The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) announced today its lineup of topics and speakers for its fifth conference, which will be held as a series of four virtual sessions on April 6, 13, 20, and 27.
Tag: aftercare
Four-Time Local Riding Champion Napravnik Returns To Fair Grounds For New Vocations Day
On Saturday, February 27, retired jockey and horse advocate Rosie Napravnik will be on site at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for “New Vocations Day at the Races.” A four-time local riding champion who was instrumental in the opening of the New Vocations facility in Covington, La., Napravnik will join host Joe Kristufek on the live feed during the racing day to help build awareness, promote success stories, and inspire donations for Thoroughbred aftercare.
“Rosie is one of our favorites and it's great to have her back at the Fair Grounds to help shed light on such an important cause and to share her valuable insight with the fans,” said Fair Grounds senior director of racing Jason Boulet.
Napravnik, who retired in 2014 following her Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) win with Shanghai Bobby, is one of the winningest female jockeys of all-time in both victories and earnings. In 2012 she became the first female rider to capture the Kentucky Oaks (G1), guiding Believe You Can to victory, and she won the race again just two years later with Untapable. She is now married to trainer Joe Sharp and together they have two sons, Carson and Tucker.
“Before and after my riding career, I've been exposed to a lot of the other things that horses can do, and that's a big part of the reason why I'm so passionate about it and why it's so important to me,” Napravnik said about Thoroughbred aftercare. “I have a lot of experience in the other disciplines and I've seen retired racehorses really excel. I got my first off-the-track Thoroughbred back in 2008 and watching him transform, his potential, his trainability, his eagerness to do something else and to learn new things and please really inspired me. After riding so many of those horses and seeing how much they put out for us on the racetrack, it's just something I can't avoid making a part of my life.”
Recognizing the need for expanded Thoroughbred aftercare in Louisiana, Napravnik reached out to New Vocations, the largest racehorse adoption program in the country, in the fall of 2019.
“It was amazing how it all came together rather quickly,” said New Vocations Thoroughbred program director Anna Ford. “When we move into a facility it usually takes a lot longer. Rosie's connections and her relationship with the facility in Louisiana really sped up the process. We were able to get a start-up grant from the Right Horse to basically fund almost half of running the program for the first two years. That really helped us get on our feet. Then the Louisiana HBPA stepped in and they have really supported our efforts.”
In the “check-off” program, consenting Louisiana HBPA member owners have contributed $5 per starter to race horse aftercare. At the conclusion of the meet, Fair Grounds will then match that dollar amount.
On Saturday, Napravnik will join simulcast host Joe Kristufek to provide information on how to donate a horse, how to adopt a horse, and how fans can contribute to the cause. She will also share adoption success stories, which will be supported by video of retired racehorses thriving in their second careers.
“I want to help make sure that horses have the opportunity to do something after racing because they really deserve it,” Napravnik said. “They have so much life ahead of them when their racing career is over. I can't ignore that, especially in a place like Louisiana that has such a high demand for organizations to help bridge that gap.”
In addition to promoting Thoroughbred aftercare awareness, Napravnik will also offer her race-by-race selections via the “expert picks” on twinspires.com and the Twin Spires app, and on the simulcast feed.
“During my riding career, I never handicapped to pick the winner, I handicapped to make my horse the winner,” Napravnik said. “But there's a lot of insight I can give on how each of the riders could see the race unfolding and how it might play out from a pace and trip perspective. I can't promise you I'm going to be a good picker, but I can promise you there will be a lot of valuable insight.”
For those who would like to contribute a financial donation to the Louisiana chapter of New Vocations and support the Fair Grounds Day at the Races with Rosie Napravnik, visit https://horseadoption.com/donate and click the button with Rosie's picture on it in the top row, middle column.
“I'm really excited for the New Vocations Day,” Napravnik said. “I love coming back to the Fair Grounds and really enjoy being a part of the racing day. It's just so nice to have a day dedicated to letting people know where we are with the organization, our accomplishments of the past two years and the potential of what we can do in the future. I really look forward to sharing some of the unique success stories adopters have had with their horses. I think it's going to be super fun but also enlightening to everybody.”
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Off-Track Quarter Horse Now Dancing In Dressage Ring
The versatility of a racing Quarter Horse might not be more apparent than in a royally-bred gray gelding named Feature Mason B raised for the racetrack and now busy dancing in the elegant sport of dressage with his owner Lisa Montgomery of Dallas, Texas.
The well-bred Feature Mason B was bred by Bielau Oaks of Weimar, Texas, and is sired by Feature Mr Jess, the Grade 1-winning runner who has sired the earners of almost $30 million. Of course there's the racehorses he has gotten, like legendary runners Heartswideopen ($1,885,283) and Jess You And I ($1,851,691), but also performance stars like Jess Featureme Quick, an earner of $687,155 on the racetrack and more than 37 points in the show arena.
Feature Mason B is out JA Codas Pride, a daughter of all-time leading sire and American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame member Dash For Cash, and the dam of runners such as JA Fast Lady ($146,946) and Cascada B ($51,759).
Feature Mason B made seven career starts on the racetrack, including contesting the trials of the prestigious Rainbow and All American futurities and notching a win at the historic Hialeah Park in Florida. He retired in 2013 with earnings of $3,975, and was acquired by his current owner in 2017.
Montgomery is an experienced horsewoman who was getting back into horse ownership after a hiatus due to other life demands, and found him listed with the SPCA after his then-owners had fallen on hard times.
“I have been around horses my whole life, and I'm the right kind of person to take on a project,” she said. ”He was obviously de-conditioned, but I could tell there was really good conformation under there. Then I went and met him and that was pretty much it.”
The two were instant friends, and she got the horse she calls “Theo“ back to full health.
“He is possibly the most polite horse I've ever interacted with,” she said.
The highly willing horse always tries to please his handlers, and is very smart, she said.
She remembers a cold day last winter when she put his cooler on him to keep him warm as they walked out to the arena to work. When she prepared to mount, she removed the cooler and placed it on the arena fence. He grabbed the cooler with his teeth and swung his head around, indicating he wanted it back on.
“So I had to put it back on until he'd warmed up a little bit,” she said with a laugh. “That's a prime example of his communication skills.”
They board at a dressage barn in the Dallas, Texas, area, and Montgomery does most of the riding with the help of regular lessons with an instructor. They are currently competing at Training and First Level.
“I appreciate his Quarter Horse brain and his 150 percent work ethic,” Montgomery said. “We have a great time.”
In addition to their work in the dressage ring, Montgomery takes him trail riding, dabbles in jumping and just finds ways to enjoy him, and encourages others to not overlook a horse that might seem imperfect from the outside, but are perfect on the inside.
“I've never ridden another horse that has made me feel more safe,” Montgomery said. “We have a lot of fun. It's a great time and I have a wonderful friend.”
This story, which is part of the Second Career Stars series, originally appeared on the American Quarter Horse News website and is republished here with permission. Second Career Stars is an ongoing series on retired racing American Quarter Horses in new careers. If you know of a horse that should be featured, write to acaudill@aqha.org. AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHARacing on Twitter, “like” Q-Racing on Facebook, and visit www.aqha.com/racing.
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Retired Racehorse Project: 480 Trainers Accepted For 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover
The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) welcomes 484 accepted applications, representing 480 unique trainers and teams, to the 2021 class of the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America. The Thoroughbred Makeover is the world's largest and most lucrative retraining competition for ex-racehorses, and the 2021 class combined with 322 trainers from the postponed 2020 competition year will make this the biggest Makeover yet.
The Thoroughbred Makeover is a retraining competition open to professionals, junior, amateurs and teams, competing side-by-side. Ten disciplines of competition are offered, including barrel racing, competitive trail, dressage, eventing, field hunter, polo, ranch work, show hunter, show jumper, and freestyle (a free-form discipline to demonstrate skills of the trainer's choice). Horses can compete in one or two of those disciplines.
Horses from each competition year will compete in separate preliminary rounds, and the five top-placed horses in each discipline after preliminary competition will return for the Finale where they will compete once more to determine final placings. New for this year (intended to be part of the 2020 Makeover), a panel consisting of all the judges from the ten disciplines will determine the overall Thoroughbred Makeover Champion in each competition year, selecting the best-trained horse from the ten discipline winners. A popular vote placed by spectators watching both in-person and online via live stream will determine a People's Choice winner in each competition year, who wins the right to direct a donation to an equine charity of their choosing.
“After the pandemic forced the cancelation of the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover, it was important to us to preserve the opportunity for our 2020 class to compete, and thanks to so many loyal sponsors and donors from the racing, breeding and sport horse worlds, we are going to be putting on the largest retraining competition in history,” said RRP executive director Jen Roytz.
Accepted trainers are encouraged to register their horses at TBMakeover.org as soon as they acquire them. Horse registration closes on July 31, but registration upon acquisition allows the RRP to better gather data on horses undergoing the Makeover process.
The application process for the 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover required trainers to demonstrate their skills and expertise through competition results, videos and references, as well as a letter from a vet stating that that the applicant has the necessary skills and knowledge to appropriately care for a horse transitioning off the track. The RRP's selection committee took into consideration both candidates' ability to effectively retrain an off-track Thoroughbred and candidates' commitment to the RRP's mission of promoting off-track Thoroughbreds in second careers.
“We're always humbled by the interest we receive from applicants each year, but with hundreds of 2020 entries still in play and known logistical challenges — move-in, daylight hours, running two Finales, and more — the application committee had the tough task of narrowing down the 2021 entry pool to meet our schedule capacity,” said RRP managing director Kirsten Green. “The primary goal of the Makeover is to showcase Thoroughbreds at their very best, so this means we're looking for trainers whose application demonstrates that they're equipped to meet that goal on the timeline provided.”
The Makeover has historically attracted a broad cross-section of the horse industry, represented by junior, amateur and professional equestrians, as well as teams. The great equalizer at the Makeover are the horses: eligible Thoroughbreds competing in 2021 will all come from similar backgrounds, with no more than 10 months of retraining for a second career and all having raced or trained to race within the past two years.
This format allows trainers in all categories to compete side-by-side on equal footing. Juniors and amateurs routinely enjoy great success at the Makeover and have earned many top-five finishes; the 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover Champion Old Tavern was trained by junior Charlie Caldwell.
“Driving demand for Thoroughbreds after racing is a critical aspect of aftercare, and the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover is central to that mission,” says Erin Crady, executive director of TCA. “We believe in the importance of that mission and are thrilled to support the RRP as it prepares for the biggest Makeover in its history.”
Accepted trainers for 2021 include Becky Huestis, assistant rider and manager for John Madden Sales; Darby Mazzarisi, champion hunter trainer; and Natalie (Voss) Nevills, two-time Eclipse Award-winning turf writer for Paulick Report. They join a diverse class of trainers hailing from 46 states and four Canadian provinces. Trainers range in age from 11 (will be 12 at the time of the Makeover as per rules) to 74.
Trainers for the 2021 class have signed up to bring a total of 521 horses. Combined with the declared horses from the 2020 competition year, a total of 953 horses will participate in the Makeover process this year. The full list of trainers accepted for the 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover can be found at the event website.
With the uncertainty of training green horses, the length of time between acceptance of trainers and Final Entry, and the fact that some horses sell before the Makeover, the RRP is once again offering a wait list. Individuals who missed the initial round of applications are welcome to apply to the wait list and can do so by contacting secretary@tbmakeover.org. The wait list does not guarantee final entry into the competition, but does widen the impact of the Makeover and helps more horses transition to second careers.
For riders seeking a well-started off-track Thoroughbred for competition or pleasure, the ASPCA Makeover Marketplace will return in 2021, offering buyers the unique opportunity to watch a horse compete, trial-ride, and complete a pre-purchase exam all in one location. Over 100 horses are expected to be entered in the Marketplace from both competition years.
In addition to a weekend of Thoroughbred competition and celebration of what makes the off-track Thoroughbred great, the Makeover also offers ample opportunity for education for both trainers and the public: educational seminars and panel discussion will take place on Friday, October 15, as well as the Makeover Master Class, a retraining clinic for recently-retired racehorses. Structured similarly to popular colt-starting competitions but without the competitive aspect, the Makeover Master Class offers spectators the opportunity to watch experienced off-track Thoroughbred trainers assess a prospect's conformation and movement, as well as demonstrate their process for initial training and first rides. A vendor fair provides plenty of shopping opportunities as well!
The Thoroughbred Makeover is the flagship event for the RRP, a 501(c)3 non-profit committed to increasing the demand for and value of Thoroughbreds in their careers after racing. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover.
Thoroughbred Makeover fast facts:
▪ The 2021 competition is open to any Thoroughbred that raced or had a published work after July 1, 2019 and did not start retraining for a second career before December 1, 2020
▪ Trainers indicate a primary (and optional secondary) discipline on their applications, but are free to change disciplines as the competition approaches and they learn their horses' strengths. A horse can compete in up to two disciplines, and a trainer can compete a maximum of two horses in a single competition year.
▪ Trainers do not need to have obtained the horse they intend to compete at the time of their application. Some trainers have already obtained their Thoroughbred Makeover mounts, but many are still searching. Trainers may begin registering their horses today, but have through July 31 to complete horse registration
▪ Participation in the Thoroughbred Makeover Marketplace sale is entirely voluntary, but many trainers take advantage of the extra exposure to market their prospects. All sales are private contracts between individual trainers and buyers; the RRP is not involved and receives no commissions
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