, the Arabian is. However, many of the Arabians I have loved, worked with, and owned weren’t physically able to do some of the sports that are my passion – such as cross country jumping. (In particular, water jumps. And anyone who’s had an Arab ought to understand that remark!) Which pushed me into bigger, more powerful movers, such as the Warmbloods. I’m pretty partial to the Hanoverian breed – and my Oldenburgs are founded on Hanoverian lines.
As to how I incorporate them? Pick a way. Really. I’ve written on the racing lifestyle, on a breeder’s struggles on pursuing the Arabian dream. You won’t see horses so much in the background, but as key elements to the plots in the stories I put them in.
What do I like to see in books with horses… accuracy. Not so much technical accuracy (although that’s important) but behavioral accuracy. For instance, historical romances, where the hero on his mighty stallion goes for an afternoon jaunt with the heroine and her pretty mare. Then, the mare and stallion are tied nose to nose, or wandering around loose. Drives me crazy. It’s very common, but the natural behaviors there aren’t going to allow for the hero/heroine to have an intimate moment under the tree while their horses pretend each other doesn’t exist. Or if a horse is acting up and someone is in danger, that the “savior” comes rushing in yelling, and doing things that puts the possible victim in more danger, because that seems logical to a non-horse person – also drives me crazy. I’m not such a huge stickler on having the appropriate parts of a bridle listed off, but the logical interaction between human character, horse character, and authorial control needs to be logical. Otherwise, I toss the book aside.
Gosh horse books. Honestly, I can’t answer this question. My reading time is so limited that the books with horses that stand out to me are often the ones with bad horse depictions. However, I can say that movie-wise two of my favorite portrayals are in Lord of the Rings – Shadowfax and the Ring Wraith’s horses. Both of those, although fantasy completely, were very awe-inspiring when on the screen / in the text. And Tolkien built the world so believably that Shadowfax and Gandalf’s relationship was completely plausible. Gladiator also has a very powerful, very realistic cavalry scene in the opening.
I have three books, presently, that incorporate horses.
The first: Waiting For Yes, just released on April 20th. This book is very special to me as it was inspired by my former Straight Egyptian stallion’s bloodlines. And he’s on the cover! If you like beautiful horses, I have some very nice critters in the book trailer on my website.
Gabrielle Warrenton gave up everything to pursue her dream of a first-class Egyptian Arabian breeding farm. Her future lies in her new stallion’s success. Though she possesses an exceptional eye for horseflesh, she lacks the training knowledge, and Bahadur Mamoon has a date with the nation’s most affluent show in three weeks. Nothing that would present a problem given his previous credentials. Only, the sellers disguised one critical fact—he’s crazy. Jake Lindsey-Sullivan was once part of an exceptional Arabian training team. Under his mother’s guidance, he developed an instinctual talent, but she was the star, the cornerstone of his life. Until she met a premature death. Grief-stricken and plagued by guilt, Jake abandoned the world of horses. Now an over-the-road truck driver, he evades the memories. When a snowstorm throws two Arabian professionals into close-quarters, they discover an engulfing passion. But will Mamoon rip open emotional scars, or forever seal them shut?
The second: A Christmas To Believe In, released November 2010. This book pulls on the dream of horses that so many of us hold dear to our hearts.
Struggling Thoroughbred breeder, Clint King, hasn’t been home for Christmas in five years. This year, his prize mare’s due to foal any day, and in the wake of his father’s death, Clint can’t stand the idea of returning. Except, Alex is getting married on Christmas Eve, and their mother’s put her foot down. With his mare in tow, Clint prepares to meet a sister he’s never known, and Alex’s unexpected triplets. The one salvation he looks forward to is childhood companion, tomboy Jesse Saurs. Yet when he reunites with Jesse, he uncomfortably discovers she’s become all woman. Jesse Saurs has everything she needs – financial security, a home, and a foster child who’s about to become her son. With Ethan’s final hearing scheduled just before Christmas, her dreams will come true. When she learns Clint and his brothers are returning, she anticipates a holiday reunion that’s sure to entertain Ethan. But on the night of Clint’s return, the ‘brother’ she expected leaves her trembling after a hug. Even worse, Ethan makes it clear Clint’s not welcome. Will Christmas destroy hopes and dreams, or will it become the gift they’ve all been longing for?
The third: Seduction’s Stakes, released October 2009. This was my first book, and is a very unique view on the world of elite horseracing.
McCleery Racing didn’t become a Thoroughbred racing powerhouse by betting on longshots. Maddie McCleery made it a multi-million dollar player through hard work, logical decisions, and a commitment to never involve herself with men who lived on the sport of kings. But when she sets her sights on a two-year-old colt her rival owns, she never imagines the lengths she’ll go to, to bring the future champion home. Riley Jennings wants unobtainable Maddie almost more than the Triple Crown. After his Kentucky Derby win, however, he sees a way to sure-fire victory. His proposed wager stacks the odds in his favor – if her horse wins the Preakness, he’ll accept her terms. If his horse comes in first, they’ll negotiate his way. When the dust settles on the wire, will love claim final victory, or will unexpected tragedy stop them in the gates?
For more information, and the other titles I’ve written with horses – including what’s coming down the pipe – please drop by my website: www.claireashgrove.com
Claire Ashgrove
Dark, Sexy, Timeless RomanceComing To TOR Books January, 2012! — Immortal Knights Templar,Waiting for Yes – April 20, 2011A Christmas To Believe In — OUT NOW!Seduction’s Stakes – 2009 LASR Best Book of the Year Nominee, Night Owl Romance “5 Stars”www.claireashgrove.com
Like this:
I knew I liked this guy. Jonathan is a great writer and an even better rider. though we’ve never met other than the internet and our blogs. I did enjoy Walls of Jeriicho- a great read! I hope you enjoy meeting him too. His blog is a tremendous amount of horse information…. heeeeerrrre’s Jonathan
Jonathan Hopkins
About me. Talking about oneself is always difficult. Perhaps it’s a peculiarly British thing, but I’ve never been very good at self-promotion. Or it could be that I count myself as pretty average, really.
I’m lucky enough to have a great family, which is a big help. Wife plus one daughter – both into horses. Maybe it’s just as well we didn’t have more children! And I’ve always worked, in a wide variety of jobs, so even though our small saddlery business fell victim to the recession I found things I could do to get by. Writing is just one of them.
A past employer of mine once suggested that when money was tight perhaps we ought to get rid of the horses. I told him I’d rather lose an arm. Kept that job for sixteen years!
About Horses Ah…horses: the finest form of life on the planet.
I learned to ride when I was five years old. My parents weren’t ‘horsey’, but my younger sister was into ponies so when she started to have lessons I sort-of tagged along. The riding school closed a couple of years later and apart from the odd beach pony I didn’t ride again until I was twelve. I can’t remember what rekindled my interest but it must have been something pretty spectacular because I’ve been involved with horses ever since.
I bought my first horse at fourteen, much to my mother’s disgust. She’d unwisely offered to fund half the cost, should I find a suitable animal. Provided I saved the rest, of course. Knowing I could never keep money in my pocket for very long, I suppose she thought she would never have to keep her promise, but I found an evening and weekend job delivering groceries. Within a year I’d saved enough.
After six months of trundling around looking at unsuitable horses, my parents had just about given up hope. ‘Well – I couldn’t see anything wrong with that one,’ was the grumble after yet another wasted journey. But find one we did, stabled in a garage in the South Wales valleys. I tried him out on the only patch of ground we could find: a rubbish tip. He was worth the wait, that horse; I had him for twenty-three years.
About Writing Writing about horses is difficult, even for people who know them. It depends on the audience. Specialist equine non-fiction ought to be fairly straightforward; readers can be expected to have a certain, if variable, level of knowledge. But what if you’re writing fiction? How much detail should you put in, so those totally ignorant of horse-culture are entertainingly informed, whilst those who know what you’re on about are not bored rigid? Unfortunately, I’ve not found a straightforward answer – I just stick to two, simple rules
(a). Don’t treat your readers as idiots
(b). Make sure of all your facts.
It’s really obvious to me when writers know very little about horses, especially in Historical Fiction, which I tend to read a lot of. Now, less knowledgeable readers may not notice errors. So as long as they enjoy the story, do these really matter? As the writer, that’s your decision.
I started to write thanks to a woman. Actually, that’s not strictly true: I’d written a novel in my teens, but it was never good enough to be published. I started again because….because wives sometimes nag. Mine told me I wasn’t romantic enough, we never did anything different, I never bought her flowers etc. etc. I’m sure you know what I mean. So for some reason I can’t work out I decided I would deliver her flowers on our anniversary as a 19th century Hussar and take her out to lunch in a carriage. What could be more romantic than that?
I soon found I’d bitten off a bit more than I could chew. I’m a stickler for accuracy, so the cavalry uniform and saddlery had to be period correct. The uniform I could source but saddlery? I made it all myself but there were no patterns available, so I had to troll through non-fiction histories (ugh – I hate history!) to find as many descriptions and pictures as I could. And the more I read about British cavalry in the Napoleonic period, the more frustrated I got about the criticisms heaped upon them. They couldn’t have been that bad, could they?
It seemed just about every historian and his dog disagreed with me, and that’s what eventually prompted me to start writing about the cavalry. To try to give a more balanced picture of what life was really like for these men, and why their efforts and sacrifices were, and have never been, truly appreciated.
The anniversary? That went off without a hitch Except that the restaurant staff had a good laugh when I turned up for lunch wearing the uniform!
About Horse books Picking a list of favourite horse books is a nightmare, so I’ve kept it short:
Novels:
Black Beauty – Ann Sewell The book that started it all, Sewell’s story of a horse’s treatment in Victorian England is as powerfully evocative today as when it was written, made even more poignant by the fact that she was ill when it was published 1867 and just lived long enough to see its huge success.
War Horse – Michael Morpurgo The story of a farm horse purchased by the army and sent to France during WWI. Written originally for a young adult audience, it is recommended reading for anyone keen to find out how horses fared during that conflict.
Horse Biography:
Red Rum - Ivor Herbert Red Rum won the Grand National three times – an unequalled record. But he was a poor racehorse on the flat and suffered from crippling pedalostitis.
Eclipse - Nicholas Clee The 18th century racehorse that sired a dynasty, yet was owned by an Irish rogue and a brothel madam.
Biography:
Champions Story – Bob Champion with Jonothan Powell Jockey Bob Champion survived cancer, and partner Aldaniti a serious leg injury, to win an emotional Grand National in 1981
General Equine:
Saddlery – Elwyn Hartley Edwards A fellow Welshman, the late Capt. Hartley-Edwards wrote numerous books. He was (and still is) the God of commonsense horsemanship in my view.
Training the Event Horse – Sheila Willcox. This was the horse-fittening bible in my teens. Most of the interval training techniques pioneered by Ms Willcox are still in common use today.
About my novels
Walls of Jericho is the first book in a series featuring two young cavalrymen during the Peninsular war, when the British joined Portugal and Spain to fight Napoleon. The second story, Leopardkill is currently in progress and takes place during the horrendous British retreat across the Spanish mountains in the middle of winter.
A preview of Walls of Jericho is available to read for free on the website www.cavalrytales.co.uk and I also blog about horses and cavalry on http://cavalrytales.wordpress.com.
Thank you for reading, and I wish you all the best with your own writing.
Jonathan
See I told you he was a cool dude. Thank you Jonathan.
J
Somewhere in time’s own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some paradise where horses go,
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.
~Stanley Harrison
I remember my horse Valjean racing off lickety-split out into the pasture. Show horses have shoes like models have long fingernails, so I had decided that winter to remove his show shoes. I took him out of the barn, undid his lead line, and off he bolted like any race horse. He raced down the lane to the pasture and rounded the corner fence pole like any barrel racing horse. What a beautiful site to see!
Man of Integrity, my three-gaited horse, was next to let go. I realized then that someone had decided to make him a three-gaited show horse instead of remaining a show harness horse. Problem was for all those years he he was in harness, he wasn’t allowed to canter and he’d forgotten how. I led him out of the barn and took the lead line off and he just stood there…nickering for Val cavorting out in the pasture. He wanted to go but he’d never been turned loose since he was a foal. His instincts drew him to race as fast as he could out to join Val. However, he trotted. He peg-legged..that is canter stiff-legged. He came to the same fence pole and stopped…walked around it…and peg-legged it out to Val. I stood there stunned.
The beautiful thing was that spring when Val and ‘the big horse’ as I called him raced neck and neck, speeding around that fence pole to be the first to the barn for dinner. Horses love to race. They love to run. And they are good at it. For thousands of years, man has had the pleasure of watching them run, race, and win. But as life has it…tragedy happens and we cry. And we remember. I think that is our nature to honor and remember and then hopefully make something good come out of this tragic happening. Thus, this blog is a tribute to favorite Thoroughbred horses who have captured the hearts everywhere at one time or another and changed the world.
Preakness
As I said in my blog on the Preakness Stakes,it got its name from a three-year old colt named Preakness who won the Dinner Party Stakes race at Pimlico in 1870. Preakness was a born winner, enjoying a winning career for eight years. His owner sold him to Duke of Hamilton who lived in England. Over the next years, Preakness developed a temper and attitude. Unfortunately, the duke also had an attitude and temper. (This causes me to think where Preakness developed this new personality) Anyway, the Duke shot and killed Preakness. So, not only did this fine colt name the Preakness Stakes but he also “touched off a reform in English law which governs the handling of animals.” (www.gohorsebetting.com/preaknessstakes/history) Good for you Preakness.
Ruffian
Seal brown and almost black, this seventeen hand filly stole the hearts of the racing world In fact, she won the nickname as “Queen of the Fillies” in 1975, and winning the Triple Tiara- the triple crown race for three-year-old fillies. She went undefeated in her first ten races, setting new records and stakes for years to come. Then came her eleventh race at Belmont Park on July 6,1975. It was a match race between Ruffian and the Kentucky Derby winner of that year Foolish Pleasure. The race was dubbed as the ‘equine battle of the sexes” and was run before 50,000 spectators and 18 million television viewers.
At Belmont Park, Ruffian slammed her shoulder into the gate when she bolted from the starting gate. At the first furlong, she was ahead by a half-length and then both bones in her foreleg snapped. Her jockey Vasquez tried to pull her to a stop but she refused. She fought him and continued on, pulverizing her legs, ripping skin from her fetlock, and driving bones through her skin. Sand from the ’Big Sandy” racetrack stung into the raw skin, tearing her ligaments and leaving her hoof flopping. Handlers immediately raced to her, managing to get her into the hands of four veterinarians and a equine orthopedic surgeon. The surgery lasted three hours. When Ruffian came out of anesthesia, she went nuts as if she were still running in the race, spinning in circles on the floor, destroying all that the surgery had accomplished as well as the plaster cast. The cast slipped. allowing her to break the rest of her legs. She was ultimately euthanized.
The result of her death caused a change in treatment for horses that undergo surgery. Ruffian’s behavior is common for horses coming out from anesthesia. Thus, the ‘recovery pool’ was developed so horses will awake in warm water and won’t re-injure themselves. Thirty four years later the Ruffian Equine Medical Center opened. Here, specialists work to solve ‘horse’ problems in particular for future horses.
Ruffian is buried near a flag pole in the infield of Belmont Park with her nose pointed to the finish line.
Barbaro
Ever watched Olympic events and the contestants jump seconds before the start. then they have to get back into place. Well, on May 20,2006, Barbaro broke from the starting gate at the Preakness Stakes before he should have. Going into the Kentucky Derby, this bay stallion was undefeated and was the favorite to win the Triple Crown. He was one of the only six undefeated winners of the Derby. So, he bolted out too soon from the starting gate at the Preakness. Why? No one knows. Did something snap in his leg and scare him? We’ll never know.
The race was restarted and his start from the gate was clean. He was in contention to win as he rounded the last turn and headed for the finish. No one knows what happened there either but suddenly Barbaro apparently broke his right hind leg in twenty places: a cannon bone, a broken leg bone, his pastern, the fetlock was dislocated and his hoof was left to dangle. His jockey, Edgar Prado immediately brought Barbaro to a stop, letting the others pass. Prado then vaulted off, and leaned into Barbaro’s shoulder to support him. Track attendants arrived and they managed to get Barbaro safely into the Equine ambulance and taken to Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.
Unlike most animals, a horse can not survive on three legs because the horse tries to carried its weight on three legs. Well, Ruffian’s recovery pool was well used because Barbaro underwent many surgeries and showed the promise of possible recovery. Of course, he would never run again but maybe sire a future Triple Crown winner and just enjoy grazing in his pasture. That wasn’t meant to be.
By July, Barbaro developed a severe case of lamintis (inflammation of the hoof) in his other hind leg. This was because it had carried the weight from the other healing leg. Surgery was again and half of Barbaro’s hoof was removed. Now, both hind legs are in casts and the boy was left hanging a sling. Still, Barbaro seemed determined to win this race. Mares were waiting for him. In fact, in August, he was taken out to graze for the first time.
August, September, October, November, December 13, Wednesday…Barbaro had his casts removed. However, his front legs developed lamintis. His removed hoof wasn’t complete. His fractured leg wasn’t developed enough without the cast. Now, the old boy had no legs to stand on at all. January 29, 2007, Barbaro was euthanized because his pain was no longer manageable. He was later cremated.
A statue of Barbaro created by Alexa King was unveiled April 26, 2009 at Churchill Downs one week before the Kentucky Derby. This statue was placed atop part of his ashes outside one f the entrances to Churchill Downs adjacent to the Kentucky Derby Museum so the public that followed Barbaro’s struggle can pay their respects without paying an admission feet to the race track.
University of Florida was the recipient of $30,000 from Gulfstream Park for scholarships for two senior veterinary students and one graduate student in equine veterinary research. And the New Bolton Center received a large anonymous donation, creating the established Barbaro Fund to aid treatment and care for large animals. In 2006, the Preakness Stakes established the NTRA’s charities Barbaro Memorial Fund for Equine Health and Safety that will look for a cure of lamintis. This had gone on around the world…check this out http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/health/110-laminitis.shtml
Eight Bells
How many of us have stumbled and fallen? I know I have a time or two. Well, it is possible this is what led up to this last catastrophe. According to the trainer of this grey thoroughbred filly. Eight Bells had a habit of stumbling over her hoofs. Her trainer said she wouldn’t pick her feet up high enough, which was one reason she could run so fast and far. Once going, she had perfect motion that was effective and efficient, however at times, she would stumble.
Eight Bells was on the tail hairs of Big Brown, the winner of the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby, when they passed the finish line. As the horses were slowed from their neck-breaking speeds, she collapsed, suffering compound fractures from both front fetlock joints. Her legs were lacerated, absent of joint fluid to these areas, and her lungs congested. The fall she took bruised her head and hemorrhagde her thyroid gland. She had to be ’ put down’ on the track. Eight Bells is buried at Churchill Downs Kentucky Derby Museum and a race that is run on the day of the Derby has been named in her honor.
Eight Bells was a winner. She came to the Kentucky Derby with a proud winning record. She was a filly with Native Dancer’s bloodline and her mother was from Northern Dancer also a descendent of Native Dancer’s bloodline. Sally Jenkins of the Veterans Washington Post wrote, “She ran with the heart of a locomotive on champagne-glass ankles.” Thus raising the question of whether these thoroughbred horses have become too strong bodied on bones too fragile to hold them up. This controversy is still in question. Her legacy to the racing world maybe to strengthen bloodline for more stamina. It is yet to be seen.
But Preakness, Ruffian, Barbaro, and Eight Bells have given the world a better place for horses and those who love them. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” And their lemonade will forever be remembered as sweet. I believe all these horses are racing about in Stanley Harrison’s ‘sweet pastured place” with my Val and Man of Integrity and free of pain, frolicking and playing with all the other greats.
Thank you for joining me on this wild race through the world of the Triple Crown. I’ve enjoyed it. I hope you have as well.
And thank you to wikipedia/Ruffian/Barbaro. Eightbellslegacy.net
]
The Belmont
“The Test of Champions”
We’ve all been to Belmont Park one time or another. Okay, maybe not physically but virtually because The Belmont has been the site for many radio broadcasts, television programs, photo shoots, and motion pictures. We’ve watched movies and television shows featuring a lot of actors who have been in pictures here. But, I bet only a few of us have ever had the Belmont’s featured cocktailcreated by Dale DeGroff in 1977. I know I just learned they even had one. So, On June 5,2010, we can all enjoy a toast to the 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes. Here’s how to make the traditional Belmont Park cocktail….
The Belmont Breeze
1 1/2 oz Kentucky Bourbon or American blended whiskey or 3/4 oz of Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry
1/2 ox fresh lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
1/ 1/2 oz fresh orange juice
1 1/2 oz of cranberry juice
Shake all ingredients with ice and top with half 7-Up and half soda, approx 1 oz of each. Garnish with strawberry, mint sprig, and lemon piece.
And together, we’ll sing ‘New York New York’ (or maybe hum) as the horses parade onto the track. Maybe we’ll bet between ourselves on who we think will win, who we want to win, and then watch who does win and walk away with the garland made with 700 white carnations. This is the official flower of the Belmont stakes race that stands for ‘love and luck,’ a perfect symbol for the ‘Test of Champions’ as this race is nicknamed.
The Belmont Park was named after August Belmont, one of the main financiers of the Old Belmont–the oldest race of today’s Triple Crown races. This race started at Jerome Park Racetrack in the Bronx in 1867. The original site stretched a bit into Queens from Nassau county. Since bookmaking was illegal, the bookies could escape from being arrested by crossing this line. It was even believed that horses rounding the far turn crossed into Queens for a few strides and then returned to Nassau County in the final stretch. This site near Elmont, New York, is also near the first racing meet ever officially held in North America in 1665.
On May 4, 1905, the first Belmont Stakes race was run and the first winner of the Belmont Stakes was Ruthless. For fifteen years, the race was run in the fashion set in England…clockwise ending in front of the clubhouse. In 1880, the first post parade, bringing the horses out in line, was held at the 14th running of the Belmont race.
There are a few unique features of this Park. First is the the origin of the corporate insigna…the White Pine Tree. A mansion once set here. The owners had planted trees that predated this white pine. As the trees were lumbered for the construction of the track, August Belmont saved the pine tree. Now, this 184 year-old tree, older than the track itself, stands in the paddock .
Four stone pillars from the entrance of the Washington Course of the South Carolina Jockey club are now found at the clubhouse entrance at Belmont Park. Along with the stone pillars are a set of wrought iron gates with a racing motif that came from Jerome Park. They were salvaged during the 1963 demolition by Perry Belmont, Belmont II’s son, and he donated these wrought iron gates that now border the walking ring .
The Belmont Stakes weren’t always held at Belmont Park. While the stands at Belmont Park were reconstructed, the stake races were held at Aqueduct.
The quest for the Triple Crown ends on the dirt course known as the ‘Main Track’ and nicknamed ‘Big Sandy.” In 1973, Secretariat set the world record for one and a half mile on ’Big Sandy’ (2:24.00)and his record still holds. And, Secretariat’s thirty-one length victory clinched the first ’Crown’ in 25 years- dating back to Citation 1948. Thus, a statue of Secretariat graces the center of the Belmont paddock near the beloved White Pine.
Some unique events besides horseracing have also happened at the Belmont Park:
-
When the state of New York banned gambling from 1911-12, the Belmont didn’t run However the Wright Brothers International Aerial Tournament did. This ten-day event on October 30, 1910, happened before some 15,000 people. It included aerial time and distance races over the course of ten days. The last race of the day flew from the Belmont Park to the Statue of Liberty The American pilot claimed to win; the English pilot contested the win; so the prize was presented to the French pilot.
-
Eight years later, on May 15, 1918. Belmont Park became the origin and destination of the first Air Mail flown between New York and Washington D.C. The 4000 letters were transferred to a second plane in Philadelphia and flown on to DC. Flights to Boston and Chicago soon followed.
-
$891, 320 was raised for the American Red Cross when the Belmont Park hosted a War Relief Day in 1940.
-
On October 2, 1943, Belmont Park hosted ‘Back the Attack Day” when the admission to the track was exclusively the purchase of one or more War Bonds, producing the largest ‘gate’ in sports history….30,000 fans bought $30 million worth of War Bonds.
-
On September ll, 2001 after the terror attack on the World Trade Center, Belmont Park became the staging area for emergency vehicles and personnel.
Aside from all this history and excitement, the future of the Triple Crown appears in jeopardy. With the creation of ‘racinos’ (race tracks taking on the appearance of casinos), the growth of gambling as in New York pizza parlors,various scratch-off games,lotteries, and NASCAR’s popularity, people aren’t coming to the tracks anymore. Now add the nation’s economy hitting state revenues, the state governments that once banned gambling are now tapping gambling profits. So,the race tracks are struggling. The Pimlico and Belmont Park have filed for bankrupcy and many other race tracks have disappeared as Aksarben in Nebraska. As people get farther and farther from dealing with horses, such moments in history as the Triple Crown may possibly fade out.
But, never to be forgotten is Secretariat and his claim to the Test of Champions and the Triple Crown:
May the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and the Belmont or as we know them–The Triple Crown– never be lost or forgotten. I hope you’ve enjoyed this trek thorugh horse racing history as much as I have researching the Triple Crown. What a wonderful ride though history!
J
Thank you: Wikipedia.org/Belmont Park, Wikipedia. org/United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Belmontstakes.com/history, newjerseynewsroom.com/Preakness-and Belmont-Stakes futures.
The Preakness
The Run for the Black-eyed Susans
The northern New Jersey tribe of Native America Indians-Minisi once called this area used for the Preakness, the ’Pra-qua-les, meaning ‘quail woods.’ Even Gen. George Washington possibly called it the ‘Prekiness’ to describe where his troops were stationed during the 1776-77 winter. And the former governor of Maryland Oden Bowie named the first race at Pimlico after the colt that won the Dinner Party Stakes on October 25, 1870. The colt’s name was ‘Preakness’ from Milton Holbrook Sanford’s Stables located in Preakness, New Jersey. Well, somewhere in all this the second race in the Triple Crown got it’s name…The Preakness Stakes.
And, because the state flower of Maryland is the black-eyed susan, in 1940, the race became known as the ‘Run for the Black-eyed Susan’s. I chuckled when I learned that since this flower is not in bloom in May, no real black-eyed susans have ever been draped over the winner of the Preakness. Just yellow flowers with painted ‘black-eyes’ have been used as well as yellow chrysanthemums.
Now, the Pimlico racetrack gleaned its name when English settlers settled in this area in Colonial times. They spelled the name of this future race track “Pemblicoe” on an original settlement charter. However, they brought with them memories of a famous landmark near London (Olde Ben Pimlico’s Tavern). So, I guess Ben Pimlico won out on the last spelling. The idea of Pimlico’s began at a dinner party in Saratoga, New York, in 1868. The men present had yearlings they wanted to race. So, they agreed that in two years time they would race the three-year-olds and the winner of that race would host dinner for the losers. It was agreed. Saratoga and the American Jockey Club bid to hold this race, but the former Gov. Oden Bowie pledged to build a model racetrack in his home state and the race came to Maryland. Thus, the Pimlico racetrack was built.
At times, trainers and race enthusiasts would gather on a small rise in the infield to view a race or training run and cheer each other on. This site became known affectionately as ‘Old Hilltop.’ They say that on any given day a parade of horse-drawn carriages, four-in-hands, spikes, tandems, pairs and singles would park and the passengers gather between races for a champagne lunch on Old Hilltop. But the rise was leveled in April, 1938, for better clubhouse viewing of the back stretch The infield still retains the name ‘Old Hilltop’ even though the infield is flat.
In the first running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, seven horses broke from the starting gate. The day was May 27, 1873. Now I ran into a bit of a problem here. My Sheba or Survivor galloped home by ten lengths–a record broken by Smarty Jones in eleven lengths in 2004. It’s not clear to me who won the first Preakness. Sources conflict. But, the owner John Chamberlain is said to own both horses…So, maybe it was…My Sheba, the Survivor.
Financial times has struck this racetrack various times during its life. In 1890, the Preakness Stakes race was run at Morris Park, New York. In 1891-93 the Preakness didn’t run at all. 1894-1908, it was run at Gravesend track in Brooklyn New York. The Preakness didn’t return to Baltimore until 1909. Even today, the track faces bankrupcy, leaving the future of the Preakness Stakes uncertain.
The Preakness is two years older than the Kentucky Derby and, as most people know, is the second race of the Triple Crown. Today, the race is run at a mile and three-sixteenths but has been run at various distances from one mile to mile-and-a-half and all other official distances in between. As I said in Part One, on occasion, this race has even run before the Derby and on two differing dates, it has run on the same day as the Derby.
So to make the confusion easier to deal with maybe, the Preakness created its own traditional drink:
Black-eyed Susan Cocktail
3/4 C orange juice
1/2 C pineapple juice
3T vodka
3T light rum
2T orange liquor as Gran Marnier
Crushed ice
Garnish with lime slices and/or fresh cherries
Stir together first five ingredients. Fill 2 (12 oz) glasses with crushed ice. Pour orange juice mixture over ice and garnish.
While these folk enjoy this cocktail, another tradition fills the air as the singing of the state’s song ‘Maryland, My Maryland’ usually led from the infield by the United States Naval Academy Glee Club from Annapolis Md. And, another tradition that developed in 1909 that happens at the end of the Preakness Stakes is the painting of the Weather Vane. ’As soon as the Preakness winner has been declared official, a painter climbs a ladder to the top of the replica of the Old Clubhouse cupola. He applies the colors of the victorious owner’s silks on the jockey and horse which are part of the weather vane atop the infield structure.” And so, it is done still today. (The old cupola was destroyed in a fire in June 1966)
The first winner in 1873, be it either Survivor or My Sheba, ran the Preakness at a mile and a half in 2:43.00 for a winning purse of $3000. The winner of 2010, Lookin-At-Lucky won running at mile and three-sixteenth, at 1:55:47 and winning $660,000. Five fillies have won the Preakness as well as three fillies in the Kentucky Derby and three fillies in the Belmont. (Only 2-3% of the Triple Crown races have been won by fillies.) Smarty Jones (2004) beat Secretariat’s record (1974) for victory margin at 11.5 lengths.
Now, Tank’s Prospect (1985), Louis Quatorze (1996), and Curlin (2007) is said to have tied Secretariat’s record at one mile three-sixteenth at 1:53 2/5…so determined by the Daily Racing Form that day. However, the official timer malfunctioned during the Preakness Stakes when Secretariat ran. So, the officials ruled Secretariat’s record at 1:54 2/5. I vote for what the Daily Racing Form says. So you decide….here’s Secretariat winning the Preakness. Enjoy and long live the Preakness and the Pimlico.
Thank you, wikipedia.org/Preakness Stakes, wikipedia.org/United States Triple Crown of ThoroughbredRacing, gohorsebetting/preaknessstakes/history, find.myrecipies.com/black-eyed susan cocktail
For horselovers, spring holds a special excitement…the running of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing or as we know it…The Triple Crown. Each yearl we wonder, will we have a triple crown winner this year or not? Hearts soar just thinking of another Secretariat. I still can see that horse making the last turn at the Belmont and heading for the straightaway to the finish line. I also remember actually going to Calumet Farms in Kentucky and seeing this animal grazing in his acre pasture alongside other great horses from that farm. Wow, just to touch the same turf that horse had.
I’ve never been to any of the race tracks during the Triple Crown but Joe and I have gone to a few famous ones a time or two. We’ve been to Churchill Downs, Del Mar, and Aksarben and Kansas City’s own Woodlands. (The last two are no longer running.) Now, I’m not a gambler so I enjoy these races in a different way…I just love watching the horses run and watching how the jockeys work the track. My hubby likes the clubhouse with its air conditioning, nice tables, delicious buffet, fancy drinks, and a better view of the finish line. I love being in what I call the ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken Section’ or down by the fence with the local folk eating Kentucky Fried Chicken, drinking sodas or a beer or two at the finish line, and feeling the dirt filter over the fence as the horses race past. The thunder of their hooves is music to me.
Now, if I had my way, I’d even be down in the barns cleaning the stalls, scrubbing tack or, if really trusted, walking one of the thoroughbreds after a race. That ain’t gonna happen. These animals are more valuable than my house on any given day. And the horses running during the Triple Crown, well, that’s no cheap change either. So I got to thinking about how much I really knew about this jewel of the thoroughbred racing world and I thought’s I’d share what I found out…and it’s no way near everything about this fascinating event. That would take volumes.
History of the Triple Crown
The Triple Crown Stakes did not always happen in the order of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and finally the Belmont. That’s only been that way since 1931. Prior to that date, the Preakness ran before the Derby eleven times. And, on May 12, 1917, and on May 13, 1922, the Derby and the Preakness ran on the same day. In 1919, Sir Barton won all three races thus making him the first winner of all three races in one year. However, Gallant Fox created the first recognition of the Triple Crown title by being the “superhorse that could win the Triple Crown in 1930.Thus, the journalist of the Daily Racing Form, Charles Hatton coined the title and only eleven horses have one this crown.
History of the Kentucky Derby
Let’s start with the important stuff….traditions and facts. The Derby or as it’s known as ”the most exiting two minutes in sports” or ‘the fastest two minutes in sports’ is one and a quarter-mile long or ten furlongs. The horses are three years old and is run at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. This track is still ranked the most attended race in North America including the Preakness and Belmont. Here, the wealthy purchase seats in the Millionaires Row and the ladies wear lavish outfits and very large elaborate hats. Everyone sings “My Old Kentucky Home” while the horses parade onto the track while they drink sip a drink that has graced this race at Churchill Downs for nearly a century–the Derby’s Mint Julep.
The Kentucky Derby Mint Julep
2 C Sugar
2 C water
6-8 sprigs of fresh mint
crushed ice
Kentucky Whisky as Maker Mark or Early Times
Silver Julep cup
Make a syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool in covered container with 6-8 sprigs of fresh mint and refrigerate overnight. Fill a julep cup with crushed ice, add one tablespoon mint syrup and 2 oz of whisky. Stir rapidly to frost cup and garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.
Approximately 120,000 mint julep are served on Derby day, using 10,000 bottles of Early Times Mint Julep cocktail, 1000 pounds of fresh mint, and 60,000 pounds of ice.
The Derby’s nickname is the “Run for the Roses” because in 1883, E. Berry Wall presented roses to all the ladies at the Post Derby party and the tradition of the roses began. However, it wasn’t until 1896 that the first drape of 554 roses covered the withers of the winning horse, Chant ridden by Frank Goodale won in 2:41.00.
The Derby is one of the oldest Thoroughbred races in America–the Travers Stakes being the oldest, 1864. In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr (grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark team) traveled to England and was there for the Epsom Derby and later to Paris for the Gran Prix de Paris. He came home with the idea of such a race for America thus the Louisville Jockey Club was built at Churchill Downs named after John and Henry Churchill who provided the land for the first race that was a mile and half long like the Epsom and Gran Prix. $10,000 was the first winning purse and fifteen horses ran. Aristides won in 2:37.75. (1875) Super Savor won 2:04.45. (2010) with a winning purse of $1,425,000. The first televised race was in May 3, 1952 with a purse winnings of $100,000. Secretariat still holds the records for the speed record 1:59.40.
Thank you:
wikipedia.org/UnitedStates Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, wikipedia.org/Kentucky Derby, kentucyderby.com/experience/traditions
Remember my post ‘Riding like a Duck’ and the video of Stacy Westfall on YouTube. I can’t believe she’s going to ride in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Opening Ceremonies in Lexington KY this fall. If any of you can go to this event…GO. It is the Olympics of the horse world. Riders from all over the world will be there. I’m going to really try and go and stay and stay as long as I can.
I haven’t forgotten you and am working/researching stuff to put up. It’s been crazy this spring. Hang in there with me and keep writing.
J
“Stacy Westfall to Perform in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Opening Ceremonies
LEXINGTON, KY—Champion rider and equine competitor Stacy Westfall will entertain audiences as she performs without a saddle or bridle on her champion horse, Roxy, in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Westfall, who has appeared on Ellen and is a YouTube sensation, will bring her champion reining horse, Whizards Baby Doll (“Roxy”), out of retirement to participate in the Opening Ceremonies for the world’s most prestigious equestrian competition.
Tickets to the 2010 Games Opening Ceremonies, held on the evening of September 25, are still available and can be purchased at, www.alltechfeigames.com/tickets.
“Stacy brings to life through her amazing performance the relationship and trust between rider and horse,” said Dr. Everett McCorvey, Executive Producer of the Opening Ceremonies. “Her remarkable abilities that help to showcase that relationship are a perfect match for what we want audience members to experience during the Opening Ceremonies.”
Learning to ride at the age of six, Westfall showed an amazing natural talent with horses. After attending the University of Findlay, OH to major in Equestrian Studies, Westfall went on to become one of the top competitors in her discipline, reining. In 2006, Westfall became the first woman to enter and win the notoriously challenging “Road to the Horse” colt starting competition. The same year, Westfall won the National Reining Horse Association Championship Freestyle Reining competition sans saddle and bridle on her horse Whizards Baby Doll—the first and only time a competitor has attempted to ride without tack.
Her champion horse, Whizards Baby Doll, affectionately known as “Roxy,” was semi-retired in 2008. Westfall will be bringing Roxy out of retirement to welcome the world to Kentucky, and to the United States.
(Photo Credit: Primo Morales)
Reining is the only western discipline recognized by the International Equestrian Federation, and of the eight disciplines, and is considered America’s contribution to equestrian sport. The 2010 Games will feature world championships in eight equestrian sports at Lexington’s Kentucky Horse Park from September 25 through October 10.
Stacy Westfall is one of many equine, musical, and cultural entertainers involved in the ceremonies for the 2010 Games. Over 200 horses are slated for the Opening Ceremonies alone. In addition to the equine component of the Opening Ceremony, the “human” component includes orchestra, choir, dancers, headline musicians, movement corps of hundreds of adults and children, as well as local and international celebrities and dignitaries.
About the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games are the world championships of eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The Games are held every four years and this will be the first occurrence in the United States.
The Games will be broadcast on NBC Sports, which has marked the largest commitment to network coverage of equestrian sport in U.S. television history. The 2010 Games are expected to have a statewide economic impact of $150 million, and current sponsors include Alltech, Rolex, John Deere, Ariat International, Inc., Meydan and the American Quarter Horse Association. For more information on the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, please visit www.alltechfeigames.com”
