We did it!
The 2016 Retired Racehorse Project is a wrap; horses competed, scored have been submitted, and winners announced and crowned. Horses have returned home, some from the Makeover Sale have found new homes, and many of us trainers are left with a sense of "what now?" What is the next chapter for this thoroughbred, and for how long will I be part of the story?
We had a great time in Kentucky, and I'm very excited about Fancy's progress. He was quite nervous in the beginning of the week - the Horse Park is such an overwhelming venue and we haven't been off our property since July - but every day he relaxed a bit more. He competed in his section's two over fences classes and the under saddle very respectfully, and I'm proud that he jumped every jump and did everything I asked him to do. He ended up placed 35th out of about 70 horses who competed - very exciting! By Saturday we were even able to go out to the big grass field and hack around a little bit, which I considered a huge success!
The RRP did a great job of putting on a welcoming and enjoyable show; it was a lot of fun to meet people from all over the country from different disciplines and cheer them on in the show ring. One of the great things about this event was the atmosphere; it felt less like we were competing with each other, and felt more like we were simply sharing our horses, their stories, and our journeys together. We are all looking forward to being involved in this organization next year, and are already considering which of our CANTER horses might be a good match for the program in 2017!
I want to thank the CANTER organization of Michigan for all their help and support on my journey with my Fancy Boy - without their dedication to rehabbing and rehoming OTTBs, Fancy and I might not have ever met. This incredible guy's journey is just beginning, and I'm so glad that I am able to be a part of it.
