My first equine teacher -- Mr. Magoo!

When I returned from my summer visiting Aunt Vicki, my parents set me up with riding lessons. Every week, my mom would drive me and my friend, Angela Hardin, out to Mrs. Humburg's farm where I would take a lesson from my first equine teacher, a pony named Mr. Magoo. He was awesome. He was patient. He was smart. He was not too interested in being good for random children. He would be out in his pasture, and my job would be to catch him, groom him, saddle him, and then take a group lesson with this starchy, proper, a bit scary, British lady. Mr. Magoo taught me the value of patience. It would often take up to 40 minutes to retrieve him from the pasture. He would let me get within a hair's touch of him and move off. He was so slick that even if I brought a bucket filled with a taste of oats, he would manage to get those oats and still be free. You gotta respect that in a lesson pony! Anyway, here we are -- the young equestrienne and her very smart Zen teacher.

Breaking News! Hailee inseminated over Mother's Day Weekend!

Well, we've been monitoring Hailee's progress closely and she received a Prestin shot last weekend. Dr. Burns has visited her every day since then and palpated and ultrasounded. On Thursday, she developed a 25 mm follicle! So, we ordered a shipment of Hootie semen for delivery and on Saturday morning it arrived. She was inseminated both Saturday and on Mother's Day!!! And the vet said that on Saturday, her follicle was all soft and by Sunday it had disappeared, so he is confident she ovulated. We are hoping for the best. I am happy to have such a beautiful mare.

Snowflakes' Kind Heart and Gentle Nature

I visited my Aunt Vicki one summer when I was around 11 years old. She let me eat whatever I wanted, read until late at night, and generally let me be me. AND, she bought me my first riding boots and gave me riding lessons. I loved my black riding boots and have them to this day. I wore them into a frazzle with pride. When I came back from that summer, my parents knew that they had to get me lessons, and eventually someone to ride. And that special someone was Snowflakes Princess, a 7-year-old P.O.A. mare. Snowflake was brought to the Hahner stable special for me to try, but I knew the moment I met her eyes that I would love her forever and that she should be with me. She was the most kind-hearted, brave, sweet, loving little companion. She was as sweet as a kitten, very eager to please, and smart. Very friendly and agreeable. She loved me and I loved her. She was the best sort of pony for a girl like me. She was a simple clear proof of God's existence and love. If you ever met Snowflake, you knew His loving handiwork.

Miss Woodford and My Girls

Miss Woodford was born in 1880 and her final race record was 48: 37-7-2. She was the first U.S. horse to earn over $100,000 during her career. She was owned by Mike and Phil Dwyer of Dwyer Brother Stables, and she was meant to replace their retired champion and relative of Violet and Hailee, Hindoo. They loved racing and not breeding, so she ran for a long time! She was born near Paris, Kentucky and was a daughter of Billet who was imported from England and a leading sire in America in 1883. Her dam, Fancy Jane, never raced. She ran for over 5 seasons, against the finest colts of her day, even at long distances of 2 1/2 miles. She was the American Champion Older Female in 1884-1886 from ages 4-6, and, in fact, she earned 7 Eclipse Awards, one division title for each year she ran, and two Horse of the Year Honors!!! She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967. When she was 3, 4, and 5, she won 16 consecutive races and was a national hero. She even won the Pimlico Stakes during that streak as a 3 year-old. She even beat the colt, George Kinney, who had won the Belmont Stakes. She was trained by James G. Rowe, a Hall of Famer. Five Hall of Fame trainers thought that she was one of the best fillies of all time. And in an American Trainers Association poll in 1955, she was voted 5th greatest filly in American racing history, with Gallorette voted first. She was so hip that she has her own race named after her, Miss Woodford Stakes, which is run each August at Monmouth Park Racetrack -- it's a race for 3-year-old fillies and mares. Of course, my girls are related to her through several shared relations, including the following: Glencoe, Touchstone, Hambletonian, Waxy, Eclipse, and Pot8os. You can read more about this truly stellar filly at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Woodford_(horse)
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Woodford_Stakes
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Billet.html
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Champs/AmChampOlderFemale.html
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/trainer.asp?ID=285

Breaking News! 25mm follicle!

Last week, we gave Hailee a shot of Prestin and she's been monitored closely by Dr. Stuart Burns, Barbie and Tom. She's been an exciting girl these past few days. She showed interest in the teaser early in the week, ignored him on thursday, and then suddenly yesterday, she showed interest in him again. Dr. Burns said that she has a 25mm semi-soft follicle forming! So, Barbie wisely said that we should order her semen shipped and so it's winging its way to Kentucky and Hailee even as I write this note! I'm thinking positive thoughts! Look how lovely she is in this photo taken last weekend by Barbie! She just looks lovely and fit. She would make a good mom. I hope that happens for her this year.

Hailee the Puissance Champion!

Here's a photo of my lovely girl on a summer day in 2004. This was among her first jumping lessons, and I guess she was trying to let us know that she's ready for Puissance! There's another photo where she's really launching straight up to get over this little hopper -- but you get the point! She doesn't want the scary jump to bite her belly. Who can blame her! What a gorgeaus, powerful girl.

You can read more about the amazing sport of Puissance at the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puissance

Seabiscuit and My Girls!!!

I know I've mentioned him before, and I'm sure I will mention him again. My girls are related to Seabiscuit. He was 1938's Horse of the Year!! And in a match race, he beat Violet's direct relation, the Triple Crown winning War Admiral. Anway, they are related through many lines, including Man 'O War, Rock Sand, Whisk Broom, St. Simon. Violet is related very directly as a direct relation to Seabiscuit's mom, Swing On. Swing On foaled Brown Biscuit for Violet as well as her sweet Seabiscuit. You can read more about this macho grand horse at the following link:
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/seabiscuit.html

Thoroughbred Breeding

This information about thoroughbred foal crops is from the April 27, 2007 New York Times. In 2004, 34,642 thoroughbred foals were registered. Kentucky produced 28.3% of that foal crop with 9,815 foals. The other big producing states were Florida (12.9%), California (10.9%), New York (5.8%), Louisiana (5.5%) and Texas (5.0%). Ohio produced 1.4% of the foals and New Mexico, where Violet's daddy now lives, produced 2.3%. In 2005, 23,674 of the yearlings from that 2004 crop went into race training. Yearling auctions accounted for 29% of the 2004 registered foal crop sales. There were 1,952 weanlings sold in 2004, as compared to 10,088 yearlings sold in 2005. In 2006, when they were 2, many of them began their race careers. 10,390 from the 2004 foal crop raced an average of 3.2 times, during their second year. And now in 2007, 20 of that initial crop of 34,642 registered foals were successful nominees for the Derby. They chose the top 20 money earners from graded stakes races. The entrance and start fees for the Derby total $50,000 with an additional $200,000 nomination fee for the Triple Crown. Entrance fees are applied toward the prize money for the top four finishers. The nations best stakes races are graded from I through III.

So, what does this mean for Violet? Violet was born in Florida on March 8, 2003 -- International Women's Day! I *think* she passed through an auction at one point because an envelope that came with her birth certificate and Coggins Test is from the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company. Her daddy, Groomstick, was in his last year as a Florida stallion. Her owner was tentatively calling her Watch For Me which is an adorable name and I really like it, but my cousin, Jane, and I chose Velvet Tenderness instead. Out of almost 35,000 foals born that year, Violet was my magic one -- getting ready to come to me! She was going to be someone's hunter prospect, but now she's meant to be my pampered backyard pony.

Arlington Race Track in Illinois!

I earned my Master's of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988. My friends celebrated with me with some beer on The Terrace by Lake Mendota -- there's even a goofy photo of me looking all girlish, thin, and gleeful on the steps with someone handing me a half-filled pitcher. But my friends decided to do something special to celebrate this new degree. So, we travelled to Arlington Race Track to spend a day at the races. It was such glorious, sun-filled fun! Arlington is a very famous track and holds the Arlington Million and Secretariat Stakes, among other important races. I once saw Penny Chenery, Secretariat's mom, and the young girl who starred in the film, My Girl, giving the trophy to the winner of the Secretariat. You can read more about this great American track at the following links:

http://www.arlingtonpark.com/

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Park

A Sunday May Afternoon in Kentucky!

Yesterday, Barbie sent me so many photos of my beautiful girl and her friends. Barbie's a talented photographer. She really captures the elegance of horses and their unique personalities! On this lovely afternoon, she stepped outside her home into this pasture with my wild girl and her thoroughbred herd mates! I am going to be posting from these photos for the next few days. Hailee looks regal, fit, glossy, gorgeaus. And she looks so confident and happy. So sure of herself. She's been given a great gift this past year. In Barbie's photos, you will see that she is indeed the daughter of champions!

Audience the big heart mare and my girls!

My girls have lots of Big Heart blood in their veins. In 1789, an autopsy of Eclipse showed that he had a 14 lb. heart as compared to the average of 6 lb hearts of the time. He had a big heart. Secretariat was found to have a heart over 22 lbs, much higher than the 9 lb. average. In fact, of Secretariat's heart, his autopsy physician, Dr. Thomas Swerczek, said, "We just stood there in stunned silence. We couldn't believe it. The heart was perfect. There were no problems with it. It was just this huge engine." They now believe that big hearts are tied to the female X chromosome. So, you can be a "single copy" or "double copy" mare and if you are a big heart stud, you can pass your X to your children too. If a "double copy" mare is bred to a large-hearted stallion, she will always produce large-heart foals and double copy fillies. Violet is directly related to four of the most famous Big Heart stallions, Princequillo, War Admiral, Blue Larkspur, and Mahmoud. Hailee also has big heart studs, including Moon Deck, Three Bars, Easy Jet, Top Deck, and Leo. Man 'O War was a big-heart stud. The thing with big-heart stallions is that they can only pass their big heart to their daughters. So, often since it takes a crop or two for their big heart gene to express or show itself, thoroughbred stallions will be "sold down river" to the Quarter Horse industry which is why the American Quarter Horse is filled with Big Hearts from their thoroughbred relatives. Man 'O War blessed both breeds with his big-hearted heritage. Among the relatives suspected of having big hearts, my girls have Rock Sand, Count Fleet, Eclipse, Pocahontas, Glencoe, Lexington, Domino, and La Troienne. And they have Audience, daughter of Sir Dixon (the Belmont Stakes Winner) and grand-daughter of Hindoo, the Kentucky Derby winner. She foaled Whisk Broom and in her own racing day, she won the all-important Kentucky Oaks! She is considered a big-hearted gal!! Among the ways she's related to my girls are through Po' Chile for Violet and Sir Bim for Hailee. The photo has a picture of her baby, Whisk Broom. You can read more about the X-Factor at the following links:

http://www.robertsfox.com/x_factor.htm

or

http://www.circledhorses.com/The%20X-Factor.htm

Crazy Horse in South Dakota!

In the early 1990's, when I lived in Nebraska, I was a strong member of the Women's Studies program as well as on the Sociology faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We started this undergraduate Women's Studies Association and I befriended two young women, Jen Putzi and Thelma Ione Ross. Thelma is my friend to this day! Anyway, we decided to go on a camping trip together one summer. We traveled through Nebraska into the Sandhills Country, we canoed on the Niobrara River (beautiful), and stayed in Valentine, Nebraska. We gambled in Indian casinos. We went to the Black Hills where my mind got blown. We stopped at the information office when we first got to the park and I asked in my usual uptight way for a map and instructions about where we could walk in this weird moonscape sort of park. The information woman said anywhere you want to go, you can go. I was like, "Yeah, right." But it turned out they meant it. You can go anywhere you want to go. What permission! So, one evening, under a Full Moon, Jen, Thelma and I walked across this barren windswept moonscape and sat under the fattest lowest-hanging moon and smoked cigs and and enjoyed our lives and our little moment in history! We had many moments on that trip. We drove through Sturgis and saw lots of motorcycles. We drove through Buffalo National Park, grooving and meditating on The Stone Roses and enjoying the grasslands when suddenly, what did we see? Buffalo! Everywhere. We went to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and saw the memorial to the Wounded Knee massacre. We went to Mount Rushmore -- truly trippy and 1950s feeling. We went to Fort Robinson and saw where Crazy Horse had been murdered. We learned at a musum to the Western-moving immigrants that they think that there's a body buried along every quarter mile of our country from this pilgrimage from St. Louis to California. We stayed at the Blaine Motel in Chadron, Nebraska! Anyway, Crazy Horse. What a great wild crazy mother of an idea to carve a memorial to Crazy Horse out of a mountain. We got groovy on that part of our trip. We enjoyed it. But since then, I've read much more about Crazy Horse and he was truly a seer, great thinker, humanitarian, lovelorn man, family person, horseman, warrior, etc. When he was murdered, his parents took his body and it's buried in an unknown location. I so encourage you to read about this great historical figure and legendary American. And I also encourage you to learn more about this very funky American vacation destination at the following links:

http://www.crazyhorse.org/

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_Memorial

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_(person)

Breaking News! Tracking Hailee's Follicle

On Saturday, Dr. Burns ultrasounded Hailee and gave her a shot of Prestin. She had a 11 mm follicle (very small!). She was teased on Sunday and will be teased and palpated today too! Barbie is trying to keep close track of Hailee since she's a fast cycler with small follicles. Everyone is working hard to make this sweet mare a mom! Yesterday, after a beautiful afternoon with my nieces, sister and brother-in-law, I was driving home and had a telephone chat with Barbie. She was in the pasture, taking photos in the evening cool, and visiting with the horses. It was so nice to catch up and to hear the news and gossip about the Derby. And it was so nice to know that she was right there with my beautiful pony! Hope you all have a great week this week! More later.

Big Daddy Rabbit Heads to Preakness!

Street Sense had a mile jog the morning after his Derby win, yesterday on a beautiful Sunday at Churchill Downs. His trainer wants to keep him in assertive training, so that he'll be conditioned and mentally ready at the Preakness. Both Nafzger (trainer) and Borel (jockey) know that Street Sense loves to race and understands what he's doing and how to win. And they love that he knows how to be patient and run from behind and then use an explosive thrust to overtake his competitors. It's his style of fun at the track. His owner, Jim Tafel, didn't start with race horses until he was 60 and he's been with Nafzger for 23 years. Calvin Borel has been with the team for 9 years, so they are a longterm working krewe! Carl Nafzger says, "This horse has never run a bad race. I've got all the faith in the world in this horse, and I can't say enough about him." And Calvin Borel added, "I didn't think there was nothing in the world to beat him. He's an incredible horse, believe you me." He's going to try to be the 12th Triple Crown winner since Affirmed won in 1978. You can see information about the Preakness Stakes and about the sister Black-Eyed Susan Stakes the day before at the following link, as well as see more pictures of this beautiful horse:

http://www.preakness.com/

or

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=B2&Dato=20070410&Kategori=SPORTS0801&Lopenr=704100809&Ref=PH