Surprise foal is Fantastic show horse

My Fantastic Lady. Photo by Lydia Williams

My Fantastic Lady, pictured with trainer/rider Courtney Somers of Woodbrook Farm, has been a surprise from the moment her owners Angie and Sabrina Moore learned her mother was pregnant with her. Photo by Lydia Williams

It has been nothing but surprises since Angie Moore decided to take in a broodmare six years ago.

The first revelation was discovering that Lady With a Kick was in foal to Graded Stakes winner and Breeders’ Cup participant Fantasticat, a Storm Cat son.

“I had no idea the horse was even pregnant, and when I was told how impressive the father was, I started to get really excited that we had a Cinderella on our hands,” Moore says. “Everybody kept telling us we’d have a racehorse on our hands, and I was very excited to race her.”

The next curve ball turned a bit serious when the broodmare had a difficult birth, bleeding excessively as she brought the Cinderella foal, who they named My Fantastic Lady, into the world. The mare’s uterine wall tore during delivery and she bled heavily, nearly losing her life.

My Fantastic Lady
Barn name: Fancy
Sire: Fantasticat
Dam: Lady With a Kick, by Well Decorated
Foal date: Feb. 27, 2008
But mother recovered as her bright bay foal grew up and set the Moore family’s heart to hammering with excitement. “We sent her to train at Bonita Farm in Darlington, Md., with Kevin Boniface and she was funny,” Moore says. “She’d leave the gait real strong, and be out in front. But as soon as another horse kicked dirt in her face, she stopped trying.”

My Fantastic Lady was nothing like her old man in the racing department, and after a few starts on turf the pretty mare was brought home, where she was soon paired with rider Courtney Somers of Woodbrook Farm, in Jarrettsville, Md. It took Somers only five minutes to figure out that within this fantastic lady beat the heart of an exceptional jumper.

“She’s an amazing jumper and a beautiful mover,” Somers says. “She jumps very round, and she always has her knees up and square, and she’s very tight with her front end. The only thing we’re working on is slowing her down so people can appreciate how pretty she is.”

My Fantastic Lady wins the 2014 Totally Thoroughbred Show at Pimlico. Photo by Lydia Williams

My Fantastic Lady wins the 2014 Totally Thoroughbred Show at Pimlico. Photo by Lydia Williams

After just weeks of show training, My Fantastic Lady was the 2014 winner of the Totally Thoroughbred Show at Pimlico!

“We couldn’t believe it,” says her co-owner Sabrina Moore. “We were shocked. Last year I was joking with some friends at Pimlico that we’d bring her here this year and she’d win. But we didn’t really think she would. My mom left early because she didn’t think she would. But she’s truly a fancy horse!”

Her mother agrees.

A source of constant amazement from the moment she announced herself to the Moore family, to now, My Fantastic Lady is keeping her family and trainer on their toes, as she embarks on a future she seems born to.

“I’m just amazed with this horse,” Angie Moore says. “She has been the source of constant surprises. But once she started with Courtney, it’s like she found the thing she loves to do, she found what she really loves, and where she belongs.” ♥

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New Vocations show mobbed, earns $65K

Dundee competes at the New Vocations show. Photo by Sandy Seabrook

Jill Stowe and New Vocations Thoroughbred graduate Dundee compete at the 11th annual New Vocations Charity Horse Show this month. Photo by Sandy Seabrook

(Press Release)—The 11th annual New Vocations Charity Horse Show on July 10 was a huge success with over 1,400 entries and raising $65,000 to support racehorse aftercare.

The Indiana HBPA was the official title sponsor of the event, which drew a record attendance. Many of the exhibitors came simply to show off their former racehorses in both the Thoroughbred specialty classes as well as the open classes. Non-Thoroughbreds also competed, showing their support of New Vocations’ efforts.

“It was truly great to see so many retired racehorses competing in one place,” said New Vocations Program Director Anna Ford. “We are ever grateful to the individuals and industry groups who supported the show through the various sponsorship opportunities. These sponsors, along with all the hard working volunteers and exhibitors, make this event possible each year.

“Thoroughbreds with backgrounds ranging from one start to over 90, and no earnings to over $500,000, competed side by side, proving that they can excel in new careers beyond the track. Over $6,500 in prize money was awarded through sponsors and the Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program, along with beautiful ribbons and a vast selection of quality prizes.

Angel's tune competes at the New Vocations Show. Photo by Sandy Seabrook

Laura Norton and New Vocations Thoroughbred Graduate Angel’s Tune do the hunter division at the New Vocations Charity Horse Show. Photo by Sandy Seabrook

Among the 95 Thoroughbreds competing, several should be noted. Nineteen-year-old, multiple stakes placed Miz Emmalou, who raced 22 times and earned over $153,000, was the War Horse Champion. Ohio-bred Letsgostreaking, with 14 starts and $1,400 in earnings, won the Thoroughbred Hunter Classic. Ontario-bred Society Fox, with 20 starts and $7,600 in earnings, was a star in the jumper ring, winning the Thoroughbred Jumper Stakes. Lastly, the Kentucky-bred Western Duels was crowned the Thoroughbred Dressage Champion.

A number of industry partners, owners, trainers and breeders joined together to sponsor the event. This year’s key sponsors include: the Indiana HBPA, Ohio HBPA, James and Anita Cauley, Homewrecker Racing, Eisaman Equine Services and 100% Racing.

For 22 years, New Vocations has provided a safety net for retired racehorses leaving the track; on average, the program takes in over 400 horses a year. Starting with a single farm in Dayton, Ohio, New Vocations has grown to encompass six facilities in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Serving over 40 racetracks, New Vocations works directly with owners and trainers in need of an aftercare program for their horses. New Vocations has a sound adoption system in place that is proven to move a large number of horses in a rather short period of time. The focus is on adoption rather than retirement, believing that each horse deserves to have a home and a purpose. For more information, visit www.newvocations.org.♥

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In their pocket, home, and in the ribbons

Pepper Sauce wins trophies and hearts as Maggie Herzog's go pony for English, Western, Eventing sport.

Pepper Sauce wins trophies and hearts as Maggie Herzog’s go pony for English, Western, Eventing sport.

A horse who follows his young owner everywhere, even into the basement of her family home, will do anything for his mistress once she throws the saddle on and gives the signal to Go!

Then the mild-mannered bay gelding named Peppersauce demonstrates the “kick” he lacked to be a competitive racehorse or timber horse.

On one recent four-day weekend, Pepper Sauce and his owner Maggie Herzog began with an intense Jumper lesson on Thursday. The next day, the team entered an English show at the Baltimore 4H Fair, winning almost every class. They returned the next day in Western tack to barrel race, and on Sunday they competed at the Totally Thoroughbred Show at Pimlico, earning 4th and 5th places in classes of 20 or more.

“I’ve always had a thing for this horse,” says Herzog, 18. “We clicked early on when steeplechase trainer Patrick Worrall, who I work for, bought him to steeplechase. I rode him everyday. I trained him to jump, and he was just for everything. He would jump anything!”

After a year of trying Pepper Sauce at point-to-point races and finding that his flare fizzled before he reached the finish line, the in-your-pocket equine was turned over to Herzog on Christmas three years ago.

After he followed her into the basement, Maggie Herzog hastily snapped a photo on her phone before taking him back out.

After he followed her into the basement, Maggie Herzog hastily snapped a photo on her phone before taking him back out.

“Patrick gave my mother (Brenda Herzog) his Jockey Club papers in secret. And when I got up on Christmas morning, they were wrapped up like a present and hanging on the tree,” she says. “I opened it up and there were his papers with my name on them!”

Best present ever!

Though Maggie Herzog had ridden her mother’s horses her whole life, her name on Pepper Sauce’s papers meant the world to the young rider who learned from her mother to ride unafraid, and to embrace the hard horses, with a zest for life.

Although the elder Herzog was forced to stop riding after sustaining a fall in her 20s, which left her a paraplegic, Brenda Herzog never blamed the horse, and she never discouraged her daughter’s blossoming love of horse sport.

“After I was paralyzed, I had my children. And I always stayed involved with horses,” Brenda Herzog says, admitting it was sometimes a little scary watching her daughter ride a hard horse.

And her daughter, for her part, remains a steadfast disciple of the sport, despite her mother’s accident. “There’s always going to be that risk, you know. There are so many things that can happen to you, but you have to take that risk to do what you love,” she says.

Pepper Sauce will jump anything, attempt anything, even following his owner Maggie Herzog into the family home!

Pepper Sauce will jump anything, attempt anything, even following his owner Maggie Herzog into the family home!

In Pepper Sauce they have found a horse who is careful, kind and talented. His flair for competition won the pair the Maryland Combined Training Association High Point trophy last year. And his dog-like loyalty won him a trip into the family’s home last year.

“He follows me around everywhere, and I wondered if he’d follow me into the basement of the house. So I walked in and he walked right in behind me,” Maggie Herzog says. “He looked around, I got his picture, and then I turned him around and we walked back out.”

There are no plans yet to get Pepper Sauce a room of his own. But, this mild-mannered T-bred has earned a place in the hearts of a mother and daughter who trust their mellow horse to the ends of the earth. ♥

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