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Valerie Ashker, 60, finished a six-month, 3,300-mile ride on her OTTB Primitivo this weekend. Ashker and Peter Friedman road from California to Virginia to raise awareness about OTTBs. Photo by and courtesy Tylir Penton

OTTBs complete ‘ride of a lifetime,’ cross USA

Nearly six months since setting out from California —on horseback— to tackle the ride of a lifetime across the United States, Valerie Ashker and Peter Friedman completed the 3,300-mile journey last weekend at Virginia’s Middleburg Training Track. Ashker’s daughter and four-star Eventer Laine Ashker wept with joy, as friends, family and supporters gathered to welcome the tired travelers, and thousands more watched online, as the two unflappable Thoroughbred ex-racehorses trotted onto the track as if they’d just come in from a hack. Glistening in good health, and sporting robust figures, Primitivo, 7, and Solar Express, 17, carried Ashker and Friedman […]

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is revamping its Wellington, Fla. facility and opened its doors to clients over the weekend.

Rood & Riddle revamps Wellington hospital

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital recently announce it opened the doors of its revamped Wellington facility to clients on Nov. 18. The world-renowned equine hospital, which is in the process of updating the current facility with a new surgical center, is looking forward to supporting the equestrian community of Florida by providing emergency and elective surgical procedures, as well as advanced diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, podiatry, and ambulatory services, according to a press release. The treatment center is located on SouthShore Boulevard in Wellington. “We are excited to expand our services to Wellington on a year round basis,” said managing partner Scott Pierce, […]

Diana Pikulski has been a champion for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and its horses for decades.

Pikulski: All horses matter, deserve happiness

Diana Pikulski’s unwavering commitment to 825 ex-racehorses in the care of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is, in part, an extension of her core belief in the sanctity of animal life, a powerful feeling dating back to childhood and a memory of lamb slaughter. She was 12 years old when she and her family visited a farm to buy ducks, and she unexpectedly saw lambs being slaughtered. Decades later, she vividly recalls the scene that changed her life. “I became a vegetarian after that, because once I made the connection between what I saw that day and the food on my plate, I said, this is not food for me,” […]