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Ollie now enjoys retirement life at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Photo by Debby Thomas

Tearful breeder reunited with TRF rescue horse

Cathy Hartsock rushed into Barn 4 at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s James River location, found the right stall, and threw her arms around the neck of the copper chestnut gelding she’d been worrying about for years. She began to cry. “I felt like I was seeing one of my children,” says Cathy Hartsock, who along with her husband Bob Hartsock had always wondered what happened to the off-track Thoroughbred Oligopolist. “He was the best horse we ever bred,” adds Bob Hartsock. The Maryland couple, who bred four horses in their lifetime, sold Oligopolist as a 2-year-old and avidly followed his […]

Susan Wagner, executive director of Equine Advocates in New York, launched an effort to get 100,000 signatures on an appeal to end horse slaughter. She stands next to Press Exclusive, a Thoroughbred ex-racehorse who was trampled en route to slaughter and nearly died.

Horse charity launches huge anti-slaughter effort

A New York charity, looking to end horse slaughter once and for all, is seeking to raise 100,000 signatures on an appeal to the White House. Equine Advocates, a horse sanctuary based in Chatham, N.Y. launched a signature drive last week in an effort to gain enough signatures by Election Day to convince the current administration to intercede on behalf of the estimated 150,000 horses shipped to Mexico and Canada every year for slaughter. Stating that mounting scientific evidence, published in top scientific journal Elsevier, as well as in the mainstream press, indicates horse meat is tainting “beef products” sold […]

Ruby was rescued from the Unadilla Auction in 2014 after Emma Myruski, 12, promised she'd "get her out." The pair has started to show this summer.

Lumpy-legged mare rescued by girl now shows

A lumpy-legged mare destined for slaughter until a fearsome young girl intervened, made her Pony Club showing debut this summer in the next chapter of an “incredible journey” that began in a depressing auction house where all hope seemed lost. Watching from the sidelines and rejoicing at the near-miracle that brought together her 12-year-old daughter Emma Myruski with the beautiful black mare Ruby, longtime Thoroughbred advocate and parent Kay O’Hanlon Myruski says she could not be more proud. “Emma’s dedication and hard work never ceases to amaze me,” says Myruski. “She is an old soul in a young body. She […]