From the Jersey Shore to The Spa

Looking out over the crowd near the finish line on
Haskell Day at Monmouth Park

 To most of the country, the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby are the biggest horse racing days of the year. Not to take anything away from the weeks that surround the Triple Crown season, but my racing calendar is a little different. My season, the few weeks I look forward to the entire rest of the year, happens at Saratoga.

This year, though, in addition to Saratoga, I was treated to a lovely girls day trip with friends to "The Shore's Greatest Stretch" also known as Monmouth Race Track. When we'd initially discussed attending The Haskell there was an abundance of equine possibilities. Union Rags, Bodemeister, Hansen were all in the mix. And it was the thought of being within a few yards of handsome and talented Union Rags that originally prompted me to even consider a drive down the Shore for Haskell day.

There's a real mid-century feel to Monmouth

 As happens in racing, though, more often than not lately, the "big" horses didn't make the trip to New Jersey. Union Rags was injured and retired, Hansen's connections decided for West Virginia (perhaps a blue-tail friendly Utopia?) and the million-dollar Haskell day was suddenly a little quieter. I'm so pleased I went to spend time with fun, horse-loving friends, see the track and just enjoy a good day of racing. With fewer big-draw type horses, the crowds were a little smaller so I was able to really walk around and see the pretty paddock and get a better feel for Monmouth. A very good day was had by all--once we finally found someone who could show us to our seats--and I'll look forward to more racing days enjoying those soothing ocean breezes.

The good and the great are represented with banners
hung under the grandstands

A classic Saratoga view

 A few short days after my Monmouth adventure, I departed for what passes for heaven for me, the horsey mecca that is Saratoga Springs, New York. The Spa.

The instantly recognizable peaks and rafters of the Saratoga
grandstand

I've waxed (repeatedly) rhapsodic on the virtues--great and small--of Saratoga, so I'll spare you that in this post. From the architecturally iconic grandstand to the beautiful white ironwork, though, it's hard not to love this place.

I love the signage, beadboard ceilings, and last century
feel that you can't help but soak up in Saratoga

And that's not even mentioning the horses. Horses, **sigh.** This summer I had promised myself that I was going to spend some time at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale. The closest I've ever been to the sales is when, at an Arabian auction, my parents very nearly bought me an expensive horse while gesturing that it was time to go. Luckily, this time I had a very skilled guide and I got the best possible introduction to the sale and process of getting yearlings ready for the sale. Seeing all the colts and fillies close up, browsing the catalog for interesting and eye-catching pedigrees was great fun. There's just nothing like being able to see the youngsters up close and really get a look at how they move, how they walk, what their bone structure is. 

The Fasig-Tipton sales area is just a block or two from the track
in Saratoga, so parking is at a premium

The beautifully bred and all-class
Bernardini colt that I fell
in love with at the Four Star Sales barn

Needless to say, I fell in love with more than one yearling in the sales barns. I'm totally on board with equine polyamory, by the way...you can't help but love more than one horse. I was like a schoolgirl meeting the classy and handsome Bernardini colt in the Four Star Sales barn. 

The other colt I fell for, hip 182

And then there was this little Arch colt. While I love a dappled grey, I'm also a sucker for a dark bay and this Arch colt just caught my eye.

I look forward to spending more time at the sales, watching and learning, and getting a firsthand look at these young horses, some of whom may be stars some day. If you're interested in any of the other photos, stop over to my flickr page right HERE.

The Brookfield Horse Trio

The stallion (l), foal (c), and mare (r) on the Brookfield Municipal grounds

This morning I had to make a quick trip up to the Brookfield town offices. Today has been another picture perfect New England autumn day so I thought it might be a good time to take some photographs of my favorite sculpture installation, the horse family on the Brookfield Municipal grounds.

During my last visit there had been an outline sprayed on the grass and I wondered if my ponies were getting a pond or perhaps a colorful flower bed. Today the sod has been removed and yes, it looks like the family is getting a water feature or some kind of planting to "munch" on. For reference purposes as to how large these horses are...I'm about 5'6" and I *barely* come up to the withers of the small foal. I can almost walk under the bellies of the mare and stallion. And in case you were too polite to ask, the sculptures are anatomically correct so yes, one is a mare and one is a stallion and the foal appears to be a filly.

This grouping, by artist Peter Busby, is so appealing to me because of how it changes throughout the seasons. Yes, it's horses so of course I'm interested, but from the verdant green backdrops of summer to the colorful autumn patchwork, the way these horses are created allows the viewer to appreciate the varying moods of Connecticut's seasons. Brookfield is in the midst of lovely rolling hills and it would be hard to imagine a prettier spot for this equine family.

As we progress from the warm mid-autumn glow to the blue and periwinkle hues of winter, expect to see more images of this threesome. In the vein of van Gogh, Monet, and others, when I find a photographic subject I like, I return and attempt to capture it in different conditions.

Now to my knowledge, none of these horses are named...but I'm thinking they ought to be. Thoughts? Names?

Shadows

Blue sky horses

The foal

The mare

The stallion and his shadow

Going Once...Anybody Else? SOLD!!

I've been working quite diligently this week on writing projects--so much so that I was in rather a state of information fatigue. Not only did I find many things I was looking for, I also stumbled upon (and trust me, when it comes to me and research, stumbling is the operative word) many more significant threads that are worthy of further exploration. Crazy how well things can go when you've got a little synchronicity and general good fortune on your side!

So after two days of disciplined writing and research, I decided a break was in order if for no other reason than to clear my head and focus my thoughts a bit. I'd seen a good deal of chatter about the Fasig-Tipton sales and when I learned I could watch them online, well, I poured myself an iced tea and settled in for the afternoon of equine fantasy.

Now I've always liked a good auction and in the past have spent many an afternoon and evening attending them--though usually estate auctions and the like where I was buying the occasional piece of cobalt Fiestaware or the odd piece of furniture to refinish for a 4-H county fair project. There was a kind of auction circuit for the local antiques dealers and you would get to know which ones were likely to bid you up and which ones would drop out quickly. Some dealers would show up and you knew you had zero chance of getting the item you'd been eyeing because they always seemed to be willing to pay well above what a piece was worth. And then there were the auctioneers. A few had really good banter and got into a good rhythm with the crowd and their bid takers. At the opposite end of that spectrum were the ones who stumbled, stuttered, lost bids, created chaos and couldn't--for love nor money--keep track of where the actual buyers were. It eventually got to be a bit of game for me and my friends when it came to one older auctioneer in particular. We'd all try to guess how long it was before he'd begin to argue with his son and daughter (who worked with him) over who had the bid and where it was. 

The atmosphere at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale of selected yearlings in Lexington, KY was classier by miles than the country auctions I used to attend. And well it should be, the horses on offer are the beautiful and (hopefully) talented sons and daughters of racing royalty. Colts and fillies sired by Medaglia d'oro, Harlan's Holiday, Street Cry, Empire Maker, Unbridled's Song, Afleet Alex, Giant's Causeway and Jazil were only the tip of the iceberg. But surely some of the buyers--those with the deepest pockets--are not so different from the aforementioned antiques dealers who are willing to pay out whatever is necessary to get the object in question: with horses it is just a more expensive proposition!

The amount of work done by all the farms and consignors has to be immense, but there was some incredibly beautifully horse flesh on display. A few others who were also watching the sales likened them to horse p@rn and I couldn't agree more--and this was high class fantasy stuff. Seeing the shiny-as-a-copper-penny chestnuts and the gleaming dark bays as they came into the auction ring was like seeing an incredible equine fashion show. And the one grey that I totally fell in love with was of course the most expensive of the sale: hip 159, a Medaglia d'Oro colt who brought $450,000. Talk about a stud...*sigh.* (Here's the Thoroughbred Times article on him.)

I sat watching how they'd enter the ring, some more jittery than others. The way the shoulders and withers rippled as the colt or filly would whinny and nicker in the ring; seeing their ears prick as they watched the assembled visitors ogling them, such fantastic stuff. Some clearly were more interested in the proceedings than others and it was fascinating to watch them stand tall in the ring like a runway model at the end of a catwalk. A few enjoyed being cheeky with their handlers and there was some pawing and stomping, but most were quite well behaved for their age, I thought. 

What is exciting to me is all the possibility that was on display these past two days. Could one of these well-pedigreed sons or daughters of a great sire or dam be the next horse to capture a Triple Crown in a couple of years? Or maybe the progeny of a more modest sire/dam combination holds the keys to racing superstardom? They've all got a lot of maturing to do and we'll get to see which ones fulfill their bloodlines and which ones exceed them. As Eva Peron (via Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber) might say...these sales are about the art of the possible. 

So now my head is filled with fantasy horses--like Velvet Brown in National Velvet. She dreamt of The Pie and the Grand National, and I've just enjoyed two days that would surely have brought an ear-to-ear grin to the face of the fictional Ms. Brown. 

Hump day herty gerty...

I had a nice little adventure today that I'll write up later this week...but I wanted to post this trio of random found advertisements. All are from 1920s issues of the New Yorker. 

The first one should be self explanatory as to why it's interesting.

  

Love this little gem of an ad for it's by the by mention of Vuitton Trunks and Service. *sigh*

And finally, it's always nice to be reminded of just how far a little kindness can go. Whether it's toward a fellow human, a hard working horse or any creature--great or small. It's from a column the NYer did in those early days called Why Like New York. 

Here's to kindness writ large and small. 

4 October, 2009: Celebrating our Animal Heroes (Yes, there are horses AND hounds!!)

(Bellini's St. Francis in Ecstasy @ The Frick Collection in NYC. One of my favorite works housed there!)

When you wake up in the morning you never know where the inspiration to write will come from--at least I don't. There are usually a few things rumbling around in my cluttered brain, but some I have to think through more, and others it may not be the right time for. So happily this morning Horse & Hound delivered me a nice little package of inspiration all wrapped up and practically tied with a bow!

The weekend of October 3rd and 4th is the date that many churches across the country celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi by having a blessing of the animals. It's always wonderful to see the usual array of adorable cats and dogs supplemented by the occasional iguana, llama, pony or gerbil. (I always wonder how the day manages to come off without some little animal being eaten, bit, or otherwise compromised...)

So back to that H&H parcel...one of their tweets this morning (they are found at horseandhound on twitter ) was about World Animal Day--a nice, ecumenical version of St. Francis Day--and how The Brooke was asking people to especially remember the working horses and war horses this coming weekend.

I was completely ignorant of the good work being done by The Brooke until a couple of years ago and this tidbit was a timely reminder of their mission to bring needed aid to horses, mules, and donkeys who are working in very poor and unsafe conditions all over the world. They send mobile vet teams to check in on and treat donkeys and horses in the poorest parts of the world where the animal and their owner are often completely dependent on one another for eeking out even a meager living. Additionally, they provide free treatment to animals and train animal owners, local healers, farriers, saddlers, feed sellers, harness and cart makers.

The Brooke's history is fascinating and they are celebrating their 75th Anniversary this year. Here is a brief history of the organization from their website (www.thebrooke.org)

"From humble beginnings as a hospital for warhorses in a dusty Cairo street founded in 1934, the Brooke has become the UK’s leading equine welfare charity for working equines in the world's poorest communities. 

The 700,000 horses, donkeys and mules the Brooke now reaches each year are a living testament to the dedication of our founder, Mrs Dorothy Brooke.

The wife of a British army major general, Dorothy Brooke was appalled to learn that these walking skeletons were ex-war horses of the British, Australian and American forces. All of them had seen service in the First World War and when the conflict ended in 1918, they were abandoned and sold into a life of hard labour in Cairo. Poorly cared for, they were old and many were in terrible pain. 

The final paragraph of her letter is very poignant to any animal or horse lover:"If those who truly love horses – who realize what it can mean to be very old, very hungry and thirsty, and very tired, in a country where hard, ceaseless work has to be done in great heat – will send contributions to help in giving a merciful end to our poor old war heroes, we shall be extremely grateful; and we venture to think that, in many ways, this may be as fitting (though unspectacular) part of a War Memorial as any other that could be devised."

Read the full-text of Dorothy Brooke's original appeal letter from 1931 HERE.

The public were so moved they sent her the equivalent today of £20,000 to help end the suffering of these once proud horses. Within three years, Dorothy had set up a committee and bought 5,000 of these ex-war horses. Most were old and in the final stages of collapse, and had to be humanely put down. But, thanks to her compassion and tenacity, all of them ended their lives peacefully.

Dorothy knew that her work could not end there, thousands of horses, donkeys and mules toiled and suffered in Cairo. In 1934, Dorothy Brooke founded the ‘Old War Horse Memorial Hospital’ in Cairo, with the promise of free veterinary care for all the city’s working horses and donkeys…the Brooke was born.

From such simple beginnings, the Brooke has grown into the international equine lifesaver it is today. We now work in ten countries across the world - Egypt, India, Pakistan, Jordan, Israel (Palestinian villages in Israel and the West Bank), Afghanistan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Guatemala and Nepal."

They'll be posting many photos from this anniversary weekend on the website, it looks like, so I hope you'll check in and see the work being done. They've got an American Friends of The Brooke group, as well, which I'm going to investigate. There's an interactive map as well, where you can leave your personal tribute to these hard working horse heroes.

It's easy to overlook the heroic contributions of our fearless equine and canine friends these days. There are seemingly endless disasters and human tragedies, and in so many of them, animals come to our rescue. Who can forget the incredible service rendered by rescue and sniffer dogs as they worked ceaselessly with their handlers trying to find survivors after the September 11th attacks in NYC and Washington, DC; or the dogs who worked with volunteers after Hurricane Katrina.

And while horses are used much less in wartime situations than in previous eras in Western countries, that is not usually the case in the less developed world. Horses, donkeys, and mules are all used as pack animals as well as means of conveyance for soldiers, not unlike the ways in which the animals were employed here in the 19th and early 20th centuries. (Think building the Erie and other canals, the barge mules and horses.) No less important and equally as hard working are the special mounted EquusSearch teams who go out in groups looking for evidence, and missing or abducted people. Texas EquusSearch is one of these groups that we hear about on the news when a search is launched for missing persons.

Let's remember all our furry, feathered, and piscine friends this weekend. Maybe give them an extra treat or two, take them to a blessing of the animals if there's one nearby or just give them a little more love in celebration and thanks for all the humor, joy, and goodwill they bring to our lives.

For further info on any of these organizations:
Texas EquusSearch Mounted Search and Recovery
American Friends of the Brooke

Footloose & Fancy-Free-For-All Friday

Sorry about the header, once I got going with the alliteration I couldn't stop.

Since it is Friday (and honestly, doesn't it seem like it's been kind of a tough week?) I thought I'd just mix it up a little. What follows will be a potpourri, a veritable grab-bag, if you will, of some random thoughts.

So late last night while I was NOT sleeping, I was reading book reviews from the Boston Globe. One review, by Joseph Rosenbloom, was a critique of Charles Pierce's Idiot America. A kind of funny review overall, but one line from the book leapt off the page..."Nominating Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential candidate was 'an insult on a par with the elevation of Caligula’s horse.'" Whoa...back up...Caligula's horse?? After four years of high school Latin (sorry to disappoint, Mr. Jewison) and countless years spent reading books about the ancient world, how did I not know the deal with Caligula and his horse, Incitatus? (see image at top--and I'm guessing they mean a jeweled bridle, not collar, but I won't quibble...)

For those of you who know the story...BRAVO. Here, is what I learned from a clever website called The Straight Dope:

"Several of the ancient sources make mention of Caligula's favorite horse, Incitatus, and how the emperor pampered it with a marble stable, an ivory manger, a jeweled collar, and invitations to banquets. Though not mentioned in the 1979 film, there is a persistent belief that Caligula made the horse a consul. Even the Encyclopedia Britannica once repeated this claim as fact, but has since retracted it. There is no basis in the sources to support the idea that the horse was ever actually elevated to the position. Dio and Suetonius do claim he promised to make the horse consul but died before he could fulfill his plan. Among the modern fictional works surveyed, only The Robe has Caligula actually elevating the horse to a consulship. I, Claudius has him make the horse a senator and nominate him for the consulship. If there is anything more than baseless rumor behind the idea that he promised to make the horse a consul, modern historians are inclined to treat it as a joke on Caligula's part rather than a serious vow."

An historical fun-fact for Footloose & Fancy-Free-For-All Friday!

I'll try to take some pictures while I'm at Belmont tomorrow, assuming I still remember how to use the Twitpic function on my BlackBerry. (How embarrassing would it be to not be able to use Twitpic...wouldn't it make you a real twit?) It's also likely that I'll be tweeting, so you can stop by and see what's up on my Twitter feed, too. It's ThePaperTyger (all one word, no spaces) and as I say, barring technical difficulties, I'll hope to have some fun photos. Lower those expectations, though, it's a BlackBerry, not a real camera.

All that said, I'm looking forward to being at the racetrack tomorrow. I don't know what the race schedule is like for Hollywood Park tomorrow so no idea of when Zenyatta's race will be, but I'll have to watch the replay of it when I get home as I don't spend much time inside by the simulcast televisions. I hope both girls have great race and that all tomorrow's competitors (and their brave jockeys) make it across the finish line safely.

In case Caligula wasn't enough history for y'all today...here's Maira Kalman's wonderful essay Time Wastes Too Fast complete with her whimsical artwork and images of Jefferson's Monticello, one of my favorite places anywhere. Enjoy!

And a final thought, Requiescat in Pacem to Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon.

Happy Friday, wherever you are!!