all in Aftercare

Shanghaied, Pop Pop and I had lots of fun on the road to the 2019 Thoroughbred Makeover. From the time we claimed Shanghaied at Penn National, brought him home to Maine, rehabilitated, re-conditioned, and re-schooled him, Shanghaied has given 100%. My training partner Pop Pop gave more than 100%, taking weekly lessons, traveling to Maine from Pennsylvania and trusting me with the training process. 

When I arrived at the Retired Racehorse Project’s (RRP) Thoroughbred Makeover Presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Kentucky Horse Park was already buzzing that evening.

Though the event didn’t officially start until Wednesday morning, more than 450 recently retired Thoroughbreds had made their way to Lexington, Ky. After passing a mandatory wellness exam upon arrival, show-week preparations began as their riders took them to check out the grounds and prepare for the week ahead.

THE ARRIVAL EXAM

This year, America’s Best Racing and the Retired Racehorse Project will be sharing diaries from several trainers preparing for the 2019 Thoroughbred Makeover competition, scheduled for Oct. 2-5 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

My mantra this month is “WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE.”

With only five months until the Thoroughbred Makeover, our training continues. So far we have met our goals by going off-property to lessons. Shanghaied and I have ridden in two clinics successfully, and we have a show coming up the first week in July! I am happy with our ground fundamentals and Shanghaied’s level of fitness.

I like to view goals as steppingstones on a journey rather than a destination at which to arrive. This mentality has allowed for the ever-humbling qualities of some horses to be a smoother pill to swallow when life hands you lemons. Sometimes things just fall out of place no matter how much planning went into them. Sometimes, all that’s left to do is sit back and enjoy the lemonade. It’s in these times that we can often grow the most as horsemen and women.

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