I know for those of you who followed while we are preparing for this year Returned RaceHorse project thoroughbred Make -overIt may not seem, but I am normally a planner. Don’t get me wrong, I love a spontaneous adventure or horse show as everyone else, but when it comes to the horses and the company, I always have a plan. But that’s the thing with horses, sometimes they have other plans … and sometimes those plans to change all.
I should have spent the end of last week Devon Fall Classic with mine Take2 Stuffed Jumper and 2021 thoroughbred make -over graduated, Jersey Fresh. From there we were ready to make a quick change to compete this week in the Take2 championships on the Kentucky Horse Park. Instead, a unfortunately timed abscess leaves us on the sidelines.
How does that influence our make -over -plans for this year? Well, I now have an available, non -residual stall in the Kentucky Horse Park for the Split Rock Kentucky National this week, as well as an empty place in my friend’s trailer and a hotel room. Do we have to run and take Teddy Spaghetti for a last-minute adventure?
Of course I was originally worried about leaving him for six days in this crucial last three weeks before the thoroughbred make -over, but I also knew that Grace, my make -over teammate, was planning to drive him and easily picked up my play while I was gone.
Now, given the choice to take him to Kentucky as a non-shooting horse this week, we weigh the advantages and disadvantages. The obvious professionals, he gets to see the Kentucky Horse Park prior to the make -over, experience in a huge horse show environment and have almost my only attention for six whole days of horse shows training and bootcamp. The disadvantages? Shipping from Maryland to Kentucky Twice in three weeks can be heavy for a horse and may be able to get too much out of him. Can we find a layover farm and leave it down there? Of course, but as much as I would like to hang out in Kentucky for three weeks with Teddy, I can’t get away from my farm and other horses and customers for that long.
So we are overbounded whether we should leave well enough and keep our plan, or whether this is the ultimate situation “when life hands your lemons”, and we have to throw him on the trailer. The kicker? We have fewer than two full days to decide!
Regarding what this last month looked like Teddy, it was busy but successful. We match local rings a few more training opportunities, continued to expand his rail-riding experiences at home, brought him to Swan Lake Stables Local Final Show For a new chance to spend the night, and brought it to Tranquility Manor’s Fall Hunter Pace to test our cross-country training.
Swan Lake was the first time that Grace had the chance to show him around a full course of the right hunter jumps, and they did great! Some of you may remember that with the NJ Jersey thoroughbred spectacular In July, Grace and I chose that she would do the cross-rail Jumpers, simply because the ring was larger and we had the feeling that it would be the better introduction until she did a full course. To be honest, for Teddy, the jumps don’t matter at all, but it was great to see them excel in a more traditional show hunter setting as we can expect during the thoroughbred make -over. In fact, they did so well that they decided to record Teddy’s very first derby, and they finished sixth in a huge open 2 ‘Hunter Derby. We then went one step further and let Bay, the youngest child of Teddy, compete in the Cross-rail Hunter Division. As planned, they took it slowly and they had a great time. To be honest, how many 3-year-olds can only safely trot off the track for a few months and a cross-rail course caner with an 11-year-old in a large, multi-ring horse show environment? Not much!
For Hunter’s pace, we had a much larger group than when Teddy and I only started his brother and grace for the Spring Paper Chase, and quite a few newcomers, who turned out to be a little more managing than I expected. Although he became a bit upset when he felt that his group separated or left him, Teddy did all the big things great. He stood quietly with friends, while others jumped around him, patiently waited when other groups who wanted to go faster than we passed, with ease steep and narrow paths navigated through the forest, an eye on one of the deep mud or streams, and all everything asked him. I really couldn’t ask anything anymore.
Regarding Patriotic Party, who may remember some, my potential second entry here on a training board, he excited so quickly and well that his owner decided that he was ready to go home and start his adventures as her eventing and fox hunting partner.
For him, the thoroughbred make -over was always a potential bonus goal if it fitted in his training. He was originally only meant to be here for 30 to 60 days and would only endure the makeover if it was an advantage for his owner and himself.
While I would lie if I said I was not shocked that I couldn’t take a second horse, the fact that he came back so well that she could take the reins over herself, because just about every experience was exactly what had to be done. Moreover, we will still see them for incidental lessons and in the Hunt -Veld, which will be just as rewarding!
So, just three weeks after the day we ship for this year’s thoroughbred make, my message is the same as it has been for a long time. Everything can happen. This company is full of ups and downs and runs on your plans, but everything is possible, and that is so exciting!
The Jockey Club supports Many aftercare initiatives Including the thoroughbred Nacare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare and thoroughbred Incentive program (tip), which encourages the retraining of thoroughbreds in other disciplines after completion of a career. View all the initiatives supported by the Jockey Club.
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