Horses of Lone Star Park

Lone Star Park was the first track I ever visited. New to the sport of horse racing when I first stood at the rail of the track, I relished the beauty of the Thoroughbreds before me. I’ve been around horses all my life, but these horses were different than the ones I was used to. These weren’t polished show horses, tough barrel racers, or loveable pets. These were fierce athletes whose energy was clearly visible as they pranced down the track in the post parade prior to dueling for victory down the lane at top speed.

At the time, I could only hope I would someday be able to touch my hand to the sleek coat of one of those fierce athletes, the fairytale-like beast that is the Thoroughbred racehorse. I hoped that someday the rail wouldn’t separate me from these enchanting animals. Now, I have stroked the coat of horses that have won races such as the Kentucky Oaks, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Classic, and Dubai World Cup. It’s safe to say that I’ve achieved the dream of touching a Thoroughbred racehorse.

Having attended three Breeders’ Cups and having visited some of the most renowned farms in Kentucky, I have seen some of the most elite Thoroughbred athletes the world has to offer. Being in their presence is incomparable, but it’s not only the champions that bring a smile to my face. Some of my favorite racehorses are claimers, horses that have never been heard of, and horses whose greatest success has come in races whose names are far from as well-known as the Kentucky Derby. And, in large part, I have Lone Star Park to thank for that.

Lone Star Park
Photo by Terri Cage

In the many trips I have made to Lone Star Park, I have had the ability to meet some special Thoroughbreds. Sure, these horses aren’t grade one-winning millionaires, but they are horses that love their job and give it their all each time they head to post. These are the horses that I am blessed to know.

Featured below are six horses I was blessed to meet at the 2013 Lone Star Park Thoroughbred meet. This blog is very similar to a post I wrote earlier this year, “A Collection of Horses.”

Controlled Chaos: After visiting her at the barn the morning before her race on April 20, I stood along the rail as she went to post that afternoon. She ran a great race, fighting for the victory. From the angle at which I stood, it appeared as if she'd won, but, by the narrowest of margins, she'd been defeated. Nonetheless, she'd run a great race and it had been thrilling to watch a racehorse I had visited earlier in the day run so well.

Controlled Chaos (inside)
Photo by Mary Cage (iPhone photo)

Coyote Legend: Lone Star Park has the ability to attract top-class horses for its graded stakes events, but unlike tracks such as Churchill Downs and Belmont Park, it is not home to multiple grade one-winning Eclipse Award winners. But it is home to horses like Coyote Legend. I have spent years enjoying the racing endeavors of Coyote Legend, who has captured ten black-type races. The Southern-based veteran, who has been a personal favorite of mine since early on in his career, is a member of a famous Texas Thoroughbred family. The highest-earning offspring of his dam, Coyote Cafe, Coyote Legend is a full brother to Texas champion Gold Coyote and the black-type-placed Red Coyote. Thanks to Lilly Armstrong, a good friend of mine who I met while she worked for Remember Me Rescue, I was able to meet this racetrack hero of mine at the end of April. To be able to touch his soft coat as I reminisced on all the times I'd watched him race was a moment I’d thought would forever remain in my wildest dreams. I was as star struck by Coyote Legend, a horse I have grown up watching, as by the horses I've had the blessing of seeing at the Breeders' Cup. Two and a half months later, I stood along the rail as Coyote Legend gave it his all to capture his third Assault Stakes victory and smiled as I watched the hero I had finally met enter the winner’s circle.

Coyote Legend
Left photo by Terri Cage, right photos by Mary Cage (iPhone photos)

Coyote Queen: After hearing Lilly’s praise about this filly, I became rather excited about meeting the two-year-old. Standing in the stall next to her half-brother, none other than Coyote Legend, Coyote Queen impressed me immediately. Very tall for her age, the deep red filly was incredibly sweet and instantly jumped into my heart. Less than two months later, Coyote Queen began her racing career at Lone Star Park, gamely capturing her debut. Here’s to hoping she follows in her siblings’ footsteps!

Coyote Queen
Photo by Lilly Armstrong (iPhone photo)

Fiftyshadesofgold: Able to watch this talented filly make her debut at Lone Star Park after meeting her a month prior was a terrific experience. Winner of her first start by ten lengths, Fiftyshadesofgold impressed her connections – owner Clarence Scharbauer, Jr. and trainer Bret Calhoun, the same connections as Coyote Legend and Coyote Queen – enough to depart Lone Star Park for Churchill Downs’ Debutante Stakes, in which she defeated a tough field by 8 lengths. I am very excited about her future! Please read about her in greater detail in my article “Juvenile Spotlight: Fiftyshadesofgold.”

Fiftyshadesofgold
Photos by Terri Cage

Matto Mondo: In early 2009, Matto Mondo became one of my favorite racehorses, captivating me with his beauty and talent in graded stakes races in southern California, which included a win in the Thunder Road Handicap (GIII). Originally from Chile, the stunning dark bay/brown was a multiple group one winner in his home country. Now nine years old, Matto Mondo has landed in the barn of Dallas Keen and in early July, I watched as he achieved his third consecutive victory this year, easily winning a starter optional claiming on the turf at Lone Star. The best part? I was able to join him in the winner’s circle.

Matto Mondo
Photos by Mary Cage (iPhone photos)

Tamnation: Hanging his head over the stall guard of his stall in Bret Calhoun's barn at Lone Star Park, I was drawn to Tamnation by his handsome – and rather adorable – face. Lilly introduced me to the gelding, raving not only about how great he looked under tack on the racetrack, but about his personality. I soon realized she had reason to praise his disposition. The half-brother to the multiple black-type-winning Taptam – who was second to the great Zenyatta in the 2010 Apple Blossom Invitational Handicap (GI) – was incredibly sweet, willing to allow you to hold his head and cuddle.

Tamnation
Photo by Mary Cage (iPhone photo)

The glamorous grade one winners aren’t the only horses that deserves to be followed. Each racehorse deserves at least one loving fan, so find a special horse that others may not know about to follow. If you do, you’re in for a fun journey!

The Luxury of Time

The loud sound of cicadas filled the air under the shade of a grove of large pine trees. The sweltering July heat hung over Remember Me Rescue manager Lilly Armstrong, my mother, and me, which was lessened thanks to the shade of the trees. Five Thoroughbred broodmares milled around – a brown, a chestnut, a gray, and two bays.

Each of these mares had recently arrived at the Burleson, Texas racehorse rescue after being purchased from the Round Mountain sale to which well-known breeder Keith Asmussen had shipped them. Asmussen stated he did not know the sale was frequented by kill buyers, as his granddaughters often purchased horses there. Nonetheless, all of these mares, along with five other Asmussen mares, were purchased to keep them from being bought by buyers that ship horses to slaughterhouses in Mexico. One of the mares was unable to be purchased by Deborah Jones on behalf of John Murrell, who was the one buying the mares to rescue them, but found a home with someone who was not a kill buyer.

While four mares stayed at a boarding stable near the sales facility, five mares arrived at Remember Me. On July 16, I had the opportunity to meet these mares. Of course, all of the five mares labeled by colors above have names. In accordance with their aforementioned listed colors, they were Luxury of Time, Our Revival, Rhododendron, Empress Jones, and Valid Obsession.

“Luxury could live in the house with me,” Lilly told us as we walked toward the mares. “She’s like a dog.”

Lilly’s words made it no surprise that Luxury of Time was the first to greet us. It was immediately obvious that the brown was very friendly, as she eagerly welcomed us and followed us around like a puppy. It wasn’t long before I further realized how sweet the mare was.

Lilly began rubbing the mare and once she found the right spot, Luxury would bend her neck so that she could rub Lilly back. With her lips, Luxury would press against Lilly, rubbing them. It was the most affectionate thing I’d ever seen a horse do.

Luxury of Time and Lilly
Photo by Terri Cage

As we visited the other mares, Luxury followed us around like a puppy. She never exactly became jealous, but as I gave attention to Our Revival – a mare who will soon be going to Old Friends to live out her days – and Empress Jones – a mare who has found a home that she will leave for soon – Luxury stood near me, demanding attention in a friendly manner.

Of course, I could not resist. I began to scratch Luxury in one of her favorite spots and as I did so, she swung her head around to begin rubbing me back. Laughing with delight, I continue to rub Luxury as she pressed her lips against my leg, moving them in a circle as she returned the favor.

Luxury and me - with a photo bomb by
Empress Jones
Photo by Terri Cage

To think sweet Luxury, along with the other Asmussen mares that were rescued from the Round Mountain sale, came so close to being purchased by kill buyers can easily sadden you. But when you stop to realize that these mares were saved, it reminds you that there are people out there who want to help these beautiful animals.

Luxury of Time will soon be leaving for Golden Eagle Farm in California, the same farm that bred her. The seventeen-year-old daughter of Seattle Slew will forever reside at John and Betty Mabee’s farm, which is known for being responsible in the care of horses it has bred. Fortunately for Luxury of Time, she will forever live out her days with people who love her – people who will rub her and gladly allow her to rub them back.

Thank you to all at Dallas and Donna Keen’s Remember Me Rescue, Three Chimneys Farm, Deborah Jones, Golden Eagle Farm, and everyone who helped these mares!

Official press release of the rescue: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/71203/asmussen-mares-now-at-remember-me-rescue

Luxury of Time
Photo by Terri Cage

On September 14, 2012, Luxury of Time tragically lost her fight with an illness she had been battling for quite some time. You will forever be in my heart, Luxury. You quite possibly were the sweetest horse I ever met and I will never forget you. Rest in peace, sweet girl.

Be Bop Baby: A Gentle Soul

When Be Bop Baby flashed across the finish line at Philadelphia Park a neck in front on July 3, 2000, no one could have predicted her future. No one would have wished that future upon her, either. It was a future no horse deserves, but unfortunately for Be Bop Baby, she faced that future anyway.

The aforementioned victory was the only time Be Bop Baby ever won in nineteen starts. She ran at six different tracks, all in the northeastern region of the United States. Yet somehow, she found herself in Louisiana over ten years later on a farm owned by Charles Ford.

Among her were over sixty other Thoroughbreds, most of them broodmares. By early January of 2012, over twenty-five horses had died on the farm as a result of neglect. Of the surviving mares, Be Bop was in the worst shape.

While waiting for the results of a horse judging contest with my mother and teammates on January 7, I saw the pictures Remember Me Rescue had posted on Facebook from the Many, Louisiana horse seizure. My friend, Donna Keen, was at the farm in Many, serving as part of the massive rescue effort. The pictures were heartbreaking, but the picture that threatened tears the most for my teammates and me was the picture of Be Bop Baby.

Be Bop Baby
Photo: Donna Keen

She was incredibly thin and I immediately thought that she would not survive. She was one of the most terribly malnourished horses I’d ever seen before. In simple terms, she was skin and bones. Yet the trainer at the farm - Bill Young - had labeled her condition as "not that bad." In reality, she was emaciated and had patches of rain rot on her body. She was the opposite of "not that bad."

Miraculously, Be Bop survived. Although Donna Keen wanted to bring her to Remember Me along with the first set of horses that would arrive at the Burleson, Texas rescue, the fifteen-year-old mare was in too bad of shape to travel five hours. Reluctantly, Donna left her behind with hopes of soon retrieving her.

Be Bop Baby was able to arrive at Remember Me Rescue on January 23. She was still in terrible shape, but Remember Me was determined to bring her back to health as soon as possible. After getting her teeth floated and obtaining good food in her system, Be Bop continued her journey to better health.

I had the opportunity to meet Be Bop on February 5. Even beneath the blanket she was wearing, tears filled my eyes at the sight of her. She was like a walking skeleton.

When farm manager Lilly Armstrong pulled the blanket off of Be Bop, I could feel my jaw begin to drop. It dropped even more when my mom commented to Lilly that the mare looked better than she had about a week earlier. I could tell that Be Bop had improved since the first picture I had seen of her about a month prior, but the condition she was in was still heartbreaking.

Other than noticing her terrible condition, my first impression of Be Bop was that she was an incredibly sweet mare. She seems to know what she has gone through and also appears to be grateful to all who have helped her. Upon meeting her, I stroked her nearly-white face, overwhelmed with sympathy for her. She just gazed back at me with kind eyes, standing serenely as she allowed me to stroke her.

She is without a doubt a fighter and I know that those at Remember Me will strive to make her healthy. She is already improving drastically and is clearly much happier.

Be Bop Baby was not a superstar on the racetrack, but she is as much of a superstar as any horse I’ve ever met. I greatly admire this mare for her will to survive and the fact that she still trusts people despite what she has gone through. It is a miracle that Be Bop survived and I am so very glad that she did. There would truly be a void on this earth if she had not.

Be Bop Baby at Remember Me Rescue
Photo: Terri Cage

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Visiting Remember Me

One of my favorite places in the world is Remember Me Rescue. Nestled on a farm named Keen Farms in Burleson, Texas, Remember Me is known for retraining and rehoming ex-racehorses. Yet, there is more to the farm than just the rescue. It is also home to racehorses needing some rehabilitation, breeding stock, and some great people.

I have visited Remember Me Rescue several times and have enjoyed myself every time. From riding the now twenty-nine-year-old Yeah Me Do (Yammi) bareback and brideless on my first visit, to meeting and adopting my horse Dexter, to meeting and riding the rescued 2001 Texas Horse of the Year Lights on Broadway, and to meeting and riding the amazing King of Speed, some of my greatest memories would not exist without Remember Me Rescue and the three main people that come to my mind when I think of the organization: Lilly Armstrong and Dallas and Donna Keen.

Remember Me Rescue has recently made the headlines because of a heartbreaking horse seizure in Many, Louisiana. They currently have four horses rescued from Many at the farm: O’l Little Mike (Mikey), Straight Eddie (Eddie), Ol Suzie Q (Suzie), and Prince Alyzig (Kipper).

Those four horses were on my mind when my mom pulled up to Keen Farms on Monday. Yet, though those four were in the vanguard, there were several other horses on my mind, including Lights on Broadway, Yammi, King of Speed, Future Covenant, and Hy Danger.

From left to right: Lilly, Peace, Beau, King,
and Rio (below King)
Photo: Terri Cage

After visiting with Donna’s beautiful pony horse, Wyatt, my mom and I then headed down to the barn, where we met up with Lilly. The three of us – and the official greeter of Remember Me, an adorable dog named Rio – made our way to one of the back paddocks, where we visited King of Speed, Perfect Peace, and Heather’s Prince (Beau). In order to get the horses to do more than stand around, my mom used an app on her phone that made the sound of a whinny. Lilly grabbed the phone, taking off across the pasture. My mom and I couldn’t help but laugh as we watched Lilly, Rio, and the three geldings run across the pasture.

For several minutes, Speed, Peace, and Beau galloped and pranced along the fenceline. Before long, the whole farm was joining in. In the closest paddock, Lights on Broadway and his pasture buddies did the same. Down by the barn, horses pranced in the pens and the yearlings frolicked in their pasture. All this chaos was caused by an iPhone app that makes a whinnying noise.

After we let ourselves out of the paddock, we stopped along the fenceline of the next one over. Lights ambled over to us and we fed him some rich green grass. The beautiful chestnut gelding nuzzled against me, rubbing his velvety nose on my hand. As we headed back down to the barn, I stopped to visit Yammi, affectionately giving the near-white gelding attention.

We continued making our rounds, visiting the horses in the pens behind the barn before walking into the barn. I stopped outside of Future Covenant’s stall, rubbing the chestnut’s soft face as he let his head hang over the stall door. I stood outside his stall for several minutes, reminiscing on when I’d watched the gelding brilliantly win at Santa Anita on HRTV. He’d suffered an injury in the race, which is why he is currently on stall rest, but he also won a large bottle of Grey Goose vodka that raised $1,000 for Remember Me. Future Covenant is not just a winner of three races, but he is a contributor to Remember Me. Not to mention he’s one of my favorite horses on the farm because of his endearing personality.

Hy Danger
Photo: Terri Cage

While in the barn, I paid a visit to my favorite newly-turned two-year-old, Hy Danger, who is out of a half-sister to the multiple group stakes-winning Strong Suit. The colt, who I have always thought resembles Zenyatta, stood at the front of his stall. I approached him, allowing him to sniff my hand before I reached up to rub his nose. When I moved my hand with the intention of stroking his neck, the colt flinched, jerking his head away. I murmured reassuringly to him, allowing him to sniff at my hand yet again. I stroked his head comfortingly while whispering to him and slowly, I moved my hand closer to his neck. Before I knew it, Hy Danger was allowing me to pet his neck without a problem.

As Lilly headed to the front paddock to bring Wyatt to the barn, my mother and I visited two of the yearlings in a nearby paddock. The chilly wind was picking up, but I stood along the fence and tickled the silky muzzles of the youngsters despite it.

Brushing Mikey
Photo: Terri Cage

Then it was time to visit with the horses that had arrived from Many, Louisiana. Though they were all either newly-turned two-year-olds or three-year-olds, they looked like skinny yearlings. We first led Mikey out of his pen and as Lilly held the chestnut colt, I brushed his copper-colored coat, admiring his long, thick forelock. The colt had an extremely sweet personality and stood serenely as I groomed him and also later as I allowed him to graze.

The next colt we brought out was Kipper. The bay two-year-old grazed calmly, relishing the green grass as Lilly held him. Just like Mikey, Kipper had a very kind personality.

We then brought out Suzie, who had been attempted to be saddled in Many by trainer Bill Young, who laughed when he told the story of her running loose for two days when she was saddled. There is physical proof along her withers and topline – white hairs and saddle sores – and also evidence in her apprehensiveness. When my mom and sister had visited the horses a few days earlier, Suzie hadn’t even been brave enough to eat grass. This time, though, she grazed contentedly while Lilly held her.

Eddie with Dallas Keen
Photo: Terri Cage

Donna and Dallas soon arrived – just in time for the most difficult horse of the four to be brought out. Dallas led Eddie out into the open and I looked on as the trainer worked with the three-year-old. Just a few days prior, the gangly colt had given Donna much trouble and had taken hours to finally begin to show signs of trust. Yet the malnourished colt had changed since then and was much more willing this time around. It was as if Eddie is beginning to realize he is in much better hands now.

Mikey, Kipper, Suzie, and Eddie are some of the lucky ones involved in the Many, Louisiana seizure. Over sixty horses were involved and more than twenty-five did not survive. Now that these four are at Remember Me Rescue, they have bright futures ahead of them.  Before long, they will nearly fit in with the rest of the horses on the Burleson farm. Every single horse that resides at Keen Farms receives the care every horse should get. Not only are Lilly and the Keens incredible at working with horses, but they have an immense love for the animal. When these four horses were under the “care” of owner Charles Ford and trainer Bill Young, they were not receiving the right care. But now, they will get the kind of care every horse deserves and each horse on the Keens’ farm receives: plenty of TLC.

Click here to donate and read more.

To read about it through Donna Keen's eyes, click here.

Visit Remember Me Rescue's Facebook page to keep up with news by clicking here.

Click here to visit Louisiana Horse Rescue Association's website to donate and learn more.

To hear Charles Ford's story, click here.


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