Jim Gath: Horses are always talking to us
After a hard-charging life as a founding member of USA Today, and followed by a series of pressure-cooker career choices and setbacks, Jim Gath sat down beneath a tree in 2003 at a crossroads of a life with great highs and lows, all pointing him toward horses. It had been a wild ride up to that point. On the upside, he was flying high at USA Today, topping out as the head of advertising sales, overseeing a $240 million annual revenue goal. And he went on to hold other lofty positions in the world of advertising and entertainment. But by […]
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Junkies, angry inmates made well by T’breds
It was a crazy idea. Teaching prison inmates to care for Thoroughbred ex-racehorses in a rehabilitative setting that provided care for unwanted horses, while at the same time instilling a new lease on life for the inmates, seemed a bit far-fetched to Jim Tremper. So when a friend suggested that Tremper apply for a new position at the Wallkill Correctional Facility in New York, where the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) was preparing to launch its flagship Second Chances program, he recoiled— a little. “At the time I remember thinking I didn’t want to work at a prison,” he said. “And […]
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Q&A: Inmates from Chicago learn to love horses
A woman who once galloped horses and groomed for legendary horsemen—Sir Henry Cecil, John Gosden and Henry Jones among them—now finds meaning and inspiration at the Vandalia Correctional Facility in Illinois. In a careworn barn far from the glitz and glamor of her old stomping grounds at Royal Ascot, Nicki Wheeler, originally from Scotland, teaches inmates from Chicago how to care for and trust thousand-pound ex-racehorse Thoroughbreds. Serving as the barn manager and equine instructor for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances program, Wheeler works with inmates, teaching them valuable horsemanship skills while they care for some of the 900 […]
