Sunday May 11, 2008

Happy Mother’s Day to all, including the moms whose children are of the equine, canine, feline or other variety!

Today was an extremely windy, rather chilly and wet day at Old Friends.  It was nothing at all like last weekend’s beautiful Homecoming weather, but we still had a couple groups of hardy souls willing to try and brave the weather.   Our first tour started in a wet drizzle.  We saw Silver Charm, Williamstown and got as far as Pops and Ring before the rain just became too much.  Actually, we should have known we were in trouble when a gust of wind popped the lone umbrella on the tour inside out.   We finished that tour inside the big barn!

I can honestly say that I wasn’t too unhappy to have a slow tour day, not wanting all that much to be outdoors among the hardy souls.  Even my associate tour guides- dogs Jake and Marley- preferred to be out of the rain and wind.   Janet’s dogs, with their thick outdoor coats, handle the weather much better.  Duncan intelligently finds a comfortable spot out of the wind, while Shane lifts his face directly into the wind and grins! 

The horses were wet, tails dripping and forelocks hanging down their faces.   Bull inthe Heather seemed quite happy today, though.  He has traded paddocks with Creator and he likes his new space—he was trotting around having a good time.  Creator probably had the better idea—turn tail to the wind, ignore the rain and get as much good, wet, green, grass as possible.  (There is a lot of wisdom in that:  ignore the uncomfortable and just focus on what’s important!)

I find that each horse has a different take on weather.  For example, Williamstown cantered over for some carrots, slipping and sliding the whole time.  I strongly suspect he enjoyed splotching mud on his visitors.  Like Bull, he seemed perfectly happy in the wind and rain.  Awad, Kiri, and Ballindaggin were all calm and happy enough, but not exactly frisky today.  Fortunate Prospect, who I believe to be the smartest horse in the world (no mail, please!) knows better than to run around on slick wet grass.  He puts each foot down deliberately and with care, grazing on the finest grasses and making sure not to wrench anything.    Pops and Ring—well, they are just as silly as usual.  Splash in the mud?  OK.  Jostle for prime carrot position?  No problem.   Have a little racing competition?  Absolutely! 

All in all it was a pretty nice day at the farm, in spite of the wind and rain.   We hope you can visit soon.  In the meantime, thanks for spending another Sunday with Old Friends.

-Val

Monday May 5, 2008

I’m a day late posting, but what a week it has been!  For me, it started at 5 am on Wednesday when a group of Old Friends volunteers and supporters served sausage biscuits on the backside of Churchill Downs.  The Louisville Thoroughbred Club, their charity arm called My Racing Heart, and Purnell Sausage Company held the event each morning last week to raise money for racehorse retirement charities.   Old Friends is one of several beneficiaries of the LTC’s commitment to this cause.  What a great way to spend a cold and crisp spring morning—watching Derby and Oaks horses during their morning workouts, and serving up some good.   

This time of year we get a number of school field trips.  One day we had 60 kindergartners and their parent chaperones for a tour and picnic.  What a great time!   We split the group into three parts, found three tour guides, and went to see some horses.   I am still amazed at just how patient the horses can be with small kids.   Fortunate Prospect is always great, but so are many of the other stallions.   Awad in particular stood out.  He stood perfectly still while 20 sets of little hands reached through the fence to pat his nose, his neck, his shoulder and about anywhere else they could reach.  

Then, of course, it was the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday.  Not much to say that someone hasn’t already said elsewhere.   It just reinforces to me how the old warriors in this game deserve a dignified, caring retirement.   

Oh, but then came Sunday afternoon, and the reason I am late with this.  It was the day we had the Old Friends annual homecoming celebration.   No one could have conjured up nicer weather to officially welcome Danthebluegrassman home-it was clear, sunny and just warm enough. 

   The big tent went up, Wallace Station served up a terrific buffet and the auction items were a big hit.  People took tours, sat in the sunshine listening to music and generally had a great time.   Dan wasn’t too sure about the commotion but he took it all in stride.  Williamstown seemed to love the crowds—I saw him prancing around his paddock with his tail arched up like a banner.  Show off!

I have to give a big shout-out to the Gallatin County Bluegrass Youth Band.  They are fantastic.  If they are ever in your area, go see them.  Unbelievably good, let me tell you.   

The homecoming was a great success, and people came from everywhere.  Linda from Maine, who saved Cappuccino Kid, made the trip down.   It was an honor to meet her—she put it out there to save the Kid, and he thanks her.   Jean Cruget was there; he rode Kiri’s Clown.  Oh, and a little old horse named Seattle Slew as well!   

I could go on forever, but it’s time to stop.  Thanks to everyone who helped make this week special—the Louisville Thoroughbred Club, the Old Friends staff and volunteers, the people who came to Dan’s Homecoming, the kindergartners and the everyday visitors.  I want to end with a special thank you.  Eleven year old Lucy from Louisville emailed to say she wished to donate her winnings from her Kentucky Derby favorite Eight Belles.  She said she couldn’t enjoy her winnings and wanted the money to help other horses.

Lucy, you made everyone of us feel proud to know someone like you.  I hope you visit us very soon. 

-Val

Sunday April 27,2008

We all know it’s a small world, but it turns out the horse world is even smaller.  This week as I walked into the Old Friends gift shop, I came face to face with an old friend of my own from Pennsylvania.  Marta was in Kentucky for the Rolex Three-Day Event and came to visit the farm.  We go back many, many years, Marta and I.  After we got over our initial shock, we had a great time catching up.   I was sad to hear that her terrific old quarter horse, Casher, died a few years back at the ripe old age of 27.   Casher once casually dropped me into a very cold Pennsylvania stream in October.   Smart horse, he always got along best with Marta!

At Old Friends it has been a very nice weekend.  The last few days have been sunny, in the low 70s with a slight breeze; it’s hard not to love this weather.  We took a golf cart ride to the back of the farm and watched the mares romp for a bit.  The mares’ pasture is truly the most peaceful place on the farm.   The grass is deep and soft and the breeze rustles the new spring leaves.  There are no traffic noises, just the birds singing and the sound of the mares’ hooves as they trotted over to see us.   Narrow Escape and Cozy Miss were the first to come over, and Bonnie eventually followed.  While the stallions and geldings can easily be had for the price of a few carrots, the mares are much more discriminating.  They aren’t all that interested in carrots or in having visitors fawn over them.  They just want to be left alone, with green grass and water and no one to bother them.  I guess after years of raising babies, they figure they’ve had enough of people.  For those of you wondering about Bonnie’s Poker, she looks good this spring.   Her coat is shiny, her eye is bright, and let’s just say she remains a full-figured gal!   

Fortunate Prospect gets the “laziest horse ever” award today.  He stretches out on his side every day for a little siesta in the sun, but today he decided to grab a little snack before he napped.  So he grazed on some handy grass as he was lying down.  Nap or snack…what is a horse to do?  I guess he figured out how to multi–task!

Old Friends is very fortunate to have fans in many places that support our mission.  Donations come to us in many forms; carrots, apples, horse treats, and vet wrap all show up in person or in the mail almost every day.  But sometimes our younger supporters touch us the most.   In that vein, everyone at Old Friends wants to send a big hello to Kahlie from Minnesota.  This week, Kahlie sent us $100 for a share in Williamstown.  She raised the money herself, with help from her friends, with a board-breaking contest in her Tai Kwon Do class.  (Ouch!)  Look for a picture of Kahlie and her own pretty horse on our website soon.  Kahlie, I told Williamstown all about you today.  He is a horse of few words, but he said “thanks,” and he looks forward to meeting you some day.   He also mentioned that with a well-placed kick, he’s pretty sure he can break boards, too!

Next Sunday is our annual Homecoming day at Old Friends.  It’ll be a busy day as we welcome Danthebluegrassman home.   There will be music and food, along with tours and time to visit with all of us at the farm.   We’ll have both a live and silent auction featuring racing memorabilia, artwork and a wonderful selection of halters.   More details are on the Old Friends website, www.oldfriendsequine.org.   We hope you can join us for a very special Sunday with Old Friends!                  Val

Sunday April 20, 2008

Sunday April 20, 2008

Welcome to another Sunday at Old Friends.  Today was a busy day at the farm.  The morning started out with blue skies, sunshine and a light breeze, which was a joy since all week the weather reports had forecast rain.   By later this afternoon it rained a little, but no one seemed to mind too much. 

There was a lot of activity today with new horse “neigh”bors (sorry, I just couldn’t resist that one), some reconstruction activity, and numerous visitors.  It all fascinates the horses.   

This week, some new horses moved in at the farm next door and they are close to Kiri’s paddock.  He is extremely fascinated by the new arrivals, so much that he couldn’t be bothered to greet today’s tours.  That’s unusual for Kiri because he loves his carrots as much as the next guy.  He finally decided to come and greet his fans during the 3 o’clock tour.  No dummy, he knew it was his last chance for treats!  

 The Lexington area has had some high winds over the past six weeks or so, and a number of our run-in sheds were blown over and damaged.   During one of those windy days, a Sunday tour group watched the shed in Pops’ and Ring’s paddock blow over and slide down the hill on its roof.   It was one of those moments when you can’t quite believe what you are seeing!    Today, Kent and Greg spent the better part of the day righting the shed, pulling it up the hill and settling it back in place.  It took two men, a couple Chevy trucks and the farm tractor to get it done, but now Pops and Ring have their shed back.  Of course, it’ll probably take them a week to go in it again—they got used to it being upside down.  Now that it’s upright, they are a little suspicious of the whole thing.   

Awhile back, Wallenda forgot he isn’t as young as he used to be and aggravated an old racing injury.  He has been in the barn and off the visitor route as he recovers, but today he came to his stall window to greet a tour.  Most of the horses love treats and Wallenda is no exception, but what he really loves is applause.   He has learned to lift his lip to show off his racing tattoo.   When visitors applaud his little trick, he kind of puffs up, tosses his head, and looks all proud.  You can just about see him smile, and it makes everyone else smile too.  

All the horses have, for the most part, shed their winter coats.  Pops is still a little hairy and Ballindaggin hasn’t quite gotten his gorgeous, copper-metal summer color yet.   Williamstown, Sunshine and Swannie however, are outfitted with the finest of spring dapples.   Ogygian looks great and even little Silver Charm is significantly less furry than during the winter.   

We had our usual cross-section of visitors—kids, parents, racing fans, horse lovers, travelers, and tourists.  Today, they came from Wisconsin, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Arizona, Missouri and Ohio.    

Come see us when you can.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed spending another Sunday with Old Friends.                  Val

Sunday at Old Friends

Welcome to Sunday at Old Friends!   I am lucky enough to be able to spend Sundays giving tours at the farm and I am going to try to post a weekly entry on the blog.  Hopefully I’ll be able to write a little about the horses, give our out-of-town friends an update on how everyone is doing, and maybe share a few stories about some of our visitors.  So bear with me while I get started on this!

Today was a cool, rainy day in the Bluegrass.  The grass is ankle deep, lush and bright, bright green.  (Nope, it isn’t blue, at least not to my eyes.)  The redbud trees are blooming royal purple and even in today’s gray mist the colors are unbelievably intense.   Crayola’s got nothing on Kentucky in the spring!

But horses love this weather and they let you know it.   Williamstown showed off for a tour today—arching his neck and breaking into a slow, floaty canter.   At 18 years old, his four white feet dance over the ground and he moves like the athlete he is—graceful, light on his feet and proud of his ability.   Awad then trotted over for his share of carrots.  He is not a very big horse, but when he moves you can see why he won over 3 million dollars.  Even Flying Pidgeon got into the act today, cantering over to the fence and finishing with a fancy little mambo step when it was time for him to come into the barn for his dinner.    

This afternoon we had a large bus come in with maybe 40 seniors from New Jersey.  Unfortunately, they were on a tight schedule so they didn’t stay long, but they were great fun.  I hope they have a chance to come back.   We had a couple of high-school aged exchange students from Europe, some students from Midway College, and a number of racing fans in general.   One lady was so happy to meet Special Ring. 

But my favorite visitors are the kids, and we get some really terrific ones.   The other day as we left the office to begin our tour, one little girl confided to me, “I have waited forever for this!”   On that day, Fortunate Prospect was our first stop.  He put his head over the fence and let the kids pat him and feed him carrots.  He is an exceptionally kind, smart, and patient old stallion.   Of course, after he showed his class with the kids, he tried to take a little nip at their mom.  All just because he can!   As that tour wound down, another little girl cupped her hand to her nose, glanced over to me with a grin and said, “I just love the way horses smell.”   Yep, the kids are the best.  The smartest, too.

A note for those of you who follow the Kentucky Derby horses—Fortunate Prospect’s maternal grandson,  Z Fortune, was second in the Arkansas Derby yesterday.   We keep Gramps updated on his family accomplishments.   He acts like he doesn’t care, but we know he is secretly very proud!   We all pay special attention when an offspring of one of our stallions races.   Will’s Way, Wallenda, Sunshine Forever, and Ruhlmann all had runners recently.   And several years after his retirement,  Awad is still among the 2008 Leading Sires in Pennsylvania. 

The weather is supposed to improve this week—warmer, sunnier and drier.  Keeneland is in the midst of its spring race meet and breeding season is in full swing.  The Derby is only a few weeks away.   At Old Friends, the busy season is gearing up—three tours a day, every day.    Come see us when you can.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed spending this Sunday with Old Friends.         Val

February Freeze, Eclipse Awards

The weather for the past two days has been very nasty, freezing rain on top of snow yesterday, snow on top of ice today. But we can’t let the boys and girls wait for their breakfasts, so Michael and I bundled up and trudged out into the elements to deliver feed and lots of carrots (thank you, Tim Ford) to some happy and excited horses. They don’t mind the weather, in fact they seem energized by it, as though they’d been given a day off from school.

We wouldn’t have been able to attend the Eclipse Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel if it weren’t for two of our most generous and steadfast supporters. Racing writer Bill Mooney won an Eclipse for the piece he wrote about the death of the great champion Precisionist at Old Friends. It was heartfelt and it was beautifully written. He invited Michael onstage and donated the award to Old Friends. It was a remarkable moment. Angie Dickinson, who has supported Old Friends from the first, bought us a table and sat with us, lending us some much-needed glamor. I don’t mean to disparage the Old Friends group - everybody smartened up pretty well - but Angie is “Hollywood royalty,” as she was described very apty when she presented the awards for best three-year old colt and filly.  She’s also a very funny lady. When she met Dr. Holly Aldinger, looking gorgeous in a strapless coral dress, Angie said, “If she were your vet you’d make sure your horse was sick every day.”

Holly is working for six months near Palm Springs. You may remember that she was the vet who was called upon to put down Precisionist, and kissed him tenderly as he passed away. Old Friends is very fortunate to have Angie, Bill, Holly and so many other wonderful friends.  - Diane

Santa Anita et cetera

It’s weirdly warm here today, nearly 70 and stormy. Any minute we’ll probably be back to single digit temperatures, but meanwhile we’re enjoying the unpredictable Kentucky weather. Spring is in the air. It’s breeding season, and while most of our older stallions have seen it all, done it all and are pretty blase about the mating game, some are raring to go. There’s plenty of life in these old boys. Ruhlmann, in particular, has been looking for love in the wrong place, to wit, a telephone pole in his paddock. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, to borrow a phrase from a ”Seinfeld” episode, but it’s a little undignified, and splinters could be an issue.

Today is Futural’s 10th birthday. He’s celebrating with extra bananas, his favorite snack, and apples. Saturday Swan’s Way turned 19. We sang him a chorus of “Happy Birthday” and  plied him with Stud Muffins, a gourmet horse treat sent by a generous donor. He loves them. They all love them, actually, and I can see why. I took a bite of one - they have an irresistible aroma - and it was very tasty.

Of course you’d rather read about horses than humans, but bear with me for a bit. Our trip to California for Old Friends day at Santa Anita was heartening. It was great to see so many of our West Coast supporters, and some of our friends who traveled from other parts of the country to attend. It has been raining a lot in L.A., but when we were there the weather was perfect, sunny and cool. Michael says the good weather was due to Old Friends karma, but he says that about anything good that happens.  Santa Anita was beautiful. The air was clear, so the view of the mountains, some of them capped with snow, was spectacular. We had a good spot for our gathering on the clubhouse patio where we enjoyed a delicious lunch, had a silent auction of Old Friends-related item and watched - and bet on - the races.

The highlight of our day was the fourth race, the Old Friends. Peggy Whittingham, as charming and funny as ever, presented the trophy. Peggy’s late husband Charlie is, of course, a racing legend, “the best trainer who ever lived,” according to Peggy, who should know. She pointed out an imposing portrait of Charlie, prominently displayed in the clubhouse. We were impressed.

 Two Step Salsa, a 20-1 shot trained by Julio Canani, won the Old Friends. Our farm manager, Janet Beyersdorfer, used to work for Julio, so in this case maybe it was Old Friends karma at work. Janet had planned to make the trip, but her dog, Duncan, has been having seizures and had to undergo an MRI. Janet wouldn’t leave him, especially after the vet suggested the problem may be related to separation anxiety. We missed Janet but we understand. Duncan is a very sensitive dog.

The Old Friends race was Michael’s wagering highlight too, and he used some of his winnings to treat some of the O.F. contingent  - Sylvia “Director of Everything” Stiller and her husband Jim, tireless volunteers Ruthann and Mercer Vandenburg, Michael’s sister Pat and me - to dinner at the Derby, the Arcadia restaurant that used to belong to legendary jockey George Woolf, who rode Seabiscuit and so many other outstanding horses. We had a lot of fun looking at the collection of racing memorabilia displayed in the restaurant.

Next (I hope), the Eclipse Awards. And I plan to post lots of photographs of horses, humans, cats, dogs etc. if I can ever figure out how to transfer them. Help! - Diane

“Moneigh” Day at Old Friends

Mary Simons, aka “Moneigh” Mary, arrived at Old Friends  last Monday with her painting supplies to assist our dowager mare Bonnie’s Poker, dam of the great Silver Charm - or the “other” Silver Charm, as we think of him at Old Friends -  create a masterpiece. At first Bonnie wasn’t in a creative mood. She took off  as soon as Mary started unpacking her paints, and ran around the paddock like a 2-year old, followed by her friends Narrow Escape and Cozy Miss. 

 While waiting for Bonnie to cooperate Mary enticed Affirmed Success and Futural to break their “Moneigh” maidens. It didn’t take much persuading. Both geldings were curious.  They leaned over the fence and got right into the paints, smearing it artistically on the paper and all over Michael’s jacket. Then - this was a surprise - Futural took a brush between his teeth and applied a few distinctive strokes. Not to be outdone, Affirmed Success did the same.

 Eventually Bonnie slowed down. Michael produced carrots and, after skeptical look or two, she approached the fence and started munching. Mary was ready with paints - non-toxic children’s fingerpaints - and paper and, with the help of some more carrots, Bonnie was persuaded to stick her nose in the paint and apply it to the paper. Her carrot-assisted art  will be framed and auctioned at the Thorobreds’ Christmas party. The Thorobreds are an organization of women in the Thoroughbred industry who raise money for horse-related charities.

   “Moneigh” is a registered trademark of ReRun, the Thorougbred rescue and re-training organization. 

Affirmed Success shows off

 

 IMG_0280, originally uploaded by oldfriendsblog.

 

Bonnie’s Poker and Kudos

Bonnie’s Poker and Kudos, originally uploaded by oldfriendsblog.