Meet the New Mom: Rachel Alexandra

Photo by Anne Eberhardt/The Blood-Horse - Order here

February 25 2012

Remember The Freak?

Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year, beat the boys as a 3-year-old in the Preakness, the Haskell, and (against older males) the Woodward Stakes (the only filly ever to win it), and set stakes records, winning 9 in a row that year, and winning the Horse of the Year title in a hotly contested vote against Zenyatta. Rachel didn't come back quite as sharp as a 4-year-old, then she abruptly retired and faded from sight and mind as Zenyatta fever took over (and Queen Z was voted Horse of the Year in 2010).

But we shouldn't forget Rachel. You can throw her up there as one of the great 3-year-old fillies of all time.

She had her first foal on January 22 of this year, a colt by Curlin (2007 and 2008 Horse of the Year). Both were taken to the equine hospital a few days later for "pain management related to the birth," (said the Blood-Horse) but apparently they returned home and all has been well, as you can see from the photos of the two in the slideshow by Anne Eberhardt - top photo is by Anne and you can buy the photos here as well:

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/slideshows/slideshow/RachelA/rachel-alexandra-and-foal

Here's a video of the growing foal at his home, Stonestreet Farm in Kentucky.

Run Like The Wind

Monday February 27 2012

That old racehorse can still put the moves on!

That's retired racehorse Stormy, with his best buddy, almost-racehorse Tex (aka Ted), flying down the canyon this morning with the snowy Owyhee mountains giving chase.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Saturday February 25 2012

It's blowing a blue gale through Owyhee.

It's so cold the snowflakes that defy the wind storm are shivering. They blow at least seven miles horizontally from the Owyhee mountains before they ever hit the ground.

It's so cold the hurricane-force winds force tears out of my eyes then freeze them on my face.

It's so cold I get frostbite on my ears, even under my hat.

It's so cold the wind slices right through however many layers you can manage to put on and seizes up your joints.

It's so cold the horses are hunkered back against an old canal bank that deflects some of the wind, with their butts to the gale. The horse tails blow horizontally between their legs. 

They crowd close together, using each other for wind blocks. They are probably thinking twice now about the coat shedding they started this week.

It's so cold, Jose is a bit irritated.

Some old hard-weather hands, like Rushcreek Mac, know to put their heads down to the ground.

Baby, it is COLD outside.  It's a day to be thankful we're not out on an endurance ride!

Black Caviar Update

Herald Sun Photo

February 24 2012

After Australia's rad racehorse Black Caviar's win last Friday in her 19th consecutive race, which came only one week after her previous win, she was possibly going to run again tomorrow, on only 6 days' rest again, in the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes.

However, it appears owners and trainer Peter Moody have decided her next major goal will be at Royal Ascot in England in June. She will possibly go for her 20th win in a row in Adelaide or Brisbane before she flies to England. Those of us who know racing (and probably most of us who don't) are probably breathing a wee sigh of relief she is not running her third Group I race in 3 weeks tomorrow, although the trainer was confident she would have won again.

Moody said, "There's nothing wrong with her. To the contrary, she's at the top of her game. But it's all geared around having her at her peak when she flies across to England for the 6-furlong Diamond Jubilee Stakes. That's the Royal Ascot race the owners have had their sights on for some time and everything is being tailored like a Savile Row suit to have her cherry-ripe for that race on June 23."

There in England it is possible that Black Caviar, the world's current number 2 racehorse will meet the world's current number 1 racehorse in Frankel, though Moody's not committing to anything other than the Diamond Jubilee Stakes. (Frankel was 9 for 9 at the end of last year as a 3-year-old; his 6 length win in the 1-mile 2000 Guineas is called 'one of the greatest displays on a British racecourse". He has yet to start this year.)

(All this, and really, I'm not that interested in racing anymore after Zenyatta - really!)

Top photo is by the HeraldSun.com.au

Here's a video from last October comparing the two

**CORRECTION: Black Caviar was to run in the Futurity Stakes at Caulfield racetrack on Saturday. Not the Blue Diamond Stakes.
Thanks to Lorrie for pointing that out!

Got to Get Culture

Wednesday February 22 2012

A friend suggested I get out of the backwoods for a while

so I changed out of my riding outfit

brushed off the hay

crawled into my Alter Ego

went into the Big City Far Away with some friends

and hung out with some other friends who happened to be passing through the Big City

and putting on a big concert

Five-time Grammy-winning friends I work with in my Other World

Got some culture 

Got some great music

Got some rejuvenation

Got the spirit

Taking that back home to the tumbleweeds along the crick in the backwoods

while my friends continue on the road

(If you haven't heard the Blind Boys of Alabama, whatareyouwaitingfor!?)

Owyhee Mystery Homestead

Sunday February 19 2012

Far down a dirt back road off a gravel back road at the foot of the Owyhee mountains, hidden back in a fold of hills on a sometimes-dry, sometimes-flowing creek, lie the remains of an old… something. You wouldn't know anything is there back off the road but for the Lombardy poplars, (also known as 'Mormon poplars', as the fast growing species was popular with Mormon settlers) which are almost always markers of old homesteads out here in the Owyhee desert.

I've heard it called a stage stop; but after finding nothing referring to a stage stop in that area, and after a lot of snooping on maps and the internet and in books, I suspect it might have been an old homestead belonging to Tommy Doyle, "an early day horseman who lived in the vicinity," according to Helen Netteton's "Sketches of Owyhee County" book. Doyle Mountain is nearby, which must be named for him.

There's a "Thomas Doyle, rancher," listed in the "1898 Directory of residents and businesses" of Owyhee County. His name is not found in any Owyhee Avalanche newspapers between 1865 and 1905… perhaps that means he was too busy ranching and horsing around (literally) to be involved in any scandals or great deeds or anything in between.

But "early day horseman" sounds intriguing. I've been unable to find anything else so far on this Tommy Doyle. Now I'm on a mission.

Australia's Flying Freak: Black Caviar

Saturday February 18 2012

It's confirmed: Black Caviar is a Freak. Just six days after her 18th straight win in a 1500-meter stakes race, yesterday at Flemington racecourse in Australia, the 5-year-old mare won her 19th straight race in the 1000-meter (about 5-furlongs) Group I Lightning Stakes. (And it was her second straight victory in the Lightning Stakes.) She almost set a new track record in doing so.

She also tied Australia's record of consecutive victories, set between 1915 and 1921 by Desert Gold and Gloaming.

I don't have a TV, so my friend Amanda recorded the race on her cell phone and emailed it to me! That's the video up top.

Below is a link to the race on youtube, though they don't show the break from the gate and the first furlong or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wID6-p68gtc

And, in fact, let's hear it for the Thoroughbred ladies who are taking over horse racing around the world!

The last three Horse of the Year titles in the US have gone to three ladies:

2009: Rachel Alexandra (Zenyatta was second in a hotly contested and contentious vote)

2010: Zenyatta

2011: Havre de Grace

In Australia, the last two Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year titles have gone to mares:

2010-11 - Black Caviar

2009-10 - Typhoon Tracy

Really, after my years on the racetrack, and especially after Zenyatta retired, I'm about done with racing… but when a Freak like this comes along, you have to pay attention and you can't help but love her and root for her.

Next on Black Caviar's schedule, if she comes out of this race good, is Dubai in March, and Royal Ascot in June.

The world will be watching - good luck Black Caviar!

Shades of Zenyatta: Black Caviar

Friday February 17 2012

Lest we forget the magnificence of Zenyatta (which would NEVER happen), and as we await her first foal (due in March), another mare in Australia is following in her illustrious footsteps.

The 6-year-old black mare Black Caviar is sitting on an 18 for 18 record, and goes for her 19th straight win, just like Zenyatta did. Black Caviar has taken her world by storm, just like Zenyatta did here; and just like people did for Zenyatta, they are flying halfway around the world to see Black Caviar. Some of the fever has spread to Europe, where in England her races are shown live.

Like Zenyatta, Black Caviar was bought for $60,000 before the start of her career, and like Zenyatta, who was featured on the mainstream US news like Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, People and 60 Minutes, Black Caviar has been on Australian Story. Unlike Zenyatta, Black Caviar is strictly a sprinter (races under a mile), but like Zenyatta, she has (so far) won 17 stakes races.

One article in the Australian Herald Sun written after her 18th win stated: "Every generation or so, it seems the racing gods deliver a 'Flying Pegasus' - a horse that literally lifts the industry from its humdrum, taking even those who can make no sense of it on a magic carpet ride." Another article called her "freakishly talented." World Thoroughbred Rankings rated her "the world's best racehorse."

Like Zenyatta, Black Caviar gets under the skin the race callers: as she's sweeping to another win, they've called her "the great mare," "the Pride of Australia," "awesome racehorse," "the greatest show on earth," "Australia's pin-up girl," "the invincible one," "this is why she's rated the best in the world," "the indisputed champion of the world," etc. (I think you get the picture!)

Black Caviar runs tomorrow at Flemington in the Group I Lightning Stakes, expected to be a tough race because she's shortening in distance from her last win.

It's said that the whole country of Australia shuts down for the annual 2-mile Melbourne Cup; another win from Black Caviar and she herself might become known as "the mare that stops the nation" when she runs.

Owyhee Winter Delight

Wednesday February 15 2012

I'm not the only one who gets giddy when the snow falls. Owyhee woke up to a half inch blanket this morning - only the third time this winter we've had anything down here.

The Raven and I made snow angels while Jose frolicked,

chased the dog,

and engaged Mac in an epic battle, while in the background, the morning sun flamed pink and orange on the fresh snow in the Owyhee mountains.

Don't Mess With The Old Man II

February 13 2012

It's possible that the old man Krusty plays even harder than his younger mentor Jose.

The Eagle Has Landed!

Friday February 10 2012

Both of them in fact - the Bates Creek golden eagle pair are prepping their nest for some good old fashioned egg laying again this year!

They've been hanging around the area the last month, keeping an eye on their old nest from last year, and checking out new real estate further up the creek (a nest occupied last year by great horned owls, and the year before that by red-tailed hawks); but the last couple of weeks one or two have been seen at their tried and true old nest.

Today they were both on the nest (there are 2 eagles in the top photo), and presumably it's the female that was sitting on the edge, looking down in her cubbyhole that she'll soon be sitting in.

You've Come a Long Way Baby

Baby!

From this (on July 18 2011)

to this (today)

and this

Sunny has made it a long way from her dreadful barbed wire injury last year.

She never was the worse for wear, never did take a lame step. The injury only hurt the first few times we changed the bandage, but even before tissue completely grew over the exposed bone, she took no more notice of it.

She'll be ready for an endurance ride by summer. Maybe even spring. I'm thinking John should even do a 100 miler on her at the end of May. (Haven't told John that yet).

Kiss The Sky

Tuesday February 7 2012

Scuse me, say Krusty and Jose, while I kiss the sky.

(I always thought Jimi Hendrix' line was Scuse me, while I kiss this guy, but apparently many many others did too! There's even a website, www.kissthisguy.com, the archive of misheard lyrics, and this is the single most commonly misheard lyric they've ever gotten).

(And, say, Krusty and Jose, either way is fine, because they loooove wrestling with each other.)

The Bug

Alisija Granger and Dixieland Dude
Photo by John Lawson

Friday February 3 2012

It's hard to say who is more excited, Alisija Zabavska-Granger, or the country of LIthuania.

Possibly it's the country: "Lithuania is freaking out!" says Alisija, referring to the that fact that she and her 9-year-old gelding Dixieland Dude (aka "Jude") sit 15th on the 2011 FEI Open Combination World Ranking list in the discipline of endurance. It's the first time in Lithuania's history that an equestrian athlete in any discipline has ranked so high. Not only are they highly ranked, but the pair will also fly the flag for her country in the 2012 FEI World Endurance Championship at Euston Park in Great Britain in August.

It hasn't been an easy path getting there. More than once on the long journey, Alisija said, "Never again!" and called it quits. Each time she caught The Bug again, and each time it's carried her to new career peaks.

In her normal life, 36-year-old Alisija trains horses in Texas, gives riding lessons, and shows Arabians for clients in Hunter Jumper, Western and English Pleasure classes, and Sport Horse disciplines. But her passion is endurance riding. It came about when she had to give up her other passion of show jumping.

In her native country of Lithuania as a junior, Alisija excelled in show jumping, representing her country nationally in the sport. After visiting her brother in the UAE in 1996, she fell in love with the warm climate and decided to stay and get a job. When she found she couldn't afford to compete in show jumping there, she started looking for another discipline in which she could compete internationally. That was when she came across a newspaper article that talked about the popularity of endurance riding.

"So I decided to get me an Arabian and start training it," Alisija says. "And obviously I didn't know what I was doing, because I would ride the hair off that poor Arabian - I would ride 20 miles every day in the desert." She knew something wasn't right. "I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't know where to go, how fast to go; I needed to find somebody I could ride with who could share some experience with me."

And then Fate intervened in the form of two Endurance Queens.

One day while out training in the desert, Alisija saw hoofprints. She followed them, but for a couple of days, she never managed to find the horses that laid them. Then one day while riding, her stallion started acting up, "and when I looked back, I saw three horses galloping toward me with the speed of thunder!"

It was a most auspicious encounter. Two of them turned out to be Jan Worthington and Grace Ramsey, the highly respected duo who pioneered the path for American women training endurance horses on the edge of the Rub'Al Khali desert in the UAE in the 1990's.

Like Jan and Grace have done for countless other aspiring endurance riders over the decades, they took Alisija under their wings, and they taught her about the sport of endurance - about training, feeding, and electrolytes, and they gave her a racing schedule. A few days later they put her on one of their horses in a 96-km endurance race - "and that's how I got baptized by fire!" Alisija says.

"I swore, I swore, with everything I had, that I would never, ever, do that again. I was so sore after that first ride, I had to be carried around. I wasn't able to walk. I told everyone, 'This is horrible, this is a nightmare, I'll never ever do this again, ever, in a million years!'

"…and ten days later I got back on a horse," Alisija laughs. "I got The Bug!"

After learning and gaining experience working and riding for endurance stables in the UAE, Alisija set her goals high: the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, in 2002. She qualified to ride in it, but paperwork problems with her Lithuanian federation were too overwhelming, and it ultimately didn't work out. Alisija moved to the US in 2005 to try to qualify for the next World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany in 2006, and thought she had done everything right, but again, paperwork problems botched that dream.

"Never again!" Alisija said. It was too disheartening and frustrating, after all that work.

But it wasn't long before she got The Bug again, because next was the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in 2010. "It has to happen," she had said, "because now it's in my backyard!" She qualified again for the WEG on one of her horses, and the paperwork was perfect, but this time, bad luck stung her with a lame horse.

Then she met Merlin. A talented gelding owned by Ed Kidd, Alisija fell in love with Merlin after her first endurance ride on him, a 9th place finish in the 100-mile Fun In The Sun ride in March of 2010. "He's such an amazing horse. I don't think I've ever sat on a horse of that caliber before in my life. He is just a beast. He's a machine! That horse knows his job. The moment you point him to a starting line, he knows exactly what he has to do."

Alisija and Merlin in the Kentucky 2010 WEC

And so Alisija and Merlin faced the starting line of the World Endurance Championship during the World Equestrian Games in Lexington in September of 2010. FInally, her dream had come true. "I told everybody, 'as soon as I get to the World Equestrian Games and compete, I will be so relieved, because I've been trying so hard for so long, that will be it for me. I won't do it anymore. I would accomplish it and that would be something on my record."

Alisija and Merlin in the Kentucky 2010 WEC

Sadly, Alisija and Merlin were pulled after only the second loop, when Merlin cramped up from cold water at the vet check.

Alisija and Merlin in the Kentucky 2010 WEC

You can guess what happened after that.

"But of course, I got The Bug again! I told my husband Charles 'I didn't finish, I got pulled, so now I have to go for a good placing, and then I will quit! This time I have to get there again, and I have to do it with my own horse."

Enter Dixieland Dude. He'd been bred to be a show horse but he didn't have the looks for that. Alisija had bought him as an "unbroke" 4-year old in 2007, but in truth he was just plain wild, and uncatchable. Alisija was able to piece together the rest of the story later. Being unsuitable as a fancy show horse, he'd been kicked out in a pasture on his farm, and he'd turned somewhat feral. The only way they could catch him for shots and hoof trims was by lassoing him around the neck. A trainer had tried for a month to break him, then gave up.

But by the time Alisija knew all this, she already owned Dixieland Dude and had found out for herself just what he was like. "He was bad for a while; he wouldn't let me catch him. He wasn't easy to be around." Once she was able to catch him, it took her a long time to be able to just lead him without him trying to break away from her and run off.

Lesser mortals might have looked for another, easier prospect, but Alisija confesses: "It was love at first sight. And…" she pauses, "I don't want to say I'm crazy, but, I think I like challenges in life. I fell in love with the horse when I saw him, and I wanted him no matter what."

Dixieland Dude
Photo by John Nowell

And, so committed, Alisija took her time with "Jude", and eventually gained his trust. One day he let her climb on his back, and then she knew they were on their way. Alisija broke, trained, and started him in endurance. He's still hard to catch sometimes, but she brushes off this part of his personality: "I've learned in life that every super horse has some quirk."

And she is very excited about Jude's prospects. "He's amazing. He's not Merlin yet, but he may be, because he's still very young." His record is promising: seventeen rides over five seasons without a pull, all but one of those in the Top Ten (they got lost that day!). Their most recent ride was a second place finish in the 100-mile Goethe Challenge in December of 2011, where Jude got his COC (Certificate of Capability, 100 miles at or under the minimum qualification speed of 14 km/h) for the 2012 WEC.

Alisija wouldn't call him an easy ride. "He's got some spunk. He's confident with a good balanced rider, and he's getting better and better as he does more competitions. He can catch you off guard though, he can spook and get you off balance, so you have to keep your eyes open on him all the time. He's not the kind of horse you can ride on a loose rein and trust him," she says. "And he's strong! He starts out strong, then sometimes in the middle of the race he'll take a break, go to a slow canter or trot, and then get his second breath, and he picks it back up again. He knows how to take care of himself, and he eats and drinks wonderfully at a race."

Jude's not a smooth ride, either. "Since he was bred to show, he's got that high action trot. He's very bouncy. I'm sore for a week after I ride him in a competition!" That's saying something for a person who rides horses all day long.

The level course at Euston Park in Great Britain should suit Jude well. "Jude's not a big climber, but he's great on the flat. He also does well in sand and humidity."

Alisija is thrilled that she has achieved her dream of qualifying for the 2012 WEC on her own horse. "When you get to ride your own horse that you have developed from scratch, from nothing, from zero, I think that's like raising a child. It's amazing. This is my horse, that I've developed, I've trained. I didn't just go out and buy a horse, it's my baby, it's my child. So for me to represent Lithuania on this particular horse is a big big pride."

And she's going to go for it in Great Britain. "I don't want to go to the World Endurance Championship just to finish. I want to go and take chances. I want to race, I want to do my best, and I want to have a horse that will be able to compete with the top class horses. That's my goal."

After Alisija's ride in the Kentucky WEC, she's done her homework. She and her crew will prepare in advance - how they'll handle Jude in the vet checks, what they'll do in general. "I have more experience now, and I have a Bad Ass crew, and they are so excited about the whole thing. This is the biggest thing ever, and this time I think we have no excuse not to do very well." Alisija's husband Charles, who has supported her on her quests, will be a big part of her Great Britain WEC adventure this summer.

Endurance has not been a big sport in Lithuania, but Alisija and Jude just might change that. With the Federation behind her, there is talk of possible sponsorship in the works.

But if Alisija finishes well in Great Britain, don't believe her if she tells you she's accomplished her goal and she's done. "I already told my Federation, my next plan is France in 2014, of course! But first we have to get through England before we talk about France.

"The Bug is caught, and there's no quitting. I probably will be like Jan (Worthington), who is 70-something years old and trying every time."

Owyhee Photo Booth

Thursday February 2 2012

Remember those photo booths where you and your best friend crowded inside and made funny and funnier faces for a strip of pictures? (do those still exist?)

Best friends Stormy and Tex (aka Ted) went into the Owyhee Photo Booth and mugged for the camera and made a funny strip of photos.