Why “Race Horses, etc.” – The Podcast?
How riding horses again reignited my passion for Thoroughbred Horse Racing
Have you ever watched something you love disappear before your eyes? Well that’s how I have felt about horse racing for several years now. It’s as though I have been rushing to experience every last moment of it, before it’s gone.
Then, CV-19 put an end to my frantic pace. Suddenly, I was grounded. Unable to see the horses on the backstretch, and talk equine nutrition with the horsemen, or shoot the breeze with many of my favorite people on the planet.
During quarantine the network news continued to drone on and on in the house, and finally I found myself resorting to a news blackout simply to maintain my happiness. Not just a mainstream news hiatus, but a horse racing one, too. But why horse racing? I love the horses, the people, the sport.
I knew why. Because it had been a punishing year and a half. The negative news in racing had been ripping fans apart. What was going on? Dare we still love the sport of Thoroughbred Horse Racing? With so much bad publicity even well meaning friends not as familiar with the sport seemed to judge the mere mention of racing as unsavory.
Earlier this spring I was out for a hack on a retired race horse, near Paris Pike in Lexington, KY. The farm is a glorious place, owned by my good friends Harry and Nikki. I was aboard a classy gray mare who had gently helped me find my way back into the saddle. Something I had dearly missed since a traumatic thoracic surgery five years ago.
While the pathways between paddocks here in the Bluegrass were perfectly suited to our leisurely pace, I reminisced about galloping racing-fit horses on the harrowed tracks of Santa Anita Park, and Monmouth Park, and even the dearly missed Longacres in Seattle. And I remembered the GOODNESS!
The goodness of horsemen and women who love and care for the horses everyday. The men and women that want their horses to reach their potential, in a way that protects them physically and mentally. The folks that respect the horses for the athletes they are, yet demand a degree of discipline and professionalism from them, like any good coach or parent.
And I knew then that my duty was to celebrate these horsemen. To focus on what they are doing right. And to allow the goodness to grow! So “Race Horses, etc.” – The Podcast Celebrating Horsemanship was born!
I still believe in the good guys in horse racing. And I have to say, it is so much fun to connect once more with the people I adore and respect.
It feels great to pick up the mic again!
~ Carolyn