Va. officer helps inmates heal with horses
Officer Shane Clarke of Virginia’s James River Work Center never gets tired of hearing the voices of paroled inmates who call him on the barn phone; the very barn that was at once a humble home for horses and a kind of schoolroom, where those dispossessed learned to pick hooves, feed and interact with 1,200 pound animals who in turn helped them find their way. “I’d say that when I hear from guys who’ve gotten out of prison and are doing well, that’s about the greatest part of my job,” says Clarke, an officer with James River Work Center for […]
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OTTB charities join the growing TAA ‘network’
As part of a growing effort by the Thoroughbred industry to take care of retiring racehorses coming off the track, eight Thoroughbred charities were just recently added to a growing network of facilities deemed to have met the “high bar” of best practices and standards for Thoroughbred aftercare. Following on-site inspections of both horses and farms, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance welcomed eight Thoroughbred charities into the fold for the first time, as well as 19 previously accredited charities. The designations bring the total number of TAA-accredited Thoroughbred charities to 64, says Stacie Clark Rogers, operations consultant. The accreditation, which indicates […]
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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 […]
