Somethingroyal and My Girls!

Here is a photo of Secretariat's mom, Somethingroyal, a mare who only raced once, on August 2nd, 1954 at Saratoga where she went unplaced. But the filly ended up being a fantastic broodmare and mom, and was voted the 1973 Broodmare of the Year, the year her baby won the Triple Crown!! Another of her great babies was Sir Gaylord to name one of many! She died in 1983 at age 31 and was the oldest mare to produce a Triple Crown Winner when she was 18.

Now here's a sad aside that just goes to show how dependent horses are on the angels of our better natures. In the mid-1990s, one of Somethingroyal's other children, Straight Flush, ended up in a Texas feed lot, in danger of heading to the slaughterhouse. Can you imagine? A half-brother of Secretariat running on hard times!? He was adopted at the old age of 24 and sent to California where he lived to 32-years as a pensioner in the lap of luxury! He passed away just recently on September 3, 2007, falling asleep peacefully under a eucalyptus tree. You can read more about this story at a link below.
http://www.diamondjfarms.com/somethin.html
or
http://www.secretariat.com/brother.html

Horse Sense: The First Warm Days of Fall!

Today as I write this entry, it is September 28th. The weather is shifting, cool in the evenings and mornings, but warm and bright in the days. My garden is throwing out a bounty of cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes, hot peppers, and broccoli, and preparing to release brussel sprouts and cauliflower. And leaves are beginning to turn and fall.

Last night, with friends, I ate the first of my canned food -- red tomatoes in shrimp creole and wonderful canned okras. And tonight, I did my first knitting of the fall, making a scarf for Clara and starting a scarf for Emma. And I used wool from Alpacas from the Elliott family of Bowling Green! And the food and knitting made me happy for fall and winter!

And the Hintzes are almost done with the new stalls and they are beautiful. And that makes me happy for winter and spring and Hailee! And Violet is wonderful to ride, shiny and red, quiet and sweet, intelligent and calm. She is beginning to get a longer coat in preparation for winter. And that makes me happy thinking of our wonderful first full year together!

And Jackie and Arcangelo went to the vet this week, and Jackie's vet gave him a thorough senior check with blood work and X-rays. Jackie passed with flying colors -- he had "perfect bloodwork" and "wonderful liver and kidneys." He is in "perfect" health. And that made me happy to think of him continuing to run my household with an velvet-covered iron paw in his robust prime!

So, lesson -- be grateful, have faith, and trust but verify! ;) Namaste, lots of love!

Hailee's May 2007 cousin!

I was getting excited thinking about Hailee's foal coming. So, I did a little search to see if she had any baby relatives out in the world. I found this foal born May 26, 2007 in Illinois, He is a sorrel colt and registered Quarter Horse. He was selling for $1,000 and he has Docs Blue Rock Dawn in his heritage! She is Hailee's mom! What an adorable baby! He even has Hailee's little dripping white splash right across his nose! It sure makes me wonder about Hailee's heaven-sent baby!

Breaking News! Breeders' Classic Lineup Set!

This year's Breeders' Cup races will run over the course of two days and will involve 11 races, over 141 of the very best horses, $23 million in prize money, and chances to compete for the coveted Eclipse Horse of the Year Award!

They say that this year's Classic Cup is the deepest, best, most competitive ever. The eight horses registered include the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners, the best older horse in the country, a European champion, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, and two improved 3-year-olds who might be the current best in the country!

In the picture, you see the undefeated Indian Blessing who will run in the start race of Day 2, the Juvenile Fillies. The horses you can expect to see that fabulous weekend include Curlin, Street Sense, Nobiz Like Shobiz, Cry and Catch Me, War Pass, Nashoba's Key, Dylan Thomas (winner of this year's Arc de Triomphe), Hard Spun (Derby runner up), Lawyer Ron (best older horse), Any Given Saturday, George Washington, and Awesome Gem. They expect 45,000 people to attend the October 27th card of races! The Belmont winner, Rags, won't be able to attend because of her hairline fracture. Hopefully, she has been healing well over these past weeks.
http://www.breederscup.com/

Two Independent Ladies

Here is a photo my mom took of Jane Marie and me, and my little goddaughter, Emma, at a family picnic at the Lucisano's on Labor Day Weekend. We are happy women. We love our families. We love our work. We love our pets. We love our homes. We are enjoying the blessings in our lives!

The Charitable Afleet Alex!

Here is the amazing fabulous Afleet Alex giving some love to his jockey, Jeremy Rose, and hoping for some treats in return. Afleet Alex was the Champion 3-year-old Horse of the Year in 2005 and won many important races, including the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Many thought he should have won the Kentucky Derby too, but two speedballs were entered, secretly hoping to be spoilers by setting a blistering pace.

Anyway, his Preakness Stakes is legendary. He was entering the backstretch when Scrappy T turned wide and clipped Alex hard, causing him to stumble, splay spreadeagled, almost drag his nose in the dirt, but still manage to pull himself up and save his jockey who was thrown over his neck and dash into the lead to win by several lengths. This was a supernatural, instinctive move that only a champion could do. It is part of history now. You can see that race at the Youtube link below.

Alex was found to have a hairline fracture in his left front pastern after the Belmont, after a rest, he came back and was putting in speedy workouts, but his trainer decided to retire him. He was later discovered to have some dying tissue in his bones probably as a result of the tremendous forces he exerted on his legs to save himself from a top speed spill in the Preakness.

He is a good boy. He contributes faithfully to a charity called Alex's Lemonade Stand, which was started by a young girl who lived from 1996-2004 and was raising money for juvenile cancer. Part of his race earnings went to that charity and after his Preakness win, his stable Cash is King, his trainer, his jockey, and Liz Scott, Alex's mom, were interviewed about the fabulous Alexes and to promote the charity. What a very good boy.

He is now retired in stud luxury at Gainesway Farm where he charges $40,000 for his dates. He is very fertile as evidenced by the fact that he successfully covered 97% of the mares who visited him for 2007! You go, boy!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=op78_8CYZ0Y
or
http://www.afleetalex.com/index.html
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afleet_Alex
or
http://www.gainesway.com/stallions/listOfStallions/afleetalex/default.asp

Lady Godiva by John Collier

Here is a painting of Lady Godiva by John Collier. She was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who many say was a widow when she first married Leipfric before the Norman Conquest. Living in Coventry, England, she and her husband were great benefactors of religious institutions, giving money to different monasteries and nunneries. She is listed in the Domesday Survey and over time, long after her death, religous leaders wrote the "history" of her naked ride.

The legend has it that her husband oppressed and over-taxed his tenants, so Lady Godiva kept appealing to him to relent. He laughed her off by telling her that he would relent, if she would ride through town naked! So, she did. It is said that she requested that everyone look away and that one gentleman didn't and was struck blind -- thus the sub-legend of the "Peeping Tom" being born! Her husband is said to have relented on his taxation! She lived on after Leipfric and maintained vast land holdings and wealth even in the days after the Norman Conquest.


Now some say that she was never really "naked," that perhaps she was just not wearing noble jewelry, or perhaps she was wearing a penitent's white shift. Others say that the ride never took place at all. But still, the legend persists, and you know how it goes -- where there's smoke, there's fire!!


You can read more about this liberal lady at the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godiva
or
http://www.abacom.com/~jkrause/godiva.html
or
http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/070377.html

My Environmental Blog for October 15, 2007

For many years, I've wanted a garden. My grandma, Lillian, kept a garden, and would stand in her kitchen, smoking cigarettes and canning produce. She kept so many cans of food in her basement back on the farm. I've always wanted a garden.

I've container gardened practically everywhere I've ever lived, and I planted tomatoes, peppers and herbs around my beds at my house. But this year, I read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and she wrote about how she and her family produced or traded for what they needed, and tried to live as a localvore for a year. So, in July, I decided that I would start. I got All-Season Landscapers to rototill a 18X20 foot garden, I put spikes and wrapped it in bunny wrap. I went to Bostdorf's and bought peppers, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprout, onions, cauliflower, and basil. I shop every week at the Farmers Market. I make my own bread and cheese.

And I like what's happened. I know the farmers who produce my food. I have a routine and see my people each week. The lady who sells me peppers. The young guy who sold me so many cherries I can hardly believe it, and then sold me concord grapes. My beef and egg people. My Hungarian mustard lady. The gentleman with the carrots and okra.

I bought a freezer and filled it with my own garden produce. And I filled it with chicken, tamales, and beef from my Farmers Market crowd. Chicken without antibiotics nor hormones from the Amish. Beef from a farming family in Weston whose wife shows miniature horses. And there are happy chickens who produce my weekly farm fresh eggs.

And I canned, and canned, and canned. And dehydrated. So, far, and this is without my sauerkraut which is fermenting in my kitchen right now, I have 235 cans of food for this winter. I canned 20 kinds of things, 21 when the sauerkraut is done in a few weeks. I canned cherries, corn relish, pickled okra, pickled dilled green tomatoes, dilly beans, 3-bean salad, peach chutney, peaches, beets, blackberry jam, chow chow relish, apple sauce, apple butter, tomatoes, raspberry jam, curry apple chutney, sweet yellow tomato chutney, tomato salsa, freezer slaw, and dixie relish. And I dehydrated peaches, nectarines, cherries, herbs, herbal tea, apples, tomatoes, and peppers. And I froze so many wonderful vegetables. I am trying to see if I can get through the winter eating mostly local. I want to decrease my Kroger's dollars.

Also, this summer, I put up laundry lines in my backyard and in my basement, so that I don't need to use the dryer anymore. I try to wash my clothes less frequently too. And I walk to work and most places where I can run errands on my own energy.

It was fun this summer. I felt like I was channeling my grandma Lillian. I have to face it. I went overboard. I so enjoyed shopping at the Farmers Market, bringing the food into my kitchen, and getting so sweaty and hot, canning all day long. I enjoy bringing my Violet her organic carrots. And I enjoy knowing that my own canned food tastes wonderful! I just love using my own canned tomatoes! And vice or not, I enjoyed smoking cigars when my canning was done and walking Zelia in the neighborhood.

And this summer, I built a compost bin from a kit -- I have three holding bins and one active hot composting bin. Violet helps produce matter for it, and Hailee will too in the spring. And my garden and kitchen clippings go in too. I love aerating it, and watering it, and feeling the heat coming off it.

And this summer, I didn't use air conditioning; I kept my home open to the breeze. Yes, sometimes it was hot, but I didn't mind. And I'm going to try and restrict my use of heating fuel this summer, to the extent that I can.

I enjoy this journey. Toward the end of canning season, it wasn't much fun, but now it's the Fall and soon this year's garden will be done. I've only got sauerkraut to can, and cauliflower, bell peppers, hot peppers, and brussel sprouts to process and freeze. This weekend, I canned Chow Chow Relish with cabbage, cauliflower, and peppers from my own garden. That was very satisfying! And I've been eating cabbage with creole slaw sauce, and fried green tomatoes in my own bread crumbs and Remoulade sauce practically all summer. AND, get this, I make a wonderful Mozzarella. Sometimes I even buy local wine and beer. And there's nothing quite as nice as walking to my class with tea heated from mint herbs from my own garden.

And even this summer, my mentor, Lynn White, sent me a book that her mentor had given her about gardening and going organic.

Now, it's Fall, and I bought Alpaca yarn from the Elliott family of Bowling Green to make local scarves for me and my nieces. And I bought yarn from local producers in Pennsylvania to make an afghan.

So, I encourage everyone to read Kingsolver's book. I know that having my own garden, cutting down my energy use, eating locally more won't stop our problems with global climate change, won't help the polar bears, or discover what's going on with our bees, etc. But it helps me. I know my own farmers. I grow my own food. I am getting myself ready for the big changes we'll need to make on earth to show that we care for her. I want to be ready. After all, the readiness is all!
http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/

Gallant Fox' Winner Kid, Omaha!

Omaha, born in 1932 and passing in 1959 at age 27 was the son of the second Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox. Omaha was in a field of 18 horses when he won the Kentucky Derby, and his win in the Belmont Stakes sealed the concept of a "Triple Crown" as reporters sought a shorthand to describe what he and his dad had done, and, of course, Sir Barton too as the first!

He was bred and owned by William Woodward, Sr. and foaled at Claiborne Farms. His trainer was also his dad's trainer, Jim "Sunny" Fitzsimmons, and his jockey was Willie Saunders.

His final record was 22: 9-7-2, and he won the Wood Memorial and Travers Stakes, among others, and was sent to England at age 4 where he won the Victor Wild Stakes and Queen's Plate and did well in other races. He was a late bloomer, not coming into his own until age 3, probably because he was so long backed and grew to 16.3 hands! He earned the Champion 3-year-old colt Eclipse Award and eventually was inducted into the National Racing and Museum Hall of Fame. He was voted #61 of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th century.

He wasn't a real success as a stud at Claiborne, so he ended up in Nebraska where he stood at stud for $25! He wasn't a total bust -- he produced a filly who was the great-granddam, of the granddam, of the dam of Nijinsky! Not too shabby!! When he passed, he was buried near the entrance of the now-closed Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha, Nebraska -- his namesake town!!

In a related story, when I was a youngster with my freshly-minted Ph.D., I lived in Lincoln and took riding lessons from a woman named Allison. She brought horses for me to try on the odd occasion, and once had me try a chestnut filly fresh off the track from Ak-Sar-Ben. I had hopes of one day adopting a retired track horse from Omaha, but even then didn't have quite the stomach and was looking for a solid riding horse! My girls are primarily related to Omaha through Sir Gallahad and the Ajax line!

You can read more about him at the following links, and even see footage of his Triple Crown races:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SinMwpXmpjQ
or
http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/omaha.htm
or
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/triple-crown/winners.aspx
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=114
or
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/omaha.html

Winkipop, Violet, and the Astor Family

Okay, so this story is long and shows how my Violet is related to the Astor family through her direct relation to their baby, Winkipop, the trim filly shown in this photo. Okay, so let's start with Winkipop herself. Winkipop was born in 1907, and raced 18 times, winning 10! She won the 1,000 Guinea Stakes at Newmarket in 1910, and the Coronation Stakes, Sussex Stakes, Nassau Stakes, and Yorkshire Oaks. She appears in Violet's Po'Chile line through Winkipop's kid, Plymstock. Winkipop had two kids, Blink is the other. Winkipop is responsible for the Pensive (Kentucky Derby winner) in Violet's family.

Okay, so check this out. Winkipop's kid, Plymstock, became a Blue Hen, being the dam of the Oaks winner in Violet's heritage, Pennycomequick. She was also the mom of Coronation Stakes winner, Sunny Devon, and the American Broodmare of the Year, Alpenstock III. And get this, Winkipop's full brother, Winkie, folaed in 1912 was shipped to New Zealand where he grandsired Phar Lap, an amazing horse over 17.1 hands who was nicknamed "The Red Terror," so you can just imagine! He was beloved by the Australians and the rest of the racing enthusiasts of the world frankly and was a Champion 3-year-old. He died under extremely mysterious circumstances at a young age, after a career of 51 races.

Okay, so that itself is cool about Violet's pedigree. More story than any one little horse should bring to the family table. BUT! But! Winkipop brings the Astors to the table! Winkipop's dad was Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount of Astor, a businessman and lifelong politician from the New York Astor family who relocated permanently to Great Britain and was trained at Eton and Oxford. He lived from 1879-1952 and his wedding gift was the Cliveden Estates where he and his lovely wife entertained many important people, including, get this, Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling. No lie. They visited Cliveden for partying and foxhunting. Lucky bastards.

Anyway, when Winkipop's grandpa died, Waldorf lost his seat in the House of Commons because he became an immediate member of the House of Lords. His wife ended up earning his vacated seat in the House of Commons where she served many consecutive terms. Okay, here's the negative part. Though they were cool and ran governments and bred great race horses, Waldorf was an anti-semite.

Okay, so who are the Astors? Let's step back. In the late 18th century, John Jacob Astor immigrated to the United States from Walldorf, Germany and by the 19th century he and his wife and offspring became the wealthiest family in the United States! Yowza! They are patrons of so many wonderful things, including one of my favorite places on earth, the New York Public Library. No lie. One of my favorite places to sit in front of while smoking cigarettes and people watching. Ah, those NY Public Library Lions, Patience and Fortitude. They were originally nicknamed after the primary benefactors, Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, later called Lady Astor and Lord Lenox, until finally earning the names of virtues during the Great Depression by NY's Mayor LaGuardia.

Anyway, John Jacob Astor's brother, Henry, was a horse lover too, and imported a thoroughbred from England in 1788 named Messenger who is a foundation sire for Standardbreds in the United States. The Astors are all over America, including on Mackinac Island where the Grand Hotel has two suites named after them, The Lord Astor Suite and the Lady Astor Suite, as well as a salon called The Astors.

Okay, so how is Violet tied to the RMS Titanic? Well, her dad's cousin was John Jacob Astor IV who was 47 years old and travelling the world with his new 18-year-old second wife. She became pregnant, so they were jetting home in first class style on the Titanic, so she could give birth in the United States. Astor IV was quite the bon vivant! He wrote science fiction, he earned megal0-money through real estate, including founding the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and he fought in the Spanish-American War. But when he dumped his first wife and got his young wife, his eccentricity was finally frowned upon. BUT! Molly Brown, the wealthy socialite who we all know as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" stayed his friend. She was fine with his wild living, free choosing ways. Anyway, he helped his wife to the life boat, and then became the stuff of legends. He was without doubt the richest man on the Titanic. So, you can bet that each time a movie is made or story is told, he is referred to. Some attribute very great valour to him, involving his helping children to lifeboats, releasing dogs from kennels, etc. Others note that he was calm and resigned to his dire circumstances, but took time to smoke and toss some gloves to his departing wife. Regardless of what he really did, he was found in the waters with a coat with his initials embroidered into the lapel and LOTS of money on him. The son from his first marriage claimed the gold watch found on Astor IV's body and wore that gold watch his entire life.

Can you believe this stuff? I mean, you can't make this stuff up! I am related through my young red filly to the Astors! Through Violet I am tied to the New York Public Library through her cutie pie Winkipop!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_Astor,_2nd_Viscount_Astor
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/WilliamtheThird.html#Winkipop
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_family
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jacob_Astor_IV
or
http://www.nypl.org/pr/lions.cfm
or
http://www.grandhotel.com/

Horse Sense: My Kind Red Summer Girl!

Today is Tuesday, September 18th as I write this blog. Violet had about 1 1/2 weeks off from work because our farrier hurt his back and it took us awhile to find a substitute. Her hooves were long, so I didn't want to push her.

Anyway, I got back to riding this past Saturday, right when the weather became that beautiful mix of end-of-summer/preview-of-fall sort of crisp, dry, sunny weather with a touch of cool. Just perfect. And my girl has been out in the beautiful green grass, enjoying her life.

So, when I show up after work, she is just the most serene lovely red girl. She looks like thoroughbred royalty and she has the heart of a champion and sweetness of an angel. We have had the most terrific rides. Quiet, forward. She has wanted to be a pleasant girl. And I have wanted to form a good team with her. We are enjoying our tail days of summer!

My Beautiful Cousin, Jane Marie

Earlier this summer, I went up to visit family, and we spent a lovely day with the Lucisanos, Bergs, and the two nieces, such sweet girls! Here's a photo from our afternoon at Kensington Gardens. This is my very well-travelled cousin, Jane Marie. Isn't she a beauty! And she's the biggest-hearted, loving girl too!

She is our family photographer and historian. And I am always grateful because she takes pictures of my beautiful Violet!

Kentucky 2007: A Breakfast Line!

When I visited Barbie and Tom, they had a farm assistant named Marty. Early in the morning, I was having a chat with Hailee (such bliss!) and Marty came over and chatted with me about taking care of the mares, the foals, and life at Valentine Hall. I got to help him feed breakfast to the girls. We jumped onto a three-wheeler and he drove a straight line and left piles of fat-laced oats for the mares. Here we are in the big field making the breakfast line! It was so much fun.


In this first photo, the white horse is Ed, Hailee's boyfriend from Showgate Stables. He is now in blissful retirement with his herd of girls. And the brown-grey horse below is a horse that Barbie and Tom rescued. When they first found her, her hooves were in horrible shape, her weight was dangerously low, and she had bugs. Bugs, bugs, bugs were in her coat and it took Barbie forever to wash them away and treat them with topical wash medicine.


Now look at her -- a happy girl running for her breakfast, sure that she's going to get those oats, and happy with her herd under a blue Kentucky sky in the greenest field with woods and a creek. Happy, happy deserving girl!

Kentucky 2007: The Miraculous Breeding Shed!

Here it is again -- a place on earth which touches Heaven. Here is Claiborne Farm's breeding shed. Violet is a Claiborne girl. She has the bloodlines of very important stallions and mares who met in this shed.

I am so glad that I got to see this living slice of history!