Off Track Thoroughbreds

Valerie Ashker, 60, has ridden her OTTB Primitivo from California to West Virginia in a cross-country trip to raise awareness about Thoroughbred sport horses. She and friend Peter Friedman set out from California in early May. They are due to arrive in Middleburg, Va. next week.

A 60-year-old California woman and her riding companion are within 150 miles of completing a 3,000-mile journey across the country on horseback.

Valerie Ashker and Peter Friedman crossed into Grafton, West Virginia yesterday, planning to make camp in Evansville before nightfall, according to video messages posted by Ashker on her Facebook page 2^nd Makes Thru Starting Gates.

Wearing a bright orange helmet, Ashker rode off-track Thoroughbred Primitivo while Friedman, in a cowboy hat, tilting against the glare, piloted Solar Express along a busily traveled suburban street.

Exclaiming that the weather was “beautiful,” Ashker thanked the local Dairy Queen for complimentary ice cream cones (for humans) and expressed gratitude for the fair weather as the epic journey to raise awareness about off-track Thoroughbreds entered its final days.

She expects to ride into Middleburg, Va. next Monday, concluding the difficult yet rewarding journey with her daughter and four-star rider Lainey Ashker.

The longtime OTTB trainer, and mother of four-star eventer Lainey Ashker, together with Freidman, set out in May from her ranch in Georgetown, Calif. Accompanied by a van driver, the pair has covered over 3,000 miles in a ride to raise awareness about the virtues of the OTTB. She posts updates on her trip via Facebook page 2nd Makes Thru Starting Gates.

In an earlier interview, she told Off-TrackThoroughbreds.com, “This has been the ride of a lifetime.”

Don’t Quit Dreaming looked happy as he prepared to travel to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation last month. Photo courtesy Sue Kenny of Herringswell Stables

Making good on a promise to help an unremarkable racehorse who once passed through the hands of Kentucky Derby winning trainer Graham Motion, a staffer of the famous horseman worked tirelessly to secure a sanctuary home at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation for a sweet gelding who’d run out of options.

Because of a note written by Graham Motion’s Herringswell Stables Ltd., and affixed to Jockey Club paperwork for bay gelding Don’t Quit Dreaming, Sue Kenny, an office manager for the famous horseman who trained 2011 Derby winner Animal Kingdom, hit the phones on behalf of the little-known racehorse who loves peppermints and needed a home.

Don’t Quit Dreaming
Sire: Grand Slam
Dam: Natural Carma, by Valiant Nature
Foal date: April 27, 2011“I got a call at the beginning of September from a lady who saw our number and note on Don’t Quit Dreaming’s papers. We had written the message, ‘If this horse needs a home, please call us. This horse is not bred for slaughter.’ And we included our number,” says Kenny of Herringswell Stables Ltd.

Upon learning that the 5-year-old had been retired from racing in June from Thistledown racetrack, and that a second home was not working out, Kenny reached out to Sara Davenport, herd manager of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF, Inc.).

As luck would have it, Davenport had an open stall at the TRF’s Sykesville, Md. facility, and a deal was struck. “Sue Kenny called from Graham’s office and said, ‘What can we do?’ And it worked out perfectly because we were just considering adding a sixth horse to our prison program in Maryland,” Davenport says. “We were especially happy to work with Graham because he has been such a responsible horse owner. He may not have been the last owner for Don’t Quit Dreaming, but in the short time he had the horse, he made sure those papers said he wasn’t for slaughter.”

Sarah Stein of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation in Maryland welcomes Don’t Quit Dreaming into the herd.

Though Don’t Quit Dreaming was not in the slaughter pipeline, the animal’s newest owner could no longer keep the horse. She reached out to Motion’s office for assistance in her effort to find the horse a new home.

Kenny says she remembered the animal immediately, and was happy to help.

“I used to feed him peppermints everyday. He was a peppermint fiend,” she says. “His kindness is what I remember most about him. We see a lot of horses, but this one was special to me.”

The 16.3 hand “gentle giant” arrived at the TRF on Oct. 20 and was walked into his new stall, which is the first one on the right at the barn’s entrance, says Sarah Stein of the TRF.

“He’s a super sweet horse,” Stein says. “He’s very gentle and curious. I’m not sure he can ever be ridden, because he has an old ankle injury, but he’s pasture sound.”

Don’t Quit Dreaming will now be cared for by inmates participating in the TRF’s Second Chances program. In the program, inmates learn life and job skills while caring for ex-racehorses. And, on Sunday, Nov. 6, the barn will be open to the public for an Open Barn Fundraiser. Anyone wishing to meet Don’t Quit Dreaming, is welcome to attend the event, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 6900 Slacks Road, Sykesville, Md. Please contact Sara Stein at 410-952-8275 or Lizzy Beer at 610-656-2927 for more information.