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From Suffolk with love, race fan gets a T-bred

By on September 23, 2014

Longtime Boston-based Thoroughbred advocate Jennifer Montfort adopts a Suffolk Downs racehorse as an era ends, and the track closes.

Longtime Boston-based Thoroughbred advocate Jennifer Montfort adopts a Suffolk Downs racehorse as an era ends, and the track closes.

After spending years helping others find their dream horse at Suffolk Downs, longtime horse advocate and volunteer Jennifer Montfort went for it last weekend: she bought a horse!

In horse country, a bold step like this may elicit a shrug or a comment like, “So what?” But, in Boston, Mass., where affordable stabling is about as hard to come by as affordable anything, Montfort decided to throw caution to the wind and purchase 4-year-old Caristo.

“It all happened very quickly,” Montfort says. “I first met Caristo last year when he was a new 3-year-old in John and Kathy Botty’s barn, and I immediately liked him. He’s very much my type of horse. I actually have a picture on Instagram from over a year ago with me saying that he was my new horsey boyfriend.”

Caristo
Sire: Langfhur
Dam: Gemilli, by Lemon Drop Kid
Foal date: March 23, 2010While visiting the gelding’s owners on Saturday, Montfort lamented that with the imminent and permanent closure of the 79-year-old racetrack, her dream to one day adopt a Suffolk horse would forever be just that; a dream. Montfort previously worked for years for CANTER New England, taking trainer listings and networking specifically to help Suffolk Downs horses find new homes. And as she discussed her disappointment with the Botty family, they chimed in, “What about Caristo?”

“I had to think about it. I haven’t owned a horse since I moved to Boston in 2006, so it’s a big deal to contemplate,” she says. “But, after a little bit of thought, and some very quick plan making, and a lot of enabling by my horsey friends—I thought it was probably the right time and the right horse.”

Caristo, on left, will be leaving Suffolk Downs soon to winter in Maine.

Caristo, on left, will be leaving Suffolk Downs soon to winter in Maine.

It seems the match was written in the stars and in his Jockey Club papers to boot.

Says Montfort, “I attended Sweet Briar College. And there are two names I saw when I first looked his pedigree up. They were: “Sweet Lady Briar” and “Sweet Briar Too.” How hilarious is that?”

Though disappointed that Suffolk Downs is closing due to losing out on a casino deal, which would have brought much-needed revenue to the struggling racetrack, she is thrilled to take a piece of Suffolk home with her.

“I’m devastated that the track is closing, but so happy to have a horse that was part of its history from people who have taken amazing care of him,” she says. “It’s nice to have a bright spot with the track closing, and I’m glad to be able to give a horse a home and a new job.

“The horses at Suffolk are so worthy of their happy endings and have been so lucky to have such a great supporter of TB aftercare in Suffolk Downs—it’s been so gratifying to see so many go on to great homes in my time there, and I’m honored to be a part of that with a horse of my own.” ♥

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Blind rider and a T-bred, 26, are champs

By on September 22, 2014

Legally blind equestrian Wren Zimmerman, 25, rides 26-year-old Rio four times a week. They've won a championship and reserve championship in their division!

Legally blind equestrian Wren Zimmerman, 25, rides 26-year-old Rio four times a week. They’ve won a championship and reserve championship in their division!

He stood tall and shiny in an Oregon field, a Thoroughbred so handsome he looked far younger than his 26 years.

Last summer, as the sun glinted off his well-muscled body, Rio turned his finely sculpted head to watch a young woman approach. He could see her thin form, her long hair.

But she could not see him.

He appeared as a blurry brown object in the fog to Wren Zimmerman, a 25-year-old who has been legally blind since her senior year in high school. Walking alongside Vicki Zacharias, a horse trainer who owned the spectacular gelding, a new chapter for the wise Thoroughbred and a young lady who dared to pursue her horse dreams in spite of her deteriorating vision.

“After I was diagnosed with Stargart’s Macular Dystrophy my vision started to get worse with time. And after my senior year in high school, I had to stop driving completely, and was diagnosed as being legally blind,” Zimmerman says.

Losing her vision and independence, Zimmerman returned home to her parents after first completing an undergraduate degree in sociology. And though her world looked as fogged up as a bathroom mirror on most days, inside she was still the same horse-loving girl who could find peace and self-empowerment riding a great steed.

“I found Vicki Zacharias last summer, around May. I contacted her and explained that I’m legally blind, but that I wanted to do a lease or a half lease, and I asked her if my condition would deter her from teaching me,” she says. “Right away Vicki replied, ‘Absolutely not!’ and she said she had just the horse for me.”

Though Wren Zimmerman cannot see the jump in front of her, she can feel Rio as he leaves the ground.

Though Wren Zimmerman cannot see the jump in front of her, she can feel Rio as he leaves the ground.

Rio, a Thoroughbred with an unreadable tattoo, had been in Zacharias’ facility Rain Creek Farm for 11 years. She took over ownership of the stately gentleman at the close of his heyday jumping a meter 15 for his longtime owner who originated from Rio de Janeiro, Zimmerman explains.

“Rio is so handsome that everybody calls him George Clooney because he’s handsome and older,” Zimmerman adds.

He was no more than a brown blur to her that first day she approached him. But as she drew closer, he started to take shape. She saw the shine of his satiny deep-brown coat, and when she stood right beside him, the sheer size of his 16.2 well-built frame impressed her, and the beauty of his head, turned inquisitively her way, gave her hope that with him she had found a partner who might carry her through the difficult days ahead.

“When I ride, I can’t dwell on anything. I have to focus on what I’m doing,” she says. “It’s my relaxation (from grief) but it’s also a thrill ride. It’s thrilling!”

Though she can’t see the jumps in front of her as they canter up, Zimmerman has learned to use cues from the horse, her instructor and from the large objects in the ring, to guide her over obstacles and jumps. By studying the pattern of the jumps in the area, which her instructor rearranges weekly, Zimmerman is able to commit to memory where they are located in relation to “large spatial cues,” she says. “Vicki has taught me to learn various spots on the wall, and how they relate to a particular jump. So I know that when I get to a certain place, to turn left and that the jump is five strides away,” she adds.

Aboard Rio, Zimmerman has no time to dwell on the loss of her vision. Her rides are both her relaxation and thrill.

Aboard Rio, Zimmerman has no time to dwell on the loss of her vision. Her rides are both her relaxation and thrill.

When she is cantering toward a jump, Zimmerman cannot technically see it. But she can feel Rio as he gathers his body and prepares to leave the ground. “He is essentially my eyes,” she says. “Even though I can’t see it, I know it’s there when I can feel Rio getting ready.”

The pair did so well together in their first two weeks of riding that her instructor immediately sent them to a schooling show at the Northwest Classic last year. The pair competed in several classes with 12-inch jumps, after Zimmerman memorized the course on paper, and left the jumping to her wise older horse.

They won the championship of their division! And a few weeks ago, they won the reserve championship in their second show.

Ribbons and championships aside, it is the ability to ride at all that gives Zimmerman her greatest hope in the face of growing darkness.

Zimmerman rides Rio four times a week. Her mother drives her to the barn and watches her daughter feeling strong and powerful as the beautiful Thoroughbred carries her confidently over jumps and obstacles; when for a moment her heart is joyous and her spirit is free.

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Mission begins: Keep US Equines in America

By on September 19, 2014

These burros are among the wild equines Elaine Nash and her grassroots organizations Keep America’s Wild Equines in America will help. Photo by Marjorie Farabee

These burros are among the wild equines Elaine Nash and her grassroots organizations Keep America’s Wild Equines in America will help. Photo by Marjorie Farabee

Four weeks after a social media campaign was launched to block a government effort to ship 100 wild American burros to Guatemala, some 75 people have stepped forward to purchase the adorable equines, thus keeping them on US soil, says Elaine Nash, founder of Keep America’s Wild Equines in America.

“We launched the campaign on Aug. 25 after a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) advisory meeting in Wyoming (announced) a plan to ship 100 wild burros to Guatemala to be beasts of burden,” Nash says. “We started to do some research on how burros are treated in Guatemala, and could hardly come up with one picture that didn’t show them suffering; they were pitiful looking, worn down, starving, and so overloaded by their loads of bricks or produce that they could hardly stand.”

Elaine Nash founded Fleet of Angels to arrange transport for endangered equines. The national group involves thousands of good-hearted owners of horse trailers in shipping efforts.

Elaine Nash founded Fleet of Angels to arrange transport for endangered equines. The national group involves thousands of good-hearted owners of horse trailers in shipping efforts.

The longtime horse advocate years ago launched the successful and growing equine transportation network Fleet of Angels, which connects endangered horses who need a ride to a shipper who can drive them to safety. Though the burro project was a little different, at its heart was the same goal; to help American equines of all varieties to safety.

“We’ve never not done burros. There just hasn’t been much opportunity to help them in the past,” she says. “But we have always treated all equines equally, whether they’re a burro, mule, or horse.”

The newest grassroots campaign asks prospective burro buyers to pay $25 for one burro, but strongly suggests purchasing in pairs—for a very good reason. “Burros bond very tightly with each other and they have buddies now in the Utah (BLM lot) where they’re waiting,” Nash says. “We’re happy to report that almost everyone who is buying a burro has agreed to buy two or four.”

So successful is the burro sale project that the BLM has joined forces, offering to transport the fuzzy creatures to a holding facility in Oklahoma where they’ll await transport.

And to help defray fuel costs to ship the animals, Nash and her team has raised half of the $10,000 goal. “We’re asking for $10,000 because that’s what it’s going to take to ship the burros across the country,” she says. Those wishing to purchase a burro are invited to contact Nash directly via email HoldYourHorses@aol.com. Those interested in donating to the fuel fund may do so via FleetOfAngels.org. Or for further information on the burro effort, please visit the Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/Keep.Americas.Wild.Equines.In.America.

Burros form fast friendships, so Nash suggests they be purchased with their friend. Photo by Marjorie Farabee

Burros form fast friendships, so Nash suggests they be purchased with their friend. Photo by Marjorie Farabee

Although the burro effort is off to a great start, time is of the essence, Nash says. The BLM, she notes, is trying to quickly move the animals, well known to be lovable and dependable beyond all measure.

“Burros are wonderful animals. They’re very friendly, curious … and they make wonderful guard dogs. If anything foreign enters their environment, they yell like a siren going off.”

Keep America’s Wild Equines in America would not have been possible without the valuable assistance of friends Marjorie Farabee, Joanne Pfeiffer, Barbara Sunblade and Christy Lee, Nash says, noting that they have helped her with the 20-hour-per-day project to find the burros a home before they are airlifted to Guatemala.

 

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