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Saving Horses, Saving Lives: TRF Hosts Virtual Exhibit Of Second Chances Program

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), in collaboration with the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum, will host a live-streaming, virtual exhibit premier on Monday, March 22 from 6-6:30 p.m. ET to debut the “Saving Horses, Saving Lives, A Celebration – Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Exhibit”, a new addition to the museum.

“It is extremely important to tell the story of the important work that the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is doing not only in South Carolina, but all over the country,” said Lisa Hall, the Museum Coordinator at the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum. “Their programs not only give retired racehorses a second chance at life, they also give inmates the chance to participate in a vocational training program in equine care and management. Those skills will give the inmates a chance to become productive members of society once they have served their sentences. The Hall of Fame is extremely proud to be able to highlight the TRF in this exhibit.”

Participants in the free livestream event will have the opportunity to “virtually visit” the historic Aiken museum, meet the team that has brought the exhibit to life and preview the exhibit itself. The event will be hosted by Kim Weir, the TRF's Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving alongside the Museum's Lisa Hall. There will be several special guest appearances including Dr. Reid McClellan, an instructor with Groom Elite, Chris Griffin, a graduate of the program and longtime volunteer William Cox.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity to showcase the life changing work that is being done through the TRF Second Chances program,” said TRF Board Member Paul Saylor. “We are appreciative of the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum for bringing this exhibit to life and invite everyone who believes in second chances to tune in and enjoy the livestream.”

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation has been a part of the equine landscape in South Carolina since 2004 and has provided care for over 75 horses living in the state including those at the TRF Second Chances Program at Wateree River Correctional Institution in Camden, South Carolina.

The livestream will be available on TRF's Facebook Live, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to request a reminder about the event on Monday evening. A recording of the event will be available on-demand any time after the livestream.

What: Virtual Exhibit premier of “Saving Horses, Saving Lives, A Celebration – Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Exhibit”

When: Monday, March 22^nd, 6:00-6:30 p.m. ET

Where: Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitter

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Steffanus: Blessed Be Dr. Phyllis Lose, Faithful Sage To Mare Owners

Every breeding and foaling season since 1978, countless mare owners have turned to their bookshelves for help from America's first woman equine veterinarian, Dr. M. Phyllis Lose. Her two indispensable manuals, Blessed Are the Broodmares and Blessed Are the Foals, inform and entertain first-time broodmare owners as well as experienced breeders. She presented important information interspersed with anecdotes of her experiences that enabled even the novice owner to grasp and implement the concepts she sought to explain.

In 1957, Dr. Lose obtained her V.M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and she embarked on a lifelong adventure as the first woman to establish an equine-only practice in the United States, just outside the gates of then Philadelphia Park. Despite skepticism that a woman could excel at equine practice, Dr. Lose's medical expertise and her ability to read horses were so extraordinary that soon horsemen thought of her only as a “darn good vet,” and they entrusted her with their best horses.

Despite a lifetime of remarkable accomplishments, Dr. Lose passed away quietly on Sept. 30, 2019, at age 93, with only a meager obituary in the local Florida newspaper. She was the first woman member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the author of seven groundbreaking studies published in various veterinary journals. Her autobiography, No Job for a Lady, was honored by Readers' Digest, and in 2002, her alma mater bestowed on Dr. Lose its Alumni Award of Merit.

Among her early surgical achievements were development of a correction for club-foot in neonates; removal of ovarian tumors; removal of urinary bladder stones; and a refined technique to correct retained testicles.

Dr. Lose was the official veterinarian for the Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania for 20 years, plus she cared for the horses of the Philadelphia Mounted Police. Occasionally, she answered calls from the Philadelphia Zoo and the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Working alone with her sister Norma as her manager, Dr. Lose often ventured into the night accompanied only by her little dog Oscar to respond to emergency calls, many of them for broodmares experiencing difficult foaling. Even in her 70s, Dr. Lose continued to make farm calls on her Harley-Davidson, but minus Oscar, whom she trained to win the national Purina trick-dog contest. In her later years while living in Haines City, Fla., Dr. Lose diligently pursued Oscar's career in the movies, producing The Oscar Lose Story in 2008, which earned the Dove Award for family entertainment.

In her personal life, Dr. Lose won nine gold medals (out of nine efforts) in the Senior Olympics for cycling. She also won competitions in snowmobiling, snow racing, and drag racing.

She owned and rode Pennsylvania State Champion jumping mare Cassadol, the national high-score winner in open jumping.

Dr. Lose never married or had children but had no regrets about it, telling me once, “I love men, but in very small doses.”

In 2012, while looking back at her career and the girls she had inspired to become equine veterinarians, she said, “It's a privilege just to be able to live our lives with horses.”

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EHV Outbreaks And Equine Insurance

Equine insurance is utilized by many horse owners, whether the horse is kept for competition, breeding, or as a family pet.

With the EHV-1 outbreak across the United States and Europe, many horse owners are considering insuring their horses. But would insurance cover a horse that may have been exposed to a contagious disease? Horse Network recently delved into that question.

Each insurance carrier has its own set of rules regarding insuring a horse during a contagious disease outbreak; some may have a heightened sense of awareness about where the horse is located and what it has been exposed to, while others proceed with business as usual.

Insurance agencies and carriers deal with viral disease outbreaks similarly to how they handle weather events: they cover exactly what they say they will cover for current customers – nothing changes. However, they may limit their risk by not accepting new clients in the storm's path.

Insuring a horse that has been imported from Europe, where the EHV outbreak is intensifying, may not be possible, so contacting an equine insurance company before the import is planned is imperative.

Lost And Found Presented By LubriSYNHA: Twilight Eclipse Remains Part Of West Point Family

There's an old saying that the best way to become a millionaire in the Thoroughbred industry is to start with $2 million. A corollary could be that a horse can sell for $1 million and earn a few thousand or, in rare cases, sell for a few thousand and earn a million. Twilight Eclipse exemplifies the latter in the extreme.

As a newly-turned yearling at the 2010 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages, Twilight Eclipse was sold to trainer John Langemeier on a $1,000 bid. As superior horses often do, Twilight Eclipse won his career debut on June 2, 2012 at Indiana Grand. He returned to Indiana Grand 17 days later and won again. And as often happens, his performances came to the attention of those seeking a potential star. Langemeier capitalized on the opportunity and sold him to West Point Thoroughbreds.

In his fourth start in the black and gold silks, Twilight Eclipse became a graded stakes winner by capturing the W.L. McKnight Handicap at Calder Race Course in late 2012. He concluded his remarkable run for West Point and trainer Tom Albertrani as an 8-year-old in 2017 with a $2,103,953 bankroll and lifetime record of 40-8-5-11. Highlights include his Grade 1 triumph in the Man o'War Stakes at Belmont Park in 2015 and four appearances in the Breeders' Cup Turf topped by his third-place effort in 2014 at Santa Anita. With the exception of seven races, Twilight Eclipse competed only in the graded ranks throughout his career.

With his glory days behind him, Twilight Eclipse is enjoying full retirement with his 16-year-old next-paddock neighbor Seminary Ridge at Erin and Daniel Birkenhauer's farm near Bowling Green, Ky. As the daughter of West Point President Terry Finley and his wife Debbie (West Point Chief Administrative Officer), Erin is quite familiar with Twilight Eclipse.

“I vividly remember a hot, muggy day in the summer of 2012 when my husband and I saw him for the first time at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington,” she said. “We saw him on the shank and my dad called when we were on the way home and asked what we thought. I said, 'He's a plain brown wrapper, but there's something about him.' The fact that my husband and I were the first members of the West Point family to lay eyes on him was very special, and we often reminisce about that day.”

Birkenhauer has zeroed in on the quality that is easy to recognize but impossible to explain in superior horses. She also noticed that his movement made him a prime candidate for other endeavors.

“I watched Twilight Eclipse train and always loved his big, floaty trot,” she said. “With him having such a long and successful career, I had myself convinced he was just going to race forever. But a few weeks after his final race in May of 2017, the partners graciously agreed to allow us to provide their champ with a great home.”

Twilight Eclipse wins the Man o' War Stakes in 2015

Birkenhauer began reschooling him on their property and then transferred him to a boarding facility to fine-tune him for jumping and the precision movements of dressage collectively known as eventing. In late July that year, he strutted his stuff at a show. By September he was at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington where he won the “most money earned” and “war horse in hand” divisions at the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Show. He also made a stop in Pennsylvania, where Erin guided him in the Real Rider Cup that highlights celebrity riders and well-known mounts to promote second careers for racehorses.

When the Birkenhauers decided to start a family, Erin stopped riding regularly and briefly considered allowing someone else to continue with Twilight Eclipse's progress.

“It weighed heavily on me how he'd react to not having a job,” said Birkenhauer, West Point's racing manager and communications director. “We brought him back home and turned him out alongside Seminary Ridge and he settled right in. I haven't ridden him in a couple of years, but the last time I did, he was convinced we were in the post parade for the Breeders' Cup!”

After six years of the energized atmosphere of the track, Twilight Eclipse has fully adjusted to a life of leisure and requires little attention.

“He doesn't like being groomed at all and we've nicknamed him Hangry because of his antics at feed time,” she said. “He also is not one of those horses who is lovey-dovey and in your lap, but he is very sweet and gentle with kids, which makes me very happy.”

Twilight Eclipse relaxes at home. Photo courtesy Erin Birkenhauer

That affection for youngsters is special to the Birkenhauers, who a have a nearly 2-year-old son and a second child due in April.

“Sometimes I feel a ping of guilt that he's not out there galloping and jumping around big cross-country tracks, but those feelings quickly subside when I look out my kitchen window and see the 'two ole geldings' fat and happy as clams,” she said.

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