Last week I wrote about my motivation returning ... but even though I mentioned 'outside of racing' goals, in the end it was only my career motivation that kept working.
The past few months I have spent a lot of time working on a "project" of sorts that's racing related so I've put everything else on the backburner. In addition to working on the project, the cold weather was a good excuse for not riding but I didn't really have an excuse for not exercising at all other than laziness.
But after spending a week unwinding from doing my part of the project, I've still been lazy. This irritates me because last year before my accident I was hitting the gym every night and was in good shape. I had even planned on jogging a 5k but since I came up with an injury before then, I was forced to walk it. Last fall I wasn't going to the gym often but I was riding at least three nights a week. Now it's the end of March and I'm doing nothing. That is about to change.
There are a few reasons for my "must start working out again" mindset.
First, I sit at a desk all day for work and rational or not, the fear of illness due to being totally inactive is in my head. Odds are I won't develop blood clots or any of the other health issues that come with desk jobs but I'll admit that I'm paranoid. We have it pounded into our heads (for good reason) that desk jobs with no activity can cause major issues so that is always in my mind. I also have back issues which have been bothering me lately. The last time I worked out and was in decent shape, they went away. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.
Second, I have a tendency to over think everything (my friends are probably laughing at this). I am not an overly patient person and right now I am waiting to hear back about something that I really want. But I've done all I can do and just keep thinking about my final part of the thing over and over again. Since I won't know anything for at least three more weeks (more like five), this may drive me crazy. The good thing about hitting the gym and riding again is that the gym shuts my brain off and riding makes me focus on horse issues. Finding a way not to go crazy sounds like a good plan.
Third, I'd like to run another 5k sometime this year. I had a blast on the one I walked last year and would like to see what I could do if I was truly trying to be competitive. While jogging on a treadmill isn't the same as jogging outside, it gives me a good base of fitness to work off of. Plus, if I start now then I can start jogging outside when it finally gets warm enough (and stays light long enough) which will be nice.
As for riding, I'm hoping not to jinx it but the weather is supposed to be extremely nice for the next few days. I have no real goals set for the horses right now but at least I'll have Vegas ready if one pops up, plus it's good to get her out and about instead of letting her sit around.
I'm good at coming up with excuses while sitting at my work desk all day but my goal for the next three weeks is not to fall into these excuses and find ways out of working. It takes 21 days to create a habit so if I can just stay strong for those 21 days, I should be home free at creating a routine ... hopefully.
Until next time,
Mel
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Motivation Returns
It's been a long time since I last blogged and since then we've survived what some of my Lexington friends call the worst winter we've had in years.
Because of colder temperatures and snow halting my chances to ride, and some days even get up to the barn, instead I started working on another "project". The part of it that I could control ended last week but I can't share what it was with you yet. If it comes to fruition, I'll have news for you in May. It could potentially be a life changer so fingers crossed I get to share good news with all of you in a few weeks.
Besides that, I've taken time the last few weeks to come out of a racing "hibernation" of sorts. I've spent the whole winter watching racing on the internet and hadn't been to a track (outside of stopping at Keeneland for random "quiet moments") in months. So when a friend invited me to visit Charlie LoPresti's barn with her in early March, I jumped on the chance.
If you aren't a huge racing fan, you probably aren't familiar with Charlie but he trains the "Dans". The headliner of that family is definitely two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan.
Until next time,
Mel
Because of colder temperatures and snow halting my chances to ride, and some days even get up to the barn, instead I started working on another "project". The part of it that I could control ended last week but I can't share what it was with you yet. If it comes to fruition, I'll have news for you in May. It could potentially be a life changer so fingers crossed I get to share good news with all of you in a few weeks.
Besides that, I've taken time the last few weeks to come out of a racing "hibernation" of sorts. I've spent the whole winter watching racing on the internet and hadn't been to a track (outside of stopping at Keeneland for random "quiet moments") in months. So when a friend invited me to visit Charlie LoPresti's barn with her in early March, I jumped on the chance.
If you aren't a huge racing fan, you probably aren't familiar with Charlie but he trains the "Dans". The headliner of that family is definitely two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan.
Dan is returning for another season so we got to go up to the grandstand with Charlie to watch him gallop and hear some of Charlie's commentary.
While watching Dan on the track was awesome, the best part was showing Charlie how to work his text messages and jokingly being offered a job as his press secretary. That'd be a sweet gig!
We spent an hour watching Dan go through his cool down routine, including a bath in the colder morning air. As you can see, he wasn't a huge fan.
While his older brother Successful Dan had gone out in the set before Dan so we'd missed him, we did get to visit him before we left. His nickname is Moose and it's easy to see why.
There were still hours of training left after leaving the barn so I headed back up to the track to watch the rest of the morning's works and unintentionally kept my "Dan family" morning alive with Enchanting Lisa, the boys' 4-year-old sister by War Chant, breezing past me.
I also got to see international superstar No Nay Never get ponied around the track. If you don't know him, he won at Royal Ascot as a 2-year-old last year then returned to Europe later that summer to win a Group 1 in France. With my love of European racing, it was awesome to see him win the races over there and then see him in person.
I also got to go out to Milestone Farm later that morning and see an old favorite of mine, EZ's Gentleman. He's truly in a great place and everyone there seems to love him so I was happy to see him so happy. I have a standing invitation to come back and visit him and his foals again so I'm planning on visiting him again next month after the craziness of the final round of Derby preps.
Here's just one of EZ's foals, they are good looking horses!
They also own the dam of Going Wild (a blast from the past for me as I was a fan of his way back when) and she had just foaled a colt a few days before so I got to meet that little guy as well.
This past weekend I headed up to Turfway for the first time ever to go see the Spiral Stakes. You can catch my full experience here but here are two memorable photos from the day (and the same race).
First, Big Bazinga (yes that is really his name) decided to pull a prank on the paddock by getting loose when they called for riders up. A group of us were right in his way and had to scramble to avoid getting run over but his fun was over within about 30 seconds as he stopped at the paddock fence and was quickly caught.
We Miss Artie won the race and secured himself a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Since I've been to both of Artie's graded stakes victories, I really think Mr. Ramsey should invite me to the Derby. Artie definitely does better when I'm there, hahaha.
My track excursions mean that Spring is finally here and with it my motivation has reappeared. I spent some time yesterday writing down some of my spring and summer goals. I am currently down and out for a few days with a random foot injury, I have no idea how I did it and it doesn't hurt but I have some slight swelling, so I've decided to sit out a few days but I look forward to getting starting on those new goals later this week. The best part of the swelling meant that I could make a Triple Crown joke, which is always fun this time of year.
I've been put on stall rest indefinitely with a swollen foot. However, I have enough points for Derby so I am still on the TC trail.
— Melissa Bauer-Herzog (@mbauerherzog) March 24, 2014
I have a feeling the horses won't enjoy the goals as it means they have to work again but they are probably as tired of winter as I am so maybe they'll surprise me. I'd try to promise to write again next week but I don't have much to say from week to week right now so I'll settle for a "next time I have something to update on". Hopefully that's not too far in the future!Until next time,
Mel
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
The Learning Game
Tracking back to my New Year's Eve post of what horses taught me last year, my goal this year is to "give back" to the species by teaching Vegas something.
Even though she will be nine this year and was going well when I turned her out right before I moved to Kentucky, she is learning a new discipline, which brings up a few new challenges.
She's learning how to accept a contact (rather than the looser western type of riding), something that has confused her. In her mind, tighter contact on the reins means stopping, turning, or rating so I've had to talk her off the ledge every time the contact is added. At first, she decided the contact was a good way to attempt to brace on the bit but a small bit change has convinced her otherwise.
It's amazing to see the change in her in just a few months. While there are still some issues that we are working on, for the most part she has figured out what is being asked of her. Don't get me wrong, we still have a long way to go before I'll venture towards hinting that she's an english horse but it seems like she's really stepped up to the challenge.
The next step is to move on to figuring out what direction I should take her in once she's more settled into her new discipline. She seems to be enjoying trotting over poles so jumping may be in her future but trotting over poles is a lot different than jumping them.
Since the weather has spent a lot of time looking like this lately, right now we are just enjoying actually getting to work through a winter without having to deal with riding in the mud.
Hopefully the next time I have a Vegas update for everyone, it will be a little bit warmer. At the moment, the real feel temperature (according to Accuweather) is -2 degrees so riding has come to a halt for the moment. Thankfully it looks like it will be warmer on Friday and Saturday so we can get back work on Vegas' career change.
Until next time,
Mel
Even though she will be nine this year and was going well when I turned her out right before I moved to Kentucky, she is learning a new discipline, which brings up a few new challenges.
She's learning how to accept a contact (rather than the looser western type of riding), something that has confused her. In her mind, tighter contact on the reins means stopping, turning, or rating so I've had to talk her off the ledge every time the contact is added. At first, she decided the contact was a good way to attempt to brace on the bit but a small bit change has convinced her otherwise.
It's amazing to see the change in her in just a few months. While there are still some issues that we are working on, for the most part she has figured out what is being asked of her. Don't get me wrong, we still have a long way to go before I'll venture towards hinting that she's an english horse but it seems like she's really stepped up to the challenge.
The next step is to move on to figuring out what direction I should take her in once she's more settled into her new discipline. She seems to be enjoying trotting over poles so jumping may be in her future but trotting over poles is a lot different than jumping them.
Since the weather has spent a lot of time looking like this lately, right now we are just enjoying actually getting to work through a winter without having to deal with riding in the mud.
Hopefully the next time I have a Vegas update for everyone, it will be a little bit warmer. At the moment, the real feel temperature (according to Accuweather) is -2 degrees so riding has come to a halt for the moment. Thankfully it looks like it will be warmer on Friday and Saturday so we can get back work on Vegas' career change.
Until next time,
Mel
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Ten Things Horses Taught Me in 2013
2014 is the “Year of the Horse” but quite a few horses
taught me lessons in 2013 that aren’t just useful in the barn. Here are 10
reminders given to me by some of the horses in my life this year.
- The year will get better – Will Take Charge had
a few small victories in the spring, but he proved that even if the first part
of your year doesn’t go as planned there’s always another day. This is a very
good reminder when you’re having a bad day or month and don’t see an end to it.
- Getting older isn’t all that bad – Wine backs up this statement but both Game On Dude and Wise Dan really brought the point home this year. Two of the oldest horses racing consistently at the top level, they have both gotten much better with age.
- Sometimes you just need to slow down – This one comes courtesy of Vegas who is good at reminding me that faster isn’t always wanted/needed. It’s nice to get to your next destination fast, but when you’re out for a relaxing afternoon drive, take some time to smell the flowers (or grab some of the knee high grass you’re walking through).
- Prioritize – Are treats or drama more important? Crystal was good at reminding me that it is okay to step away from more stressful parts of your life for a few hours, especially if there’s something enjoyable away from the drama.
- Change isn’t always bad – Vegas was a trooper
getting into the trailer during our tour of the U.S. and always seemed happy to
see what adventure she was going on when we loaded up every morning. Gas stops weren’t
just for getting treats and water but also a time to take a second and enjoy the
journey you’re on.
- Transitions may seem scary, but really they can be fun– Just like transitioning from a walk to a trot, speeding up or slowing down your life when necessary isn’t as painful as it seems. Sure, it’s different but that’s not always a bad thing. Changes can lead you down paths that have a lifelong effect on your view of life.
- Changing your attitude can change your life –
Thanks to some of the Three Chimneys studs for this one. If you stay
standoffish, your life won’t be as enjoyable as it could be, but if you warm up
to the person wanting your attention, there may just be a mint at the end of
that person’s hand.
- Don’t let life get out of control – Vegas had this lesson for me a lot this fall. Being on the brink of losing control is one thing, but actually losing it isn’t fun. So push yourself to the edge, because it may lead to something you didn’t know you could do, but rein yourself in before you lose all control of the situation.
- Big things can come from comebacks – Animal Kingdom taught me a few things this year, but this was one that should resonate with quite a few lovers of the big chestnut. He faced more hurdles than many out there but came back to impress the world with a big win. Sure, not everyone is going to have that big win, but don’t give up just because you have a setback.
- Tomorrow is another day – You may have a crappy day or ride but as soon as you are turned out in the pasture, it’s time to reset. Don’t forget about what happened the day before but don’t dwell on it. Instead, remember the lessons learned from the experience and use them when you face the same challenges the next morning.
This past year was a tough one for many people but here’s hoping
2014 brings readers everything they wish for (and more)!
Happy New Year!
Mel
Mel
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Happy New Year (Kind of)
Yes, I know the title is misleading if you look at a calendar but last weekend I declared December 1 my new year. While technically I still have 23 more days until 2014 rolls in, I've never been a stickler for conventional social details.
With all the drama that happened over the past year, including multiple Thanksgiving week events, I was looking for a way to end the year. Because I'm a horse racing person, I decided to end it the weekend of the last big races of the year (I see some of you rolling your eyes at me), which happen to coincide with the last weekend of November.
Fittingly, I spent it at the track (big shocker) since Churchill Downs was hosting two major days of racing to close out their year (no really, it was the last two days of the final meet of the year for them).
And after all the photos I've taken this year, it's also fitting that my favorite came from Friday night's Clark Handicap, the last major race I'll shot this year.
Will Take Charge sealed up his championship (he's out of one of my favorite mares so this was fun) by beating Game On Dude (one of my favorite old warriors) about 15 feet in front of me (yay for photog press passes) and I was extremely glad that my camera didn't decide to act up at that moment (we're having massive issues at the moment). But even though I was sure it didn't act up, I was overjoyed to see this photo when I got back to the press box.
It's definitely not professional photographer quality, but it's better than it would have been a year ago.
The next day, I went back on my day off because I'm kind of crazy and was one of only two photographers on the track for the final race. The emptiness allowed me to get a prime spot to get another good shot. It's safe to say that it was definitely a good way to end my year. (Coincidentally, it's also kind of fitting that this promising 2-year-old won the last race of the meet since it's quite possible he'll be working towards the Kentucky Derby at Churchill next Spring).
This week, I enjoyed a four day weekend and finally caught up on some movies in theaters that I was dying to see. Hunger Games: Catching Fire definitely gets my vote as movie of the year with Thor 2 right behind it. I also watched Mortal Instruments: City of Bones at home and am recommending you don't waste your money on it, it was definitely a disappointment.
To end this post, I also found out how lucky I am to be surrounded by the people in my life. Between a great dinner with two friends on Saturday night and a huge group supporting me as I work towards a goal over the next few months, I have a great support system. I definitely lead a very charmed life!
I head home for six days in a week and a half so there's a ton to do before then but I look forward to the "holiday challenge" that is my to-do list.
Until next time,
Mel
With all the drama that happened over the past year, including multiple Thanksgiving week events, I was looking for a way to end the year. Because I'm a horse racing person, I decided to end it the weekend of the last big races of the year (I see some of you rolling your eyes at me), which happen to coincide with the last weekend of November.
Fittingly, I spent it at the track (big shocker) since Churchill Downs was hosting two major days of racing to close out their year (no really, it was the last two days of the final meet of the year for them).
And after all the photos I've taken this year, it's also fitting that my favorite came from Friday night's Clark Handicap, the last major race I'll shot this year.
Will Take Charge sealed up his championship (he's out of one of my favorite mares so this was fun) by beating Game On Dude (one of my favorite old warriors) about 15 feet in front of me (yay for photog press passes) and I was extremely glad that my camera didn't decide to act up at that moment (we're having massive issues at the moment). But even though I was sure it didn't act up, I was overjoyed to see this photo when I got back to the press box.
It's definitely not professional photographer quality, but it's better than it would have been a year ago.
The next day, I went back on my day off because I'm kind of crazy and was one of only two photographers on the track for the final race. The emptiness allowed me to get a prime spot to get another good shot. It's safe to say that it was definitely a good way to end my year. (Coincidentally, it's also kind of fitting that this promising 2-year-old won the last race of the meet since it's quite possible he'll be working towards the Kentucky Derby at Churchill next Spring).
This week, I enjoyed a four day weekend and finally caught up on some movies in theaters that I was dying to see. Hunger Games: Catching Fire definitely gets my vote as movie of the year with Thor 2 right behind it. I also watched Mortal Instruments: City of Bones at home and am recommending you don't waste your money on it, it was definitely a disappointment.
To end this post, I also found out how lucky I am to be surrounded by the people in my life. Between a great dinner with two friends on Saturday night and a huge group supporting me as I work towards a goal over the next few months, I have a great support system. I definitely lead a very charmed life!
I head home for six days in a week and a half so there's a ton to do before then but I look forward to the "holiday challenge" that is my to-do list.
Until next time,
Mel
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
The last few months have been hectic to say the least. Soon after writing my last piece, the September sale was upon us. There were lots of photos taken and I went a few times for work so it was much more crazy than September. However, it did reaffirm my love of the sales part of the industry, which is always a fun re-realization.
Here are just a few of my favorite photos from the September sale.
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| Hip 134 (a Galileo filly) studies a potential buyer as the buyer studies her. |
Soon after that ended, we had our last round of Breeders' Cup preps. It's probably going to be an unpopular opinion but Breeders' Cup season is my favorite American racing time of year. While I spent the first week of the preps in the office, the second week was all about hanging out in the Keeneland press box.
It rained (making it somewhat miserable at times) but with a group of really fun people also reporting on the races, it was an entertaining day. Especially since some of my favorites ran (and won) throughout the day.
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| The always happy (and world traveler) Havelock merrily galloping to victory. |
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| Groupie Doll didn't win her race but she is still a favorite (and went on to win the Breeders' Cup). |
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| Judy the Beauty won the race and the skies were showing what was to come in the hours that followed. |
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| Irish invader and one of my favorites, Say, didn't do much in her two starts here but she is a beautiful filly. |
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| The rainstorm that dropped about 4 inches on us in only a matter of 2-3 hours. |
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| By the time Horse of the Year Wise Dan entered the paddock, my camera was on its last leg. It died before he ran and had to spend two days in rice to dry out.
Two days later, I headed home to bring the horses back to Kentucky. We ran into a bit of trouble on our final day when a wheel bearing broke but overall it was an easy trip. Vegas obviously enjoyed seeing the country as this was her expression at every gas stop.
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This weekend I'm planning on heading up to Churchill for the Clark Handicap, which should be a great race. I'm sure that if I get any good photos, I'll report back here. And even if I don't I'll at least try to come back and entertain you with some news about something. I definitely won't wait three months until my next blog so check back soon for more posts!
Until next time,
Mel
Monday, August 26, 2013
A Week of Horses
If you know me, you know that my life pretty much revolves around horses. Without television, I can't really focus on the other sports I follow this time of year and hockey is on a hiatus so it just gives me more time to work on this (possibly unhealthy) obsession.
This was fast tracked last week when my life literally 100% revolved around horses.
It all started when I got my media pass for the Arlington Million but it just grew from there. The day before Aug. 17's Million brought an invite from a friend to go to a show jumping grand prix.
I've watched show jumping a few time since I've been here and even watched some jumping classes at the North American Junior & Young Riders Championships but I've never been able to really give a grand prix my full attention so I was excited to hit up the show. Of course, I had my camera with me so I tried my hand at photographing the class and to my surprise, I didn't do too badly. I took a ton of photos (most that I haven't edited yet) but to keep my sanity and yours for this post, I'll just post two of them.
I was a bit stupid going to the Grand Prix from a sleeping standpoint as I had to be up at 4:45 the next morning to head to Chicago. Most people are smart enough to drive six hours (one way) the day before but not my carmate and I. We decided that a 12+ hour trip with eight hours of racing was a great idea. That thought turned out to be true.
I was given a photo pass for the day, so not only did I get to hang out in the cool press box (this door was the entrance, I'm still in love with this photo) but I also got to go right up to the rail on the turf course.
If you know me (or have paid attention to some of my blog posts), I LOVE turf racing. Even more so, I love European racing. One of my big goals in life (one of many) is to find a job that lets me go over and cover the Euros for their big race meets but Arlington Park's International Festival is about as close as I'm going to get for the time being.
Some of my favorite European jockeys came over for the big races so I did fangirl at times. Especially when I returned to the press box after my day of racing to upload my photos and found this photo.
I didn't know much about Dandino before the American St Ledger other than he was a nice horse. I had watched him online but often you don't get the best of quality so I didn't know exactly how nice looking he was. He is my newest racing horse crush, because this is one hot horse. His jockey Ryan Moore is also one of my favorites and has ridden some of my favorite horses both on American and foreign soil so to be that close to him while he was riding a race was a surreal experience.
But even more cool was to see one of the jockeys that I've watched grow up ride in the Arlington Million. I've watched Joseph O'Brien ride since his first year as a "real" jockey as a 16-year-old in Ireland and he was the jockey that won the Breeders' Cup Turf (one of my favorite Breeders' Cup races) the year I covered the race so his success has a special place in my heart. He was also the regular rider of St. Nicholas Abbey and Camelot, both of them my favorites of this generation so it's safe to say that as far as racing goes, he's an important person to me. In fact, when I was told he was riding in the Million about three weeks before the event, it convinced me that I needed to figure out a way to get there.
I watch Joey ride at least once a week on TwinSpires because he rides some of the best horses in Europe, but even though he was in the U.S. for BC 2012, I haven't seen him ride in person since 2011. He was on Mull of Killough who is a half-brother to, in my opinion, one of the most underrated turf milers of all time in Excelebration. Excelebration only won three one-mile G1s in his career, but he also had to face a monster in Frankel. He was most definitely born in the wrong year.
The pair finished eighth in the race but there was a bunch of excitement when South African invader The Apache and U.S.-bred Real Solution went head-to-head in the stretch. Technically The Apache won but he was disqualified to second when it was shown on the head-on view that he bumped Real Solution multiple times in the stretch.
Since I was writing the recap for work, I went to the press tent for the winner's interview as soon as the trophy presentation was done and got this picture of Mr. Ramsey. He won three G1s that day and had the same expression on his face that many of us were feeling after an awesome day.
This was fast tracked last week when my life literally 100% revolved around horses.
It all started when I got my media pass for the Arlington Million but it just grew from there. The day before Aug. 17's Million brought an invite from a friend to go to a show jumping grand prix.
I've watched show jumping a few time since I've been here and even watched some jumping classes at the North American Junior & Young Riders Championships but I've never been able to really give a grand prix my full attention so I was excited to hit up the show. Of course, I had my camera with me so I tried my hand at photographing the class and to my surprise, I didn't do too badly. I took a ton of photos (most that I haven't edited yet) but to keep my sanity and yours for this post, I'll just post two of them.
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| My first attempt of the class |
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| Love the fountain in the background in this one |
I was given a photo pass for the day, so not only did I get to hang out in the cool press box (this door was the entrance, I'm still in love with this photo) but I also got to go right up to the rail on the turf course.
If you know me (or have paid attention to some of my blog posts), I LOVE turf racing. Even more so, I love European racing. One of my big goals in life (one of many) is to find a job that lets me go over and cover the Euros for their big race meets but Arlington Park's International Festival is about as close as I'm going to get for the time being.
Some of my favorite European jockeys came over for the big races so I did fangirl at times. Especially when I returned to the press box after my day of racing to upload my photos and found this photo.
I didn't know much about Dandino before the American St Ledger other than he was a nice horse. I had watched him online but often you don't get the best of quality so I didn't know exactly how nice looking he was. He is my newest racing horse crush, because this is one hot horse. His jockey Ryan Moore is also one of my favorites and has ridden some of my favorite horses both on American and foreign soil so to be that close to him while he was riding a race was a surreal experience.
But even more cool was to see one of the jockeys that I've watched grow up ride in the Arlington Million. I've watched Joseph O'Brien ride since his first year as a "real" jockey as a 16-year-old in Ireland and he was the jockey that won the Breeders' Cup Turf (one of my favorite Breeders' Cup races) the year I covered the race so his success has a special place in my heart. He was also the regular rider of St. Nicholas Abbey and Camelot, both of them my favorites of this generation so it's safe to say that as far as racing goes, he's an important person to me. In fact, when I was told he was riding in the Million about three weeks before the event, it convinced me that I needed to figure out a way to get there.
I watch Joey ride at least once a week on TwinSpires because he rides some of the best horses in Europe, but even though he was in the U.S. for BC 2012, I haven't seen him ride in person since 2011. He was on Mull of Killough who is a half-brother to, in my opinion, one of the most underrated turf milers of all time in Excelebration. Excelebration only won three one-mile G1s in his career, but he also had to face a monster in Frankel. He was most definitely born in the wrong year.
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| Joey and Mull of Killough in the paddock |
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| The Apache led at the wire but Real Solution was awarded the win. |
The Million was the final race of the day that we really paid attention to but we didn't get out of the track until after 9:45 p.m. central time. The track was obviously dead when we left and I got this cool shot as we were headed out to the parking lot.
If you are looking for a track to visit in the midwest, I highly recommend Arlington Park. It is on the top of my favorite tracks list and I didn't think Keeneland could be topped when it comes to North American tracks.
We didn't get home until about 5:30 the next morning and because I was jazzed, I stopped by Keeneland to see if anyone was on the main track. Surprisingly, there wasn't, which was probably good for my sanity because I would have stayed and watched and I had to get some sleep before work.
My no racehorse timeline didn't last long as I had to be up bright and early Monday morning to go to Adena Springs to visit a few stallions. I do a "Catching Up With" series for America's Best Racing and it was time for Awesome Again so I went out and saw him, his son Ghostzapper, and Alphabet Soup, who I did a story on a few weeks ago. If you've never been to Adena Springs, I recommend it because it is beautiful and the safe is amazingly nice!
Thursday was probably my favorite part of the week outside of Arlington. I finally got to visit the famed Calumet Farm, which has been on my Kentucky bucket list for a LONG time. To top it off, my favorite racehorse of all time, and the horse that got me into the sport, Point Given just finished his first season there so I got to visit my old pal. I was lucky to spend a lot of time with him at Three Chimneys and he may not have remembered how much attention I gave him, but he sure remembered our routine of him getting mints every time I'm around. It's always nice when a high profile racehorse remembers you, even if it's just for food, haha.
My obsession inducing week continued on Friday and Saturday when I again went to the Horse Park, this time for polo. Seeing a polo game has been on my bucket list for a long time so when we saw that there was a game being played after the jumping classes we were watching were done, we stopped by to watch the end of the game. Let me just say that I am hooked, I can't wait until we find another game to go to.
We hit up The Red Mile on Saturday night for my first live harness racing experience, which was interesting to say the least. It was a lot different than a Thoroughbred track so that took some getting used to but it is an entertaining thing to watch once you sit down and pay attention for a bit.
And finally, to end my horse crazy week, I received these photos from my dad today. He's currently prepping my horses for our road trip in a month and a half and started working on getting them to go in and out of the trailer again today.
Crystal wouldn't get in for a trip to the vet a few weeks ago and refused to get in until my dad stepped out for a second to grab something. When he got out, she got in.
Vegas decided to take an hour to load (her last trailing experience was the trip back from Texas so I don't blame her too much) but Dad reported that once she was in, she wouldn't get out. She's blonde like that.
I hope you enjoyed my very long, photo heavy blog. It was an exciting week with some experiences that made me start to plot out a new path for my goals so we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you updated on that side of my life as well, as soon as there are any updates.
Until next time,
Mel
We didn't get home until about 5:30 the next morning and because I was jazzed, I stopped by Keeneland to see if anyone was on the main track. Surprisingly, there wasn't, which was probably good for my sanity because I would have stayed and watched and I had to get some sleep before work.
 |
| Keeneland Sunday morning |
Thursday was probably my favorite part of the week outside of Arlington. I finally got to visit the famed Calumet Farm, which has been on my Kentucky bucket list for a LONG time. To top it off, my favorite racehorse of all time, and the horse that got me into the sport, Point Given just finished his first season there so I got to visit my old pal. I was lucky to spend a lot of time with him at Three Chimneys and he may not have remembered how much attention I gave him, but he sure remembered our routine of him getting mints every time I'm around. It's always nice when a high profile racehorse remembers you, even if it's just for food, haha.
My obsession inducing week continued on Friday and Saturday when I again went to the Horse Park, this time for polo. Seeing a polo game has been on my bucket list for a long time so when we saw that there was a game being played after the jumping classes we were watching were done, we stopped by to watch the end of the game. Let me just say that I am hooked, I can't wait until we find another game to go to.
We hit up The Red Mile on Saturday night for my first live harness racing experience, which was interesting to say the least. It was a lot different than a Thoroughbred track so that took some getting used to but it is an entertaining thing to watch once you sit down and pay attention for a bit.
And finally, to end my horse crazy week, I received these photos from my dad today. He's currently prepping my horses for our road trip in a month and a half and started working on getting them to go in and out of the trailer again today.
Crystal wouldn't get in for a trip to the vet a few weeks ago and refused to get in until my dad stepped out for a second to grab something. When he got out, she got in.
Vegas decided to take an hour to load (her last trailing experience was the trip back from Texas so I don't blame her too much) but Dad reported that once she was in, she wouldn't get out. She's blonde like that.
I hope you enjoyed my very long, photo heavy blog. It was an exciting week with some experiences that made me start to plot out a new path for my goals so we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you updated on that side of my life as well, as soon as there are any updates.
Until next time,
Mel
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