Horses and Hope: a Yuletide Celebration of Horses in Silly Hats

Joey P

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting Joey P (Close Up - Luckey Lipco), a millionaire, a graded stakes winner, and a fan favorite. Officially retired from racing, the tall dark bay will soon be heading to Camden, South Carolina with his owners, Jane and Charley Gilbert. At Evergreen Training Center, he will enjoy a winter of light work, helping Derrick Barker with young Thoroughbreds, leading them on trails and on the track. In the springtime, he will head back to his home state.

Joey P was kind enough to indulge me with a short photo session, and he patiently wore a Christmas wreath and Santa hat with no complaints. He is in good company, since I spend quite  bit of time each December photographing horses, ponies, and donkeys wearing all sorts of festive costumes.

Simon

This might be my favorite horsey holiday photo of them all. Simon, the dashing "reindeer" pictured above, is a 30+year-old ex-Amish workhorse. Purchased from the direct-to-slaughter pen at New Holland Auction, Simon is now a permanent resident of Helping Hearts Equine Rescue in Perrineville, NJ. At the rescue, Simon's upper respiratory infection, hoof issues, and dental problems were cared for, and now he spends his days napping in the sun, being groomed by doting volunteers, and eating warm hay cubes in his cozy stall at night.

Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson, another Helping Hearts resident, is the December star of my 2012 Horses and Hope calendar. In addition to being the beloved ambassador/mascot of the rescue, he also helps in other ways. I received this lovely note from someone the other day:

"Sarah, the 2012 calendar hangs in my classroom. My students are the ones who make sure the right month shows. I have 60+ autistic, behavioral kids who rotate thru my pre-vocational program (assembly, packaging, sewing and woodworking).

One young man who doesn't speak very much stood up unexpectedly yesterday, walked to the back of my classroom, and touched the calendar. 'Donkey,' he said. 'Jesse, how do you know that is a donkey?' I asked. He touched the picture again, pointing to the ears,'Ears.' I said, 'His name is Jefferson and I am going to visit the farm where he lives tomorrow. Would you like me to take a picture of him for you?' Jesse smiled and sat back down.

His teacher came to pick him up at the end of his session and I told her I wanted to show her something. 'Hey, Jesse, can you do something for me? Can you find me Jefferson's picture?' He looked at me, stood up and walked over to the calendar. 'Jefferson,' he said as he pointed to the picture. His teacher said, 'Wow, you found the horse!' 'Donkey,' Jesse told his teacher. His teacher looked confused and turned to me with the question I was expecting... 'How did he know it wasn't a horse?' Jesse touched the picture and said, 'Ears!' His teacher didn't know the difference, but Jesse knew.

He has never looked at the calendar before, but I pulled out the 2013 calendar and he smiled. Those calendars, your pictures, are a new addition to my little toolbox of reinforcers I use to get my kids to do their work. The kids know I have an arsenal of fun, interesting and yummy goodies to pick from for 'helping' me. Thank you for not one but now 2 calendars my kids love to look at."

Zephyr

Zephyr, another resident at Helping Hearts, is available for adoption. His dam ran through the ring at Camelot Auction while she was pregnant with him. He was born at Helping Hearts in March 2011, and should mature to about 13.2 hands. I was very impressed that a youngster like Zephyr had the patience to pose for his photos in his wreath and hat.

Zodiac

For many months, I chronicled the progress of Zodiac (Jockey Club name Rhythmic Moves) during his recovery at Days End Farm Horse Rescue. He has been adopted and is now in a new, happy home. The fact that he stood before me last year, shiny and healthy, and posed for Christmas photos is nothing short of a miracle. Zodiac is featured in July in the 2013 Horses and Hope calendar. You can read his story here: http://thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/zodiac-nine-months-later.html 

Silver Gem and Anouk Busch

100% of the proceeds from the Horses and Hope calendar are donated to One Horse At A Time, a 501(c)(3) organization. Over $40,000 was raised with 2012's calendar, and we've already surpassed that amount with the 2013 calendars. The funds from the calendar help horses in need, from contributing to hay banks to providing emergency vet care to gelding colts. Over 300 horses were helped by the funds, including 255 colts and stallions who were gelded with calendar money last year. Silver Gem, pictured above with Horse Rescue United founder Anouk Busch, was gelded with the help of a gelding grant from One Horse At A Time. This year, Gem was adopted and is enjoying spending time with his new owner.

Audeamus

Audeamus ("Audi") is a 16h, 6-year-old Thoroughbred in the care of Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement. After he finishes rehab for his tendon, he will be available for adoption. Reindeer antlers, Santa hats, wreaths... Audi took his photo session in stride like a champ.

Of course, posing perfectly is not the only thing that horses do during my photo sessions. Some of them prefer to eat the props (pictured above).

Miss Tuesday, aka Stormin Miss

Some horses, like Miss Tuesday, ham it up for the camera.

 And others, like Mary the Morgan, appreciate the lights and holiday magic all around them. 

Horses and Hope 2013 Calendar

Last year, with the help of Gina Keesling of HoofPrints, my debut calendar contained over 100 photos of auction horses. Thanks to the support of horse lovers all over, it raised over $40,000 for One Horse At A Time, helping hundreds of horses in need directly, and untold others indirectly through increased public awareness. Now that we have one calendar's worth of experience to draw upon, the 2013 version promises to be even more exciting, even more creative, and as always, inspirational and positive.  

 

Please click here to order calendars- they make GREAT gifts!

Please click on the links below to read read about the horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules in the calendar:

Sarah Andrew

Georgia's Story

Sunny's Story

Rosebud's Story

Tristan's Story

Mimi's Story 
 

A Visit to Project Sage Horse Rescue

Electronic Press Release: 2013 Calendar

Thewifedoesntknow Training Blog: Week 23

Part 16 in a series of Sarah Andrew's training blogs about Thewifedoesntknow, a Thoroughbred mare made famous by a viral YouTube video and who is now in training to be a show hunter with New Jersey-based trainer Carole Davison.

 Confidence.

You can see confidence in a Thoroughbred when he wins his first race. You can see it in the morning when the horse bounces on to the track.

In late October at the Second Call "Fall For Horses" All-Thoroughbred Charity Show and Festival, Ally-Gator (Jockey Club name Thewifedoesntknow) showed the same confidence. She was in a strange environment, surrounded by strange horses, and she performed like a star, earning ribbons in two classes.  

I only had time to watch Carole warm Ally up at the show, but it was a successful outing, and a hint of the great things to come in the show ring for this mare.

Five weeks after the show, Ally was brimming with even more confidence during our photo shoot. Just five months ago, she was fresh from the track, and learning her new career as a riding horse. Now, she has mastered the basics and shows them off with style. At the trot, her shoulder is freer, and she is able to carry herself and rely less on Carole for balance and guidance. As her topline improves and she becomes more muscular, she becomes more elegant and powerful.

Due to Hurricane Sandy derailing everyone's plans and schedules, Ally's training slowed a little. For the past couple of weeks, she and Carole did not do much jumping. As soon as they trotted up to the first cross rail on Sunday, Ally's expression perked up, and she bounced over it with enthusiasm. During her over-fences work, the mare's outline rounded, her eye brightened, and there was a spring in her step. Unlike horses who rush fences when they lack confidence, Ally - full of confidence - floated to each jump. 

After warming up over a few cross rails, Carole and Ally rode a line from one cross rail to an oxer. Ally accepted the new challenge with alacrity, rounding her neck and basculing over the fence. 

I got to see more of Ally-Gator's playful side when Rio, a resident barn cat, decided to hang around with us. 

Carole's daughter, Liz, rode Ally at the end of the session. She said she had not ridden the mare in a while, and it was a pleasure to watch her work with the mare. 

Liz rode Ally in a slightly looser and more forward frame than Carole did, and the mare adjusted nicely to her rider.

Each time I visit Ally-Gator, the mare blossoms more and more, both in her physique and in her personality. Clearly, she enjoys her new career, from jumping oxers to playing with cats to massage sessions. She came to this farm as a promising prospect, and now she's learning every new lesson with trust and confidence.  

• Click here to read Training Blog, Week 1

• Click here to read Training Blog, Week 2

• Click here to read Training Blog, Week 3 

• Click here to read Training Blog, Week 5

• Click here to read Training Blog, Week 7

• Click here to read Training Blog, Week 8

•  Click here to read Training Blog, Week 11

• Click here to read Training Blog, Week 12

•  Click here to read Training Blog, Week 15  

•  Click here to read Training Blog, Week 19

• Click here to read my interview with breeder Meg Buckley, who bred and raised Thewifedoesntknow

• Click here to read my interview with Tim Shaw, who trained "The Wife" at Monmouth Park and retired her as a sound sporthorse prospect

• Click here to read my interview with jockey Shannon Uske, who rode "The Wife" in her last race 

• Click here to read about Ally-Gator's massage session with Christie Kerr

• Click here to read Karen Hagy's conformation analysis of the Thewifedoesntknow, and see "before/after" photos of the changes in her musculature and hooves since she retired from the racetrack in June

IN OTHER NEWS

Horses and Hope 2013 Calendar

 

With the help of Gina Keesling of HoofPrints, my 2012 debut calendar contained over 100 photos of auction horses. Thanks to the support of horse lovers all over, it raised nearly $40,000 for One Horse At A Time, helping hundreds of horses in need directly, and untold others indirectly through increased public awareness. Now that we have one calendar's worth of experience to draw upon, the 2013 version promises to be even more exciting, even more creative, and as always, inspirational and positive.  

 

Please click here to order your calendar now

 

 

 -Sarah Andrew

Fall For Horses Charity Horse Show in photos... NJ and Thoroughbreds: Perfect Together

Volunteers are gearing up in Maryland for next weekend's Furlongs to Fences Thoroughbred Show. The following week, Virginia kicks off the November Thoroughbred Celebration Horse Show. But this past weekend, Thoroughbreds ruled the Garden State.  

On Sunday, the Fall For Horses All Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show was hosted at the Horse Park of New Jersey by Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement, a registered nonprofit organization dedicated to New Jersey’s off-track Thoroughbreds. Serving as the exclusive aftercare program for Monmouth Park, Second Call's mission is to assist and ensure that retired racehorses find a second career. 

In addition to picture-perfect weather and over 30 diverse Thoroughbred-only classes, the show featured an eclectic group of vendors (food, gifts, equine/pet supplies, radio stations, volunteer organizations), pumpkin painting, book signings, raffles, special racehorse guests, prizes, and kids' games.

It's not easy to keep an event as big as a horse show running smoothly, but the NJ volunteers made Sunday's outing a wonderful success. It was a well-organized show, with helpful volunteers, great prizes, and a very fun atmosphere. I rarely show my horse, but I think that even I could be convinced to enter a few classes next year.  

Highlights of the day were the $1500 hunter stakes class, sponsored by Turning For Home, and a $250 jumper stakes class sponsored by Brandon W. Furlong, M.V.B. Equine Veterinarian, but the varied prize list also included dressage, costume, equitation, itty-bitty jumper, and fresh-off-the-track classes.

 Although I only had a little time to spend at the show that morning, I was treated to a dazzling display of what the Thoroughbred has to offer, from graceful dressage horses, to elegant hunters, to high-octane jumpers, to game equitation horses, to classy in-hand models.

Tyra Wiegers, trainer Emily Daignault, and Zreasun (1-0-0-0; $0)

I was delighted to see a few familiar faces, both from the racing world and from the rescue world. The last time I saw Fagedaboudit Gal, she was very thin and sore, and was sold to the feedlot at Camelot Auction. 

Fagedaboudit Gal (30-2-2-1; $86,932)

Now, she is sleek, shiny, and sound, thanks to Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement and her new owner. During the show, she greeted visitors and happily accepted carrots from fans.

Fagedaboudit Gal (30-2-2-1; $86,932)

Fagedaboudit Gal (30-2-2-1; $86,932)

Fagedaboudit Gal (30-2-2-1; $86,932)

Here are a few other horses who might be familiar faces to racing fans:

Stakes winner Fleet Valid (28-9-6-5; $382,516)

Stakes winner Fleet Valid (28-9-6-5; $382,516) and Erin Inman

Thewifedoesntknow (32-3-7-4; $95,144) and Carole Davison

Sher Got A Shot (4-1-0-0; $10,045) and Kirstyn Nuenson

Oula Moola (4-1-0-0; $11,400) and Madison Dorschutz

Saintly Sir (1-0-0-0; $250) and Jennifer Duelfer

True George (17-3-2-3; $45,016) and Melissa Smith

Hearts Flashy Fire (67-7-8-9; $178,421) and Damon Sheppard

 

IN OTHER NEWS

Horses and Hope 2013 Calendar

With the help of Gina Keesling of HoofPrints, my 2012 debut calendar contained over 100 photos of auction horses. Thanks to the support of horse lovers all over, it raised nearly $40,000 for One Horse At A Time, helping hundreds of horses in need directly, and untold others indirectly through increased public awareness. Now that we have one calendar's worth of experience to draw upon, the 2013 version promises to be even more exciting, even more creative, and as always, inspirational and positive.  

 

Please click here to reserve your copy now for late October delivery 

 

 

 -Sarah Andrew