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More Inspiration Presented With RRP’s Highpoint Thoroughbred Award At 2021 Grand-Prix Eventing

The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) proudly presented the $5,000 Highpoint Thoroughbred Award at the 2021 LiftMaster Grand-Prix Eventing at Bruce's Field in Aiken, SC on Saturday, March 6. Holly Jacks-Smither and More Inspiration took top honors as the highest-placed Thoroughbred, with Colleen Rutledge and Confidence Game coming in second.

The Highpoint Thoroughbred Award was first introduced at the 2020 Grand-Prix Eventing, and the Retired Racehorse Project continued the tradition thanks to the contributions of Dr. Kevin Pfiester of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Dr. Stuart E. Brown of Brownstead Farm, Dr. Andy Clark and Kathleen Sullivan, and Dr. Rebecca Newell and William Griffin. The RRP's board president Carolyn Karlson was on hand to present the award.

“Showcasing Thoroughbred competing successfully at the highest levels of equestrian sport goes a long way in increasing demand for them in the equestrian world,” said the RRP's executive director Jen Roytz. “The RRP was proud to support this year's Highpoint Thoroughbred Award, along with Dr. Kevin Pfiester, Dr. Stuart Brown, Dr. Andy Clark and Kathleen Sullivan, and Dr. Rebecca Newell and William Griffin. All of us are thrilled to shine a light on More Inspiration, Confidence Game, and their talented riders in this way.”

Holly Jacks-Smither's More Inspiration is a 16-year-old Ontario-bred gelding bred by Display Farm, by Inspired Prospect out of the Buckley Boy mare Gentle Buck. He made 28 starts in Ontario, winning four for total career earnings of $55,560. With strong ties to the racing industry — Jacks-Smither started galloping racehorses at age 12 and her husband is a racing trainer — it's fitting that she has taken an off-track Thoroughbred to the highest levels of eventing.

“I grew up riding Thoroughbreds and that's essentially almost all I've ever ridden, so it's amazing to have the Retired Racehorse Project getting behind these horses!” stated Jacks-Smither. “It's always special to have one you produced yourself come up through the levels, especially More Inspiration — he's the horse that made my career.”

Taking home the second prize for the Highpoint Thoroughbred Award, Confidence Game is Jockey Club-registered as Pam's Luc, an 11-year-old Arkansas-bred stallion bred by Richard Hessee. Confidence Game is by Morluc out of the Brief Ruckus mare Pam's Ruckus. Colleen Rutledge sourced the horse through Three Plain Bays, a private Thoroughbred reseller based in Maryland.

“I'm so proud of Confidence Game and how he handled the weekend,” described Rutledge. “This was the toughest course he's ever seen from a visual aspect. Thoroughbreds have such great heart, and he gave me everything I could have asked from him on the cross-country and show jumping.”

The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) is a 501(c)3 charitable organization working to increase demand for off-track Thoroughbreds in the equestrian world. In addition to producing the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, the organization also publishes Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine, hosts off-track Thoroughbred retraining clinics and programming at major horse expos and events around the country, and maintains the online Thoroughbred Sport Tracker (the internet's only user-driven database tracking second career talents and accomplishments of registered Thoroughbreds). Visit the RRP online at TheRRP.org.

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The Lowdown On Lipomas And Surgery Survival

Colic is a broad term that is often used to indicate any type of abdominal pain, but veterinarians can often determine — or at least narrow down — what is causing the abdominal issue. One common cause of colic, particularly in older equines, is a strangulating lipoma.

A strangulating lipoma is a benign, fatty tumor on a stalk that can wrap around and strangulate a section of small intestine. There are no good markers to denote a horse that may be at risk of a lipoma other than advancing age. The only repair for this type of colic is surgery.

When the veterinarian has the horse on the table, he or she will prophylactically remove all of the lipomas found in the small intestine and small colon to prevent strangulation in the future. Older horses tend to be more stoic so may not show the intense pain they are in. For this reason, some strangulating lipomas are missed during vet exams.

It's imperative that if a horse is suspected to have a strangulating lipoma that he is sent directly to an equine hospital equipped to handle surgery. The idea that older horses don't handle colic surgery and anesthesia well is a myth, according to EQUUS magazine. Older horses have as good of a chance of survival after colic surgery as younger horses.

Updated: Tests Show Gulfstream Filly Did Not Die Of EHV-1

Two barns at Gulfstream Park were briefly placed under a precautionary quarantine after an accident on the track's backstretch this week. The Daily Racing Form and Thoroughbred Daily News reported Wednesday morning that a filly escaped handlers Tuesday morning and ran through the barn area for a period of time, entering a barn that she was not stabled in before being caught. She was later found down in her stall suffering from neurological symptoms Tuesday night and was euthanized.

Because it was initially unclear whether the horse suffered some kind of trauma earlier in the day which led to her incapacitation or if she was suffering neurological disease, state animal health officials suggested implementing a quarantine while awaiting results of the filly's necropsy. 1/ST Racing chief veterinary officer Dr. Dionne Benson confirmed Wednesday afternoon that test samples from the horse were negative for EHV-1.

Elsewhere in Florida, a large horse show in Ocala is the center of an EHV-1 outbreak with two confirmed cases as of Wednesday. On Tuesday, an EHV-1 case was reported at Laurel Park, resulting in a quarantine of four barns there and a cancellation of the Friday racing card.

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Tune In: Schedule Released For Virtual IFAR Conference Next Month

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 6, 13, 20, and 27 April. Each webinar will begin at 12 p.m. GMT and last approximately an hour.

The 2021 IFAR will kick off on 6 April with “Aftercare in 2021,” a session that will provide an update on IFAR's activities from Chair Di Arbuthnot and feature perspectives from Jessica Harrington, trainer (IRE); Tik Maynard, eventer (U.S.); Graham and Anita Motion, owners, Herringswell Stable (U.S.); and Nemone Routh, racing office manager, Aga Khan Studs (FR). The discussion will be moderated by international racing broadcaster Nick Luck (U.K.).

“By hosting this year's IFAR virtually, we are able to include participation from a greater range of aftercare advocates, experts, and regulators from around the world,” said Arbuthnot. “Each session that we have planned will offer listeners the opportunity to learn from our speakers, engage with them through a live Q&A, and share the best practices they have learned with their native racing jurisdictions.”

The remaining schedule of topics and speakers can be found below:

13 April, 2021: Aftercare for Racing Administrators and Regulators

Moderator: Caroline Searcy (AUS)

Panelists:

– Martin Burns: General Manager, Welfare & Sustainability, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing

– Simon Cooper: Director, Weatherbys, General Stud Book (U.K.)

– Dr. Anna Smet: Manager, Animal Welfare, Racing and Wagering Western Australia

20 April, 2021: Global Insights on Aftercare (Aftercare Providers, Equine Charities)

Moderator: Donna Brothers (U.S.)

– Stacie Clark: Operations Consultant, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (U.S.)

– John Osborne: Director of Equine Welfare and Bloodstock, Horse Racing Ireland

– Dr. Ignacio Pavlovsky: Veterinarian, Owner, and Breeder (ARG)

– Lisa Coffey: Founder and Director, Racing Hearts Equine Assisted Therapy (AUS)

– Kristin Werner: Senior Counsel, The Jockey Club (U.S.); Administrator, Thoroughbred Incentive Program

27 April, 2021: Aftercare for Racing Industry Participants: Owners, Breeders, and Trainers

Moderator: Francesca Cumani (U.K.)

– Mark Fisher: Kotare Bioethics Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand

– Dr. Eliot Forbes: Chief Executive Officer, AniMark Ltd. (AUS); member, IFAR Steering Committee

– Tom Reilly: Chief Executive Officer, Thoroughbred Breeders Australia and Aushorse

– Dr. Christopher Riggs: Director, Equine Welfare Research Foundation; Chief Advisor, Veterinary Science, The Hong Kong Jockey Club

All sessions are free, but registration is required. For more information about the conference and to register, please visit internationalracehorseaftercare.com/virtual-ifar/. Recordings of each session will be made available on the IFAR website.

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