Photo of the Week: Have a seat

A Suffolk Downs alumn takes a load off on a spring day.

A Suffolk Downs alumn takes a load off on a spring day.

Since retiring from Suffolk Downs in September 2014, Pats Love has embraced all the good things in her new life.

Especially sunbathing while sitting up!

Owner Shannon O’Neill says her mare will chill out in paddock in her best adaptation of a couch potato nearly everyday, particularly on a warm day.

“She’s my silly girl,” says O’Neill, who notes that she fell instantly in love with the mare after a jockey friend told her about the OTTB.

“I’ve ridden Thoroughbreds for years, and have been fortunate enough to exercise many of them on a private farm in Massachusetts. It was always exciting to me to be a part of their training and to see my “babies” run in the races.”

And now that she has Pats Love on a new track, she plans to introduce her to schooling shows this summer, and work on fashioning her into a hunter/pleasure horse. “I don’t like to rush horses, and she took a little time to settle in,” O’Neill says. “As you can see … she now think’s she’s a dog!”

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