2021 thoroughbred makeover | Horse Racing Free Tips

Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: ‘Quirky’ Kubo Cat Dished Out Challenges On Path To Success

Through centuries of the breed's development, the Thoroughbred is athletic, smart, sensitive, forward-looking, and forward-thinking. Being regarded as hot-blooded, the Thoroughbred is extreme in both positive and challenging moments.

Alison O'Dwyer and Kubo Cat offer great lessons about the extreme nature of Thoroughbreds and the challenges and benefits that go along with riding this roller coaster of equine experiences.

O'Dwyer won the 2021 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover in dressage. She also won the dressage discipline in 2019 and 2017, the previous two years that she entered.

Kubo Cat, Alison's dressage champion in 2021, is a 2016 chestnut Thoroughbred gelding bred in Louisiana who raced 16 times in his home state from Aug. 2018 to Dec. 2019. He never won, but he was second five times and third four times.

The five-minute freestyle test that Kubo and Alison did during the Thoroughbred Makeover Finale included a mix of higher-level movements like counter canters that showed off the horse's upper-level potential and foundational movements like simple lead changes fitting for a horse with less than a year of full-time dressage training. Present during the entire test was a calm, steady demeanor in the nerve-wracking competition setting inside the high-stimulation TCA Covered Arena.

Because Kubo Cat was for sale, Alison's phone started, well, I want to say “ringing off the hook,” but I realize we all use cell phones now. You get the idea. The market for OTTBs has grown exponentially because horses like Kubo Cat are tremendous ambassadors for the talent and versatility inherent in the Thoroughbred breed. My last two “Horowitz on OTTBs” columns have explored the nature side of Thoroughbred genetics and nurture side of the breed's development through a first career in racing.

Alison's experiences with Kubo Cat showcase a side of the breed that often gets lost when witnessing the breathtaking mix of beauty and athleticism of a Thoroughbred like him or the other horses that excel at the Thoroughbred Makeover.

For those that love Thoroughbreds, the extremes are worth it. Anybody that gets a Thoroughbred should be prepared for that.

Kubo Cat and O'Dwyer take a victory lap after their Makeover win

“It's a tough conversation to have with people,” O'Dwyer said. “My horse looked so quiet in that indoor. The flood of phone calls was all amateurs, and yes, he's an incredibly different creature than he used to be, but he had a legitimate behavioral problem when he came to our farm that it actually intimidated me.”

Of course, no one, O'Dwyer included, gets a Thoroughbred hoping to be challenged or intimidated that way. It usually starts as love at first sight.

“When I saw one picture of this horse, my gut just said that's a really nice horse,” O'Dwyer said.

We're in the midst of an online-dating-world of buying horses. People have more opportunities to find OTTBs today than ever before through social media and listing organizations like CANTER. Much like online dating, it's possible to fall in love with a horse from a picture and fantasize about what the future holds.

The people that reached out to Alison did that with Kubo Cat, but Alison knew better.

“He came to me very sour—like very, very sour,” Alison said. “I would get on his back, and I could maybe get him to trot one circle a certain direction, and as soon as I would go to change directions, he would just slam on the brakes and come to a complete halt with ears pinned. Then, he would start backing up and gave me that feeling that if I gave him a heavy correction, he was going to go up.”

Remember, this is coming from someone who retrains horses off the racetrack for new careers as sporthorses about as well as anyone.

“My first horse I ever had was a Thoroughbred mare that tortured me when I was a kid,” Alison said.

She laughed saying the word “tortured,” in appreciation of the totality of experiences, positive and negative, that a Thoroughbred can offer.

“I'm not sure I knew any better,” Alison said. “I think she bit me the first day I got her. She was way too hot for what a kid should probably have. It's not something I'd recommend for everybody, but in the end, I had such a wonderful partnership with her because I had to take it really slow and go back to basics.”

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Alison described a “safety net” of rules and working with more-experienced riders that made the partnership work. She and Something Special IV competed up to eventing's Training level of 3-foot-3 in 2003 when the mare was 21 and Alison was 15.

Then, her next horse, Rhythmic Drum, was also a Thoroughbred, a Montana-bred bay gelding who raced 21 times at tracks like Great Falls, Metrapark, and Playfair, won four times, and was in the top-three 11 times. Alison and Rhythmic Drum competed up to the FEI 1-star level.

With Kubo Cat, Alison asked her husband, the racehorse trainer Jerry O'Dwyer, to step in, calling him her “crash dummy, if I don't really know anything about the horse.”

Alison: “When Jerry came and got on him, he just sat on him at first and didn't do anything. I'm expecting fireworks, but he just sat there and took it slow and rewarded him any time he would go forward.”

Jerry: “I used to ride very loose on him, let him adapt that he's not going to be grabbed up and be asked to go fast anymore. It was just a case of letting him go forward and enjoying his life. They're very smart, the Thoroughbreds. They're like us, and sometimes they get a little sour to the same things. If you can freshen up their minds a little bit, they're going to work for you again.”

Alison: “I would go really slow and keep everything his [the horse's] idea.”

Jerry will also sometimes apply Alison's dressage techniques to race training to help his racehorses become more supple and evenly muscled. Or, he'll send horses to Alison's farm for cross-training in dressage.

Jerry: “I think the dressage is great for the horses because it does make them turn left, turn right. They get to relax a little bit and put their head down. It is a great benefit.”

Alison: “He'll send a horse in the chute back behind the starting gate and have it just do flat work and figure eights and serpentines with the riders, and I know he sees a lot of value in that.”

The teamwork has paid off for the O'Dwyers.

Kubo Cat and O'Dwyer at the Kentucky Horse Park

“Alison is a very good rider, and she puts a helluva lot of work and time and effort into it,” Jerry said. “What people saw at the Makeover with that horse was hours upon hours of her working with him. She used to take him off the farm to have a look at other things, and the two of them just got on well after that. The proof is in the pudding.”

Making the pudding is hard work, and people that get Thoroughbreds should be prepared to meticulously follow a recipe. Alison uses this mentality with selling her Thoroughbreds that she's trained off the track as well.

“I say I'm going to talk you out of this horse first, and if you're still interested, then you can come ride him,” Alison said. “That was really hard to do, especially with Kubo Cat last year because he looked so quiet, which was great for me because he won, but the flood of phone calls was from inappropriate people. This is not a horse that I can just sell to Sally Sue's mom. He was just a professional's horse, and it was very hard to convince people of that.”

Alison sold Kubo Cat to Leah Lang-Gluscic, an upper-level eventer who has taken the OTTB AP Prime up to the highest level of eventing at the 5-star level at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2021.

“She's got a real love for the breed,” Alison said. “That's where I wanted him to be. I really think he has the talent to be an upper-level horse, and he has the attitude of an upper-level horse. I don't think he's going to be happy just sitting around with someone that just wants to hug him and brush him because he'll bite you. That just worked out perfectly.”

Kubo Cat's first USEA recognized event with Lang-Gluscic was a first-place finish at the Beginner Novice level of 2-foot-7 at the Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks in Florida earlier this month. They finished on their dressage score of 30.6 and had double clear cross country and stadium jumping rounds.

As with any relationship, it's about finding the right match and then putting in the hard work to make the relationship flourish. It's easy to fall in love at first sight with a horse. It's wonderful for the horse racing industry that more people are now doing that with Thoroughbreds. With many great aftercare organizations and resellers, there are many attractive dating profiles out there. But, making a life together takes a lot of hard work. As a standard, wanting a Thoroughbred that's not sensitive would be like wanting ice cream that's not cold.

With their expertise in racing and dressage, the O'Dwyers are the ultimate marriage counselors for Thoroughbred-lovers.

Jerry: “It's about trust for the horse and you and for you and the horse. To gain that trust, you have to go along slowly at the start, especially if you have a quirky one. With a couple weeks in their new discipline, you can see the calmness in their eye and how they settle down and start really enjoying their new life.”

Alison: “If you just take your time and keep the faith, I think all these creatures can come around and be great athletes and be great minds to work with.”

The post Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: ‘Quirky’ Kubo Cat Dished Out Challenges On Path To Success appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Blueberry Bulletin Presented By Equine Equipment: Lessons From The Thoroughbred Makeover

Three weeks after the Thoroughbred Makeover and I'm still walking on air when I think about Blueberry's performance. My big goals going into the dressage competition at this year's Makeover had been that he be mentally prepared for the situation – two back-to-back dressage tests in the Rolex Stadium, a large and echoey structure unlike anyplace he had competed before – and that we not finish last.

Our scores on our two tests weren't the highest we've ever gotten, but they were solid and the tests themselves were the best we've ever put in. We came 40^th out of a group of 89, many of whom were dressage professionals. I am thrilled with that outcome.

I started this series with a list of early lessons I took away from my first months with an off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB). (You can find that post here.) That seems like a good way to sum up the many things we learned from this wonderful, crazy, exhausting experience.

Last-minute hoof issues aren't necessarily the end of the world. Any time Blueberry experiences any kind of discomfort, he is pretty dramatic about it. We say he's a sensitive flower, which has its advantages in the dressage ring. I actually consider it a good thing that he's unafraid to express to me when he's in pain, because I know right away when something is wrong. This also meant that when he got his first hot nail (the first one my farrier has been responsible for in a decade working at my barn, just my luck), he acted like he was dying. Naturally, this happened about nine days before we were due to ship in to the Kentucky Horse Park. Initially we weren't sure whether he had a hot nail or a brewing abscess and I quickly learned that the former will resolve very quickly while the latter, though similarly minor in terms of seriousness, would probably take more than a week to get him back to full strength.We spent three days with his shoe off, diligently packing the foot round the clock and soaking it just before the farrier's recheck just in case he had both a hot nail and an abscess. In three days, the nail hole had closed clean and we were dealing with minor bruising from the time the shoe had been off. We practiced our Training 2 test two days before shipping, charging into the biggest horse show week with exactly two training sessions in the previous 10 days. By the time he arrived at the Park, he was sound, rested, and ready to go, if a little lighter on practice and fitness training than I had intended.
So the next time I hear about a Derby prospect with a last-minute foot issue, I'm not going to throw them out until I know more about what's going on. A turnaround can be possible, even in what feels like the eleventh hour.

A moment from our Training 2 test
Horses don't always fit into the timelines we've laid out. Ok, I knew this one already but I'd always thought of it upside down – that if anything, you have to move slowly doing anything with any horse just on principle. But that's not right for everyone. With a month or two to go until the Makeover, I was aware we'd need to step up from the Intro Level tests we'd been performing in competition to the Training Level 2 test we'd be required to do at Makeover. I also knew in advance that we'd only have one show prior to Makeover where we'd have a chance to ride that test. Each level contains three tests, which get progressively more difficult, so Training 2 is actually the fifth and most difficult test we've tried. With a few weeks to go, I still believed it was possible that after Makeover we'd need to step back down to Intro C, the test I figured we'd have been riding if we hadn't had the Makeover as a goal. The one time we competed Training 2, I forgot part of the test and missed a few key technical marks. We were still struggling to get our correct canter leads on the first try. It was — not quite a mess, but not an auspicious beginning.We got a lot of practice in during Makeover week, drilling Training 2 over and over. Leaving the Rolex, I knew I was sitting on a Training Level horse. In just a few short weeks, we belonged at that level. I didn't think we could both improve that quickly but we did.
A bored baby Thoroughbred in horse show stabling will eventually, with great determination and practice, find a way to poop into his water bucket. And his feed tub. My mare did not prepare me for this level of depravity. Gross, dude. He will also not learn from the experience and may do it again tomorrow if he has finessed his aim.
The notion that a seam ripper is a critical tool in your horse show kit is not a suggestion. I had Blueberry professionally braided because my braids are absolutely awful and I wanted him to look amazing. He did, and the braider sewed the braids in (which explained how they stayed in so well, no matter how he rubbed his neck along the door frame). She did a beautiful job. I reluctantly took them out at the end of the evening, in the dark, carefully hunting for black thread with bandage scissors so as not to cut holes in his mane. When eventers (at least the eventers I know) braid, it's usually with bands that are easy to pull, but the hunters mean business, even when they do button braids. Seam ripper = vital equipment next time.
Do not underestimate the bombproof nature of a well-behaved 4-year-old Thoroughbred. Our stabling for the Makeover faced out onto one of the busiest parts of the park for vehicle and foot traffic. We hacked through the show grounds and around the edges of the cross country course to get to our schooling area every day. Although Blueberry had been to small horse shows many times before this, he had to see and hear a lot during this particular week, and he feared nothing. Other horses spooking, bolting, galloping cross country, dogs, golf carts, backfiring tractors – he thought about none of it. Even the echoey Rolex grandstand and brightly-decorated judges' booths were of very little concern to him.The only thing he looked at was the giant rack of colorful jump poles that was being unloaded by volunteers on our first day at the Park and must have looked to him a little like windmills looked to Don Quixote. Fair enough. He stared, planted his feet, and shook in his bell boots. I was nervous, not knowing if he would try to bolt. I considered dismounting, but I sat still in the saddle. I patted him. I let him think for a few minutes, trying consciously to lower my own heart rate. He took a breath, chomped on his bit, and decided to believe me when I promised him they were safe. Is there a greater feeling than your horse saying, 'I trust you'?
All smiles after our second and final dressage test at the Makeover.
The greatest lessons sometimes evolve from a tough warm-up. Blueberry handled the atmosphere of the Rolex Stadium brilliantly, but we did have a bobble in our first schooling session on Monday, several days before our competition on Thursday. We were running through our test and were just passing the judge's booth when someone dropped something inside the grandstand. It sounded like something heavy, maybe a folding table, making a big, echoey boom. I watched Blueberry's ear move towards it, process, and ignore the sound … but unfortunately, about two steps later, it was time for me to ask for a left lead canter. I wanted the transition to be sharp, and I rotated my knee about a half inch too far, touching him gently with more spur than heel instead of the other way around. I don't know if it was the sonic boom or the unexpected spur poke, but he took off bucking. It was a short episode and I sat it well, but I did have long enough to think about how much I did not want to fall and have my horse run loose through one of the more famous outdoor arenas in this country.I can't lie – this moment rattled me. I spent two days overanalyzing it, and then I realized that 1) He had almost certainly been reacting out of indignation and not fear 2) He had almost certainly forgotten about it as soon as I sat up, gathered my reins, and taken us through a 20-meter circle still in the canter and 3) I came out of this moment just fine. I didn't even lose a stirrup.
All along this journey I have doubted myself more than Blueberry – am I a good enough rider to teach him this new sport? Do I know him well enough to read his moods and his emotional needs? Am I capable of putting the pieces back together when things go wrong? And thanks to our amazing support team – my husband, my trainer, my barn friends – I came away from that schooling session eventually recognizing that my horse has faith in me, and I should, too. (It helped that after a couple of days of long workouts and daily walks around the park, he was also probably too tired for a repeat.) This is something that I know will come up again and again. Unshakable confidence doesn't grow overnight, but it does come through repeated good experiences, and I know Blueberry can give me those.

The post The Blueberry Bulletin Presented By Equine Equipment: Lessons From The Thoroughbred Makeover appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘A Breeder’s Responsibility’: Racing Owner/Breeders Take Horse From Foaling Stall To Thoroughbred Makeover

For many riders at last week's Thoroughbred Makeover, the competition represented the culmination of a goal that had been nearly a year in the making. Riders can begin training their recently-retired racehorses for the October competition no earlier than December of the preceding year, since the objective of the event is to showcase the rapid progress an off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB) can make in a new job.

For one ownership group however, the goal of going to the 2021 edition of the Thoroughbred Makeover was born four years and eight months ago, before the horse in question had even stood and nursed.

Ryan Watson, Adolfo Martinez, and Heath Gunnison collectively form RAH Bloodstock and knew that the little bay colt out of Thunder Gulch mare Talking Audrey would be special to them. The trio had purchased the mare out of the 2017 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages sale for $1,200. She was in foal to a stallion none of them had ever heard of — Doctor Chit, a Grade 2 placed son of War Front who stands in Oklahoma.

They were drawn to the mare because Watson and Martinez (who is now the manager of Heaven Trees Farm) had worked with her female family at Darby Dan. Watson is stallion manager at Darby Dan, and Gunnison is the head hunt seat coach at Midway University. The three wanted to go in on a mare together, but they knew they wouldn't want to sell the very first horse that had RAH Bloodstock listed as his breeder.

“We thought, if we don't know anything about [Doctor Chit], we won't be selling the foal,” said Martinez. “We've gone to a couple of stallions with her since and had some nice foals, but the first one is pretty special. Your first child is always the one.”

The group struggled to get a registered name for their first horse; most combinations of the two parents' names ended up being rejected by The Jockey Club as too vulgar. (Talking Chit was a favorite but didn't make the cut.) Finally, they settled on naming him This Is Me after a song made famous in The Greatest Showman, which had come out around the time they were submitting name requests. Around the barn, the bay with a thin white blaze remained “Chit” or “Lil Chit.”

Chit became what's known around the track as a “morning glory” who showed lots of talent in his workouts but failed to deliver in the afternoons. Martinez said he was “a very polite runner — he let everybody go first.”

The colt's very first start, in a maiden special weight at Indiana Grand in October 2019, made them briefly hopeful that he had serious potential.

“He showed a little bit of talent by closing on the frontrunners,” recalled Watson. “After the race we're walking back, waiting for the runners to be unsaddled and I see the outriders go tearing around the backside of the track, going in opposite directions. You look, and there's a horse they can't pull up coming around the far turn. It was him.”

It was really on the strength of that gallop out that RAH Bloodstock and trainer Ronald Kahles continued on for another four starts, trying to unleash that drive without success. Watson remembers fighting a snowstorm to get to Turfway Park in February 2020 for what would be Chit's last start, a distant ninth in maiden claiming company. He asked jockey John McKee if he thought the horse under him had any talent at all, and McKee admitted he didn't think so. Watson, grateful for the honesty, happily took Chit home to begin the wait until they could begin re-training in December.

Chit with dam Talking Audrey

All three men grew up riding – Gunnison and Watson doing ranch work and team penning, and Martinez mostly casual trail and pleasure riding – so they had a good idea of what they were looking at as they considered a new career for Chit. Gunnison has made a name for himself in the hunter world, and they all agreed Chit's natural, smooth gait would set him up for success there. Gunnison did much of the riding, with Watson and Martinez standing by to watch, set fences, and lend support.

It wasn't until this summer that they wondered whether Chit might have some aptitude for ranch work. Watson was always happy to support the Thoroughbred Incentive Program Western pleasure classes at Scheffleridge Farm's hunter/jumper shows, so they threw Western tack on Chit and saw him maintain his long and low frame as though nothing much had changed.

It's an improbable combination for any horse – excelling in both show hunters and ranch work. Hunters are often thought of as somewhat narrow in their worldview, working mostly in arena settings, while ranch horses must be a little more rough and tumble and very brave with cattle. A level head and a smooth movement will be rewarded in both disciplines, however.

“He's really taken everything we've thrown at him,” said Martinez. “He's very level-headed and calm.”

Martinez said they brought Chit into an arena full of cattle along with several other ranch horses to make him feel safe in a group, gradually removing the other horses until he was working the cows alone.

“It's very much sink or swim,” said Watson. “He has to learn about them just like any other discipline – learn to track them, learn to follow them. He actually got good enough this summer where he was able to anticipate how they were going to move.”

A busy show schedule throughout late summer had the team out nearly every weekend at one kind of competition or the other. The hard work paid off, with Chit heading to the finals as the leader in both disciplines. Horses will be horses however, and a sudden stop at the very first fence in the hunter finale took him down to fifth in the overall standings. Gunnison brought him back to finish second in the ranch work division, and Watson said the trio could not be more thrilled with their experience.

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“We were just happy to get to the finals in one category, and two categories was just a bonus,” said Watson. “This horse has done so much for us. He is currently leading the Beginner Horse [division] in the Kentucky Hunter Jumper Association by 90 points or something like that. He's just been a phenomenal horse this year. We'll live to fight another day.”

The group expects Chit to move on to the three-foot hunters (an increase from the two and a half foot heights he saw at the Makeover) and the Take2 hunter series next season.

Not all owner/breeders can necessarily invest four years in a horse with the hopes of competing in the Makeover, rather than hoping to pick up a check. Still, Watson is hopeful that others in the racing industry can take away something from the RAH journey with Chit.

“A horse is a breeder's responsibility throughout their entire life,” said Watson. “It did not ask to come into this world. You are the one who brought it here. So it's definitely a breeders' responsibility to ensure that it's going to not end up where it doesn't deserve to be.

“It's so rewarding. Obviously they're bred for racing, but to see him compete in the preliminary rounds earlier last week, it was just such a proud moment to have everybody coming up to us and talking about what a nice horse he was. It's a very rewarding experience to know that something you have been responsible for creating is kind of the talk of the town and goes on and does something so significant in a second career. It's a really good feeling.”

The post ‘A Breeder’s Responsibility’: Racing Owner/Breeders Take Horse From Foaling Stall To Thoroughbred Makeover appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Preliminary Competition Complete At Thoroughbred Makeover; Finalists Set For The Weekend

The culmination of ten months — or, for the 2020 horses, almost two years — of hard work came to fruition today at the Kentucky Horse Park as the final day of preliminary competition came to a close. All ten Makeover disciplines have now set their Finale fields: the five top-scoring horses in each discipline will return for one more test in their respective competition years to determine final placings. The winner of each discipline will then be eligible to be named Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, sponsored by Churchill Downs, by a panel of all Makeover judges.

View preliminary round standings and see the Finale fields here. Learn more about the discipline leaders from today's competition:

2020 Competitive Trail Leader: Thunderous Affair, trained by Lindsey Partridge

Thunderous Affair (Liaison – Thunder Fan, by Thunder Gulch) is a 2017 16.2-hand gray/roan mare bred in Kentucky by Jim Williams. She never made a start, but did train to race, and last worked in September of 2019. CANTER Michigan aided in her transition.

Lindsey Partridge is a professional based in Pontypool, Ontario.

2021 Competitive Trail Leader: Super Terrific, trained by Abbey Blair

Super Terrific (Super Saver – Tiz Terrific, by Tiznow) is a 2014 16.2-hand bay gelding bred in Kentucky by T. F. Van Meter & Fanfare. He sold as a weanling at Keeneland November for $110,000, then again as a yearling at Keeneland September for $85,000. He went on to make 19 starts with two wins, earning $60,907 over his career. His last race was in June of 2020 at Belmont Park.

Abbey Blair is a professional from London, Ky.

2020 Dressage Leader: Dispatcher, trained by Stephanie Calendrillo

Dispatcher (Distorted Humor – Charity Belle, by Empire Maker) is a 2015 16.3-hand chestnut gelding, bred in Kentucky by Godolphin. He made four starts with one win, retiring with $13,145 in earnings. His last start was in June of 2019 at Belmont Park.

Stephanie Calendrillo is a professional from Georgetown, Ky.

2021 Dressage Leader: Kubo Cat, trained by Alison O'Dwyer

Kubo Cat (D'Wildcat – Golden Diva, by Gold Fever) is a 2016 16.0-hand chestnut gelding, bred in Louisiana by Carrol Castille. He made 16 starts, but never broke his maiden, retiring with $24,895 after his last start in December of 2019 at Delta Downs.

Alison O'Dwyer is a professional based in Severn, Md.

2020 Eventing Leader: Legend's Hope, trained by Jazz Napravnik

Legend's Hope (Not For Love – Lunar's Legend, by Polish Numbers) is a 2013 17.1-hand chestnut gelding who is a three-time contender in the Maryland Million Classic. He made 45 starts with four wins, earning $156,388 in his career. His last race was in November of 2019, retiring from Laurel Park.

Jazz Napravnik is a professional from Monkton, Md.

2021 Eventing Leader: Fleet Stepper, trained by Hillary Irwin

Fleet Stepper (Midshipman – Raven's Rockette, by Raven's Pass) is a 2017 16.2-hand bay mare who made three career starts but never broke her maiden, retiring after her last start in August of 2020. She's a Kentucky-bred by 81 Gotham LLC.

Hillary Irwin is a professional based in Ocala, Fla.

2020 Field Hunter Leader: Zapper, trained by Cameron Sadler

Zapper (Ghostzapper – Doryphar, by Gone West) sold as a 2-year-old through Ocala Breeders' Sale in April of 2017 for $25,000, and went on to make 15 career starts with one win. He retired with $8,141 in earnings after his last race in August of 2019 at Indiana Grand Race Course. The 2015 15.3-hand bay gelding was bred in Kentucky by Kendall E. Hansen, M.D. Racing, LLC.

Cameron Sadler is an amateur from Southern Pines, N.C.

2021 Field Hunter Leader: Forthegreatergood, trained by Laura Sloan

Forthegreatergood (Scipion – No Peeking, by Langfuhr) earned $46,734 in his 22-race career, most recently running at Laurel Park in June of 2020. He raced his entire career for his Maryland-based breeder/owner/trainer Donna B. Lockard. Forthegreatergood is a 2015 16.1 hand gray/roan gelding, bred by Donna Verrilli.

Laura Sloan is a professional from Southern Pines, N.C.

2020 Freestyle Leader: Thunderous Affair, trained by Lindsey Partridge

Lindsey Partridge is a professional based in Pontypool, Ontario.

2021 Freestyle Leader: Papa Al, trained by Jody Busch

Papa Al (Papa Clem – Morell's Love, by Cutlass Reality) is a 2012 16.1-hand bay gelding bred in California by Salah Said Al-Mudarris. He made 36 starts with three wins for total career earnings of $26,831. His last start was in September of 2019 at Assiniboia.

Jody Busch is a professional from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

2020 Polo Leader: That's My Bertie, trained by the Willowbrook Polo team

That's My Bertie (Baptistry – Fat Cat Bertie, by Tactical Cat) is a 2017 15.0-hand dark bay/brown mare bred in Ohio by Carol Rettele. She made two lifetime starts and never git the board, retiring with $599 in earnings. Her last race was November of 2019 at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

Willowbrook Polo team is captained by Michael Groubert and based in Canfield, Ohio.

2021 Polo Leader: Ramses, trained by Benjamin Lynch

Ramses (Pioneerof the Nile – Dancing House, by Tapit) was bred in Kentucky by Godolphin. The 2018 15.0-hand bay gelding made just two career starts for owner/breeder, failing to hit the board and retiring with $248 in career earnings. His last race was in December of 2020 at Tampa Bay.

Benjamin Lynch is an amateur from Fallston, Md.

2020 Show Hunter Leader: Still Dreaming, trained by Charles Hairfield

Still Dreaming (Flatter – Seeking Gabrielle, by Forestry) is a 2016 16.2-hand chestnut gelding bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms. He was a $460,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland September in 2017, and went on to make seven starts with two wins. He made two graded stakes starts but failed to place in either. He retired with $63,140 in earnings after his last race, the 2019 Easy Goer Stakes at Belmont Park.

Charles Hairfield is professional from Johns Island, S.C.

2021 Show Hunter Leader: Ironic, trained by Lara Van Der Heiden

Ironic (Five Iron – Only, by Salt Lake) is a 2017 16.2-hand gray/roan gelding bred in Arkansas by Starfish Stable, LLC. He made six starts but never hit the board, retiring with $859 in earnings after his last start in September of 2020 at Louisiana Downs.

Lara Van Der Heiden is an amateur from Carlisle, Ky.

2020 Show Jumper Leader: Canton Comet, trained by Samantha Fawcett

Canton Comet (Shanghai Bobby – Katie's Ten, by Rock Hard Ten) is a 2016 16.3-hand black mare bred in Kentucky by Kirby Chua. She sold for $80,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2017, and went on to make nine starts with one win. Her final start was in August of 2019 at Arlington, where she retired with $20,698 in earnings.

Samantha Fawcett is a professional from Alton, Ontario.

2021 Show Jumper Leader: Highest Rank, trained by Kamerra Brown Allen

Highest Rank (Courageous Cat – Hipshootinmomma, by Successful Appeal) is a 2016 16.1 hand bay gelding bred in New York by John T. Behrendt. He made 23 career starts, but never broke his maiden; he retired with $16,893 in career starts after his final race in October of 2020 at Finger Lakes.

Kamerra Brown Allen is a professional from Fulton, Mo.

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