Just imagine,Thoroughbreds for all!
Could the off-track Thoroughbred be the new “it” horse? The “new black” as Allie Conrad, the executive director of CANTER Mid Atlantic, postulates on her Facebook page, before she rushes off to watch 21 resplendent ex-racehorses compete in the Rolex Kentucky Three Day. In the opinion of Steuart Pittman, creator of the Retired Racehorse Training Project, the answer is yes: The once dominant Sporthorse, which in recent years played second fiddle to the Warmblood in the show world, is becoming fashionable once more. “More and more people are starting to recognize that Thoroughbreds are one of the coolest choices” in […]
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The age of the Thoroughbred dawns
On the day he was spotted in a cross-country warm-up ring, I Just Want to Fly looked about as far from his past as a failed racehorse could. Dappled gray, and brimming with power and a showy presence, he moved flawlessly, capturing the eye of world-class equestrian Nathalie Pollard. As Michael Pollard, her husband and Pan American Team Gold Medalist recalls, “She saw him across the ring and said, ‘That’s a really, really nice horse’. He just had a beautiful look and was already a good mover.” During a phone interview this week, as he drove to the legendary four-star […]
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Ann Banks: A good steward, racing dynamo
Walking “hots” for Hall of Fame trainer Elliott Burch back in the 70s, Ann Banks learned the right way to treat racehorses. Nobody yelled at them; they weren’t shanked around; and never did the blare of loud music disrupt the sanctity of the stabling area. “It was peaceful and quiet,” she recalls. “I learned to be respectful, and to speak softly to the superstar racehorses.” Stars she knew personally, by their quirks and charms, included Horse of the Year Arts and Letters and Key to the Mint, Eclipse Award American Champion Three-Year-Old Male. On her summers off from the University […]
