Giacomo -- 2005 Kentucky Derby winner!

Giacomo won the 2005 Kentucky Derby as a 50-1 longshot, breaking from behind a wall of horses in the stretch to make a barnburning firelit 70-yard dash into history! His final record before he retired to Adena Springs Stud was 16: 3-2-5.

But his real longshot was surviving at all. He was born in 2002, a year when Kentucky suffered a huge epidemic of mare reproductive loss disorder. At his farm, 25% of the foals were aborted or were stillborn. All told, Kentucky lost 2,500 horse fetuses. But Alice Chandler, his mom, knew he was a tough guy!

Now, I got this from Two Minutes to Glory: The Official History of the Kentucky Derby. Donnie Snellings, the stallion and yearling manager at Giacomo's farm knew he was a tough one. He said, "He was a tiny little thing. But every time I tried to go get him, he'd take off all the way to the other fence. He was loose for three days. I saw a lot of the backside of Giacomo. I knew early he could run long."

His sire and dam are Holy Bull and Set Them Free. And he even has Ta Wee "Beautiful Girl" in his background. My girls are related to him through Better Self, Turn-To, Nasrullah, Questionnaire, Bull Dog, Pharos, Whisk Broom, Teddy, and Intentionally.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PDeItSF72Gs

A Pony Takes Rolex by Storm!!!

This weekend is Rolex at the Kentucky Horse Park! I am sorry to be missing it, but have to focus on work for now! This year is a special Rolex because for the first time in history a PONY is competing in this major Four Star event!! Theodore O'Connor is being ridden by Karen O'Connor, a U.S. Olympian and spouse to David O'Connor, Olympic Gold Medalist and President of the United States Equestrian Federation. Theodore O'Connor's pet name by Karen is Theadorable. He is only 14' 1 3/4", so he is officially shorter than my sweet Hailee! He was 7th after the dressage test and he is 9th now, after the cross country. I hope he kicks butt tomorrow at the stadium jumping competition. I can hardly believe that he managed the huge, maximum-sized jumps of the cross country. And they say that this year's cross-country is much longer than any previously! Karen says of Teddy, "He doesn't know he's small. He thinks anything is possible!" What a good pony! I believe that Hailee could produce such fabulous kinds of ponies too! Anyway, he is 3/4ths thoroughred and a dash of Arabian and Shetland. And guess what? No surprise. He is heavily related to Violet and Hailee. He has Count Fleet, Reigh Count, Fair Play, Teddy, Discovery, La Troienne, Plucky Liege, Nasrullah, Sir Gallahad, Bend Or, and Questionnaire in his blood lines, to name a few of their relations. He even has Honest Pleasure in his background, an indirect relation to my girls! You can read more about this macho, history-making pony at the following links:

http://www.oconnoreventteam.com/horses_teddy.html
or
http://www.sportponiesunlimited.com/Sportponies_Unlimited_Connor.html
or
http://pets.webshots.com/album/500898533mACuGZ
or
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2007/04/185.shtml