Photo of the Week: Haunted by a spooky TB
Hugh Francis and his dark bay OTTB Piper Heidsieck often haunt the Old Dutch Church Cemetery in Westchester, N.Y. this time of the year. Francis, a retired mounted police officer, enjoys donning the Headless Horseman costume to help celebrate the holiday. He tapped Piper for the very special role of ‘spooky black horse’ a few years back, after a friend gave up on him. He was just too hard to handle. But in Francis’s hands, the gelding proved to be no spook at all. In fact, says Francis, “There’s nothing wrong with the horse at all. He’s just a high-powered Thoroughbred.” Piper’s […]
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Makeover winner: ‘Any horse can do this’
Lindsey Partridge and her Thoroughbreds were said to be “the train nobody saw coming.” After winning the highest honors at the TCA Thoroughbred Makeover in Kentucky this past weekend, the Ontario nurse and her two spontaneously purchased OTTBs— Soar and Lionofwallstreet—returned to Canada after a weekend spent wowing Thoroughbred fans with Freestyle routines that helped proved that an off-track Thoroughbred can do just about anything. Her gray mare Soar, who she renamed Kahleesi, was named America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred, after putting in a routine that included a demonstration of bridleless riding and a range of gaits and skills. Soar New […]
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Jan Kees: Lived 15 years in a stall, then free
Jan Kees spent nearly two decades locked in a stall, leaving only to train, race, or accompany other racehorses to the starting gate. He ground out 101 starts in the 1990s, ending one career and promptly beginning his next as a track pony, without so much as a breather in between. And yet, despite the toll on his body, which left his knees and ankles the size of grapefruits, Jan Kees was a prize of a horse, a “real gentleman” who entered retirement with Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) board member Leslie Priggen roughly six years ago. “He was the absolute […]
