We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine January 2017 | Page 23

was breaking the stigma in my corner of the horse world that race horses were too energetic, and too crazy to be trainable. After much thought and deliberation, I decided to submit my application to the RRP and take my chances. I would find the money somewhere to dive into such a project and support this endeavor to find the perfect partner.

The search began once I received word that I was accepted into the Retired Racehorse Project. I had submitted my application into the pool of other trainers and was excited to be one of the professionals to join the ranks of a growing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park. It was going to be a big undertaking, and a costly venture. I knew it would require extensive amounts of time and dedication. I also needed to find the correct partner. We would then travel to Kentucky and compete in two of the ten divisions of my choice. I decided to search for a barrel racing prospect that would also be able to compete in the freestyle division. It was going to be tough to find a horse that was built with conformation and soundness to go the distance with short quick bursts of speed, but also could shut down the speed aspect and become a lovely dressage prospect with brilliant movement to be competitive in the freestyle. It was extremely important the track horse had retired sound. I didn’t want to put a ton of effort into this competition to be battling with soundness issues and be forced to withdraw. I wanted a prospect with under 20 starts. Stout frame, calm eye, developed topline and within driving distance of six hours for pick up. I also wanted a horse that had down time. Most race track trainers will turn the horse out to pasture for at least three to six months to let the racing muscles settle.

I began paging through the pictures of the many prospects online. Too big, too small, not enough muscle, wrong age, over fifty starts, too far away, and on and on it went. I was on the canter website after I had almost exhausted my search and given up when his picture popped up. It was the last picture on the page. His racing name was the cutest thing I had ever heard. “Captain Beep Beep” on the canter Ohio website. He was gorgeous. The picture spoke to me, and I immediately knew he was the one. He was slightly out of my price range, but I didn’t care. He was my future partner, I felt it in my heart. My fire ignited again, I wanted him. I called the phone number listed and left a message. I waited all day for a return phone call. Nothing! He was sold I thought to myself. No one would have passed up that kind of horse. He was in a league of his own. A few days passed. My friend had called who was also entering a horse into the competition. She mentioned a few other prospects and I reluctantly called about each horse. I just wasn’t as excited about the others. I sent her a picture of “Beep” and she immediately said “Call again, he is beautiful, I can pick him up on my way up from Kentucky and take him to my barn in Ohio until you can find time to get here”.

I had to take the chance, everything was just falling into place. I called the number again carefully making sure I got the digits correct. A man’s voice answered the phone and I immediately blurted out “Is Captain Beep Beep still available”? He chuckled and said. “Yes, sorry about not returning your call, but I have been having phone issues. You are the ninth person who called today about him, but the first person I could speak to”. After a long lovely conversation about “Captain’s” history, as they referred to him on the farm, I purchased him over the phone from Bryan Matz who was his owner, his breeder, and his trainer. He shared the story of how “Captain” would run back and forth in the pasture during turn out time. He would slide to a stop, turn around, and run the other way. It reminded him of the road runner so “Beep Beep” was tagged onto his farm name of “Captain” and that is how they arrived at “Captain Beep Beep” as his race name. He had 17 career starts, and one win. He was seven years old, and Bryan mentioned he had the best personality on the planet. Very calm, willing, lovable, and people oriented. He had an edge though and was super competitive when it was time to race. He was a star in the making, and he assured me that he would be perfect for the competition.

It was meant to be. I had the horse I dreamed of. I couldn’t wait to meet him and bring him home to PA. A new partner, and a new chapter was beginning.