Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

December 6 2021

Robin Schadt tracked down these win pix of my Standardbred Hillbillie Willie on the track, courtesy Crystal View Photos, from his previous racing life.

Willie’s race record is 2 wins from 21 starts as a 2-year-old (2 starts) and a 3-year-old, at Running Aces in Minnesota and CalExpo in California. At 3, starting January 4th, he raced almost every weekend through July 19. (!!!!!!!!!) (At which time he possibly strained a hind suspensory or tendon, as that was his last race.)

He started Endurance at age 5, and now has 1015 AERC Endurance miles (and one 25-miler).

You can see he was a pacer on the track, but lucky for me, he defaults to a trot on the Endurance trail. He loves his second career as an Endurance horse, and he really loves being outside here in the West, zipping along trails and stopping to watch wildlife.

These are the pix from his 2 wins. I love getting a glimpse of him in his former life. Look at him fly!

Thank you again Robin and Crystal View photos!

top photo - he won his first start as a 2yo

bottom photo - he won by a nose as a 3yo (he's on the outside)

Happy 29th Birthday Stormy!

Tuesday April 14 2020

Wow. My old man has turned 29. 

I've had Stormy for 21 years now. Besides being a former racehorse (who earned his keep at Yakima Meadows, Playfair, and Emerald Downs in Washington - I was his groom at Emerald), Stormy's been a trail horse, a pack string leader, a pet, and a lawn mower. He still does the latter and works most diligently at it, even though he's lost a good number of teeth.

He's earned his several mashes a day, and he gets the run of the place - he either wanders about the property grazing, or he hangs with the herd and either follows or leads them on walkabouts up the canyon. And he can still turn on the turbos, sprinting after the herd if they've left without him.

He's got the dream life all retired Thoroughbred racehorses would love to have, and I'm so happy The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet is MINE!

Happy Birthday you old duffer!

(or link) https://youtu.be/O3ZTOWMvO3g

Hillbillie Willie the Explorer

Monday July 3 2017

Hillbillie Willie the ex-racehorse Standardbred's got a lot on his plate right now. Since he's now a bona fide endurance horse, and is in training for his next ride, he's covering a lot of local desert trails, exploring parts of Owyhee he hasn't seen before. He even got a hill and a loop named after him the other day, Hillbillie Willie Hill, the climbing end of the newly christened Hillbillie Loop.

Last week he went Around the Block (a 16 mile loop up Spring Ranch Road to the base of the Owyhee mountains, and back down Bates Creek Road), where he got an up-close gander at the foothills of the Owyhees, and waded through a sprightly flowing Pickett Crick, upon whose banks he grazes (on weeds) daily.

This week he put his exploring hat on again, visiting the old Wagon Wheel homestead on Brown's Creek, and, with August, discovering a couple of new trails we can return to investigate.

That horse loves leading down trails, watching new sights and sounds and birds and bunnies and (once) antelope unfold in front of him. He's bold and sure-footed (surprising for such a tall, lanky horse) and interested in the scenery of the Wild West, because this is where he's dreamed of coming to his whole life.

Brush Me Not

Wednesday April 24 2013

Ever since I've known Stormy, starting on the racetrack in 1997, he has always hated being brushed. Many of my Thoroughbred racehorses hated being brushed; I assumed most Thoroughbreds were 'thin-skinned' for lack of any better idea.

With Stormy, it doesn't matter what I try - a hard brush (forget it!!!!), a soft brush (no!), a soft rag (no!), rubber glove (no!), a steel curry comb - most excellent for removing thick itchy loose hair (heck no!), a rubber curry comb (no! no! nothing!). You'd think he'd like his itchy hide being brushed, especially with the still-long winter hairs that are still clinging, but any brushing of the sort irritates him. He'll pin his ears, and if I keep brushing, he'll turn his head and snap with his teeth, and if I dare ignore that, he'll threaten to kick, or even double barrel, with his hind feet.


Of course he LOVES it when I scratch him all over with my fingers; you'd think a curry comb with finger-like projections would be similar, but NO!

A wise horseman once told me that if you brush and brush and brush (and bathe and bathe) your horse, he won't have his natural protective dirt and oil layers that can help keep the bugs from biting. It makes sense to me, especially when Stormy rolls and coats himself with a thick layer of Owyhee dirt.

Or maybe he's still re-living his childhood, always playing in the dirt and avoiding baths and preferring to stay unkempt.

Sarah and the Racehorse

Wednesday April 3 2013

9-year-old Sarah is out at the Owyhee Spa with her Aunt Connie, getting riding lessons on just about every horse that wears a saddle out here, from Trusty Krusty, to the Opinionator Finneas, to my retired Thoroughbred racehorse Stormy.

We talked up Stormy, showing Sarah pictures of Stormy winning races on the track, Connie galloping him on the track (top photo), and told Sarah he'd be a hard one on which to take a lesson. Not because he's wild, or fast… but because he is Lazy. He is so lazy, he has elevated the epithet to an Artistic Profession.

"He'll make you work!" I told Sarah. "He knows what to do, but he's not going to help you out!"


Climbing aboard the Big Mountain.


Jose supervises the stirrups positions on this 16.2 hand, somewhat round, ex-racehorse.


You can see Stormy is less than thrilled with this idea of being yanked out of retirement (and his approximately once-a-year-short-trail rides), into being a school horse. (Look at his expression!) 


Off they head to the torture chamber!


Sometimes Stormy took a little extra encouragement in the round pen, from Connie and her whip, when Sarah's short legs could not quite convince the big Thoroughbred to pick up a trot!


That's better!


Good enough to go outside the round pen! (still with a little extra encouragement.)


Strong legs and fabulous form!


OK, Stormy says, it wasn't THAT bad. Sarah is OK. And she gave me lots of treats when I was finished.

(P.S. He did not break a sweat. And he got a bucket of grain afterwards.)

Glory Days

Friday July 17 2009

He's retired. He's lazy. He's an ornament. His only Real Jobs are to pose, and to mow the lawn.

But on the rare occasion, Stormy recalls his glory days on the racetrack.

He leads the herd coming down the homestretch from up the canyon.




He puts his head down, and for a few strides bolts into a first-to-the-wire Thoroughbred racehorse sprint.















He prances and struts, like he did leaving the racetrack after a win.


...then retirement calls again.

Back to mowing the Owyhee lawn.

Girl Troubles

Thursday May 14 2009

They can just drive the boys crazy, can't they?

We keep the girls and geldings separated here - it's just easier on things, less chance of anybody getting hurt. When a mare or mares come into heat, well, sometimes the boys forget they are geldings and they think they have a few things to straighten out with each other.

Stormy often hangs with both groups. He moved in with the mares two days ago because they were out on the good grass, and he wanted the good grass. He didn't really care about the mares.

Until I separated him today. Without realizing it, Stormy had quickly gotten attached (addicted). The girls were like a drug, and he couldn't get enough, and when he found himself on the other side of the fence, he wanted more! Especially with three of the four in heat.

He trotted the fence and whinnied, and got himself more worked up. The trotting became cantering, which became galloping, which turned into some full blown sprints. He would dig in so hard with a burst of astonishing speed that his whole body would lower to the ground. I do not think this horse ran so fast on the racetrack 11 years ago. I didn't know he still had it in him!

He was scaring me after a while, so I finally moved him to a further away pen.

Now he's still working out, but only at a walk, and sandwiching some hay in between. Hopefully in a few hours, all he'll be thinking about is his stomach.