Blinded Everglades horse ribbons at HITS Ocala
Author’s note: A repeat this morning. Happy 4th of July! Prodigioso, the burned and battered racehorse who was left to die on a desolate stretch of Florida Everglades, returned to the sunshine state this month to compete at the highly rated HITS Ocala series. Glossy and confident, Prodigioso carried owner and rider Robin Hannah into the ribbons in every under-saddle class, and also won ribbons in all but two over-fences classes, she reports. “He did extremely well, especially considering he was the greenest horse in the competition,” Hannah says. “People were amazed when I told them he’d just recently learned to […]
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How Valerie Ashker finds 4-star T-breds
In three minutes, Valerie Ashker can tell if a Thoroughbred on a racetrack backside is bold enough to become a four-star sport horse. “When you’re picking a horse out for someone, it’s that first impression that’s so critical, but it’s hard to explain,” says Ashker, proprietor of Crow’s Ear Farm in California, mother of top eventer Lainey Ashker, and Thoroughbred talent scout. “You have to look for a horse that wants to do the Super Bowl. I ask myself when I see a horse, ‘is there a keenness, is the head up and does he look like he’s the cock […]
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Camelot T-bred is muse for Miss Connecticut
Acacia Courtney was crowned Miss Connecticut last weekend! Inspired in life by her Thoroughbred, Acacia discussed her rescue work in the interview portion of the contest. In honor of her victory, we are repeating an earlier story on Acacia. And we’ll be talking with her soon for a followup story! *** As a large truck idled nearby like a predator lurking to take unwanted horses to slaughter, a young woman approached a skittish gray mare hiding in a paddock corner. Frightened and evasive, Perfect Love held her head down and kept her posture low until out of the corner of […]
