Mann joined the organization in 2020 and has played a pivotal role in advancing the organization's mission to prepare off-track Thoroughbreds for successful post-track careers. During Mann's tenure, the organization experienced growth in both reach and impact.

Outgoing president of the board Dr. Holly Schmitt said, “We are immensely grateful for the tremendous impact Shelley has had on The Secretariat Center. Her passion has left an indelible mark on our organization, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

The Secretariat Center is now actively searching for a new executive director to build on the organization's successes and lead it into the next chapter. Lewis Prewitt, President at Prewitt Management Consultants, LLC, is assisting with the search.

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Directors beginning service in 2024:

• Christina Blacker, Racing Host and Analyst at FanDuel
• Jay Privman, Former National Correspondent at Daily Racing Form
• Dean Roethemeier, Assistant Director of Sales Operations at Keeneland
• Barbara Vanlangendonck, Owner of Summerfield Sales

Directors returning for a second term in 2024:

• Walter Robertson, Attorney at Stites & Harbison
• Yvonne Schwabe, Owner of Persley Den Farms

Each Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance director may serve for up to five consecutive years. Upon completion, each is required to rotate off the board for at least one year before becoming eligible for renomination.

Having dedicated five years of their time, expertise and resources, Craig Bandoroff, Simon Bray, Donna Brothers, Boyd Browning, Chip McGaughey and Tom Ventura will conclude their service at the end of 2023.

For a third consecutive year, Jeffrey Bloom, Managing Partner of Bloom Racing Stable, will serve as TAA President.

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Family-owned and operated by the Hall Family since 1964, the company is prepared to make a major financial commitment to accredited Thoroughbred aftercare through this collaboration. Select Hallway Feeds bags will proudly feature the 'Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Proud Supporter' Seal. In addition, the partnership will include race presentations and event booths.

“Hallway Feeds is proud to support the efforts of Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. As a company that supplies feeds to all facets of the Thoroughbred industry it is fitting that we take an active role in their aftercare,” said Lee Hall, Vice President, Hallway Feeds.

“Lee Hall has established Hallway Feeds as a prominent supplier of horse feeds, not only in Kentucky but also across the United States and globally,” said Craig Bandoroff, Owner of Denali Stud and TAA Vice President. “Recognizing the critical role of accredited aftercare, Lee has committed Hallway Feeds as a strategic partner to advance the cause, actively participating in spreading the important message and mission of Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.”

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BraveHearts has hosted 20-mile rides in major cities across the U.S. over the last seven years in an effort to reduce the number of veterans who died by suicide each day and shine a light on how horses can help heal veterans. Now, BraveHearts is bringing Trail to Zero to France in partnership with the American foundation, Horses & Humans Research Foundation, as well as the international non-profit, Racing to Relate.

Together, these like-minded horsemanship partners will increase awareness of the powerful impact of equine-assisted services. The ride will also bring awareness to the suicide epidemic in the U.S., France, and the United Kingdom. Six U.S. veterans from BraveHearts will be joined by veterans from HorseBack UK to embark on this 20km ride.

According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 20 veterans and active service members take their own lives each day.

BraveHearts, a 501c3 non-profit and Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) Premier Accredited Center in the U.S., offers equine-assisted services to provide emotional, cognitive, social, and physical benefits, all at no cost to veterans. Those at BraveHearts report significant changes including increased self-esteem, self-worth, trust for others, and community integration, along with decreased depression, anxiety, post-traumatic disorder symptoms, and suicidal ideations.

“We know horses have the power to reach veterans and help them wherever they are in their healing process. Horses are a keen species–they are brilliant at reading intention, meeting us in the moment, and helping us discover our greatness,” said Meggan Hill-McQueeney, President/COO of BraveHearts.

“Horsemanship is often the key to learning critical life lessons and skills, such as mindfulness and finding trust again in another species and ourselves. When horses and veterans come together, a special exchange begins in which real relationship and inner soul work occurs.”

On May 31, 2023, the Horses & Humans Research Foundation will host a powerful international symposium in conjunction with Trail to Zero at the Longines International Equestrian Centre in Deauville entitled “The Universal Language of The Horse“. Presented in an innovative format while bringing research from the lab to the arena, the engaging symposium will feature a number of live, interactive demonstrations with practitioners and horses, including veterans working with retired racehorses.

Racing To Relate will assist with coordinating all of these events to connect the community, local military, and veteran organizations, and facilitate support from key representatives in the world of equine-assisted services and the Thoroughbred industry. Trail to Zero horses will be carefully selected from the stables of French N-1 polo player, Pierre Henri Ngoumou, including horses from a variety of backgrounds from horse racing to show competition and leisure.

“It is a privilege and an honour to help bring veterans from the United Kingdom (HorseBack UK) and across France to join Trail to Zero Normandy. The international impact of this event will be considerable,” said Jennifer Barker, CEO of Racing To Relate.

These events are made possible due to the support of the local Normandy Horse Council, the towns of Deauville and Sainte-Marie-du-Mont (Utah Beach), the International Equestrian Complex LonginesDeauville, local affiliates, and most importantly generous donors.

BraveHearts' mission is to offer its successful brand of equine-assisted services to every veteran in need. For more information or to support the initiative, please visit their website.

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There will be food available for purchase from Salsarita's, Mr. Gyro, and Mister Softee Ice Cream and beverages from Blue Stallion Brewery. They will have a Keeneland Kid Zone, mini ponies, a Lexington FD fire truck and horse jumps for kids. Popcorn is free and there will be special giveaways and raffles.

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The first two foals out of the mighty Zenyatta, Cozmic One (Bernardini) and Ziconic (Tapit), never reached the winner's circle during their brief careers on the racetrack, but they are both thriving in their second careers as jumpers and ambassadors for off-track Thoroughbreds.

The elder brother, Cozmic One's second career has been well documented in these pages (Cozmic One: Shining New Light on OTTBs and Checking in on Cozmic One) in the past, but we checked in with Hidden Brook Farm's Sergio de Sousa and his daughter Isabela for the latest update.

When Cozmic One first came to the de Sousas, he was Isabela's charge. An accomplished equestrian, Isabela was consistently in the blue ribbons with her OTTBs at the annual Thoroughbred Makeover, which was her first goal with “Coz” back in 2018.

When Isabela started traveling to pursue her career as a professional equestrian, Sergio took over the reins on Cozmic One. The two have been competing in jumper shows, focusing on the Take2 program, which partners with United States Equestrian Federation-rated horse shows that offer C-rated Thoroughbred hunter and jumper divisions, which are restricted to Thoroughbreds registered with The Jockey Club. They will also be competing in the Real Rider Cup for the second time this year in their new Kentucky-based event July 9.

“Isabela is around this summer, so if she wants to jump him she can, but he is basically my fun horse now,” Sergio said. “I just want to continue having fun with him and doing things like the Real Rider Cup. We did the .85 [meter jumpers] last week at the [Kentucky] Horse Park. I hope to qualify for the Take2 finals with him at the Horse Park in September.”

Cozmic One is now 10, which is considered old for a racehorse, but is the prime age for show horses.

“He has really matured,” Sergio said. “He is a much stronger horse now and I have improved my riding. We are just having fun and enjoying each other.”

“Coz is doing great and him and my dad are developing a lovely partnership,” Isabela added. “They both are learning from one another and are enjoying themselves while doing it.”

Ziconic & Sarah Pollock | Told By Film

While Cozmic One is enjoying the lush Kentucky bluegrass, his year-younger half-brother Ziconic remained on the West Coast when he left trainer John Shirreffs's barn three years ago. He was placed under the care of Linda Moss and her husband George Bedar, who already had a former Shirreffs trainee campaigned by Zenyatta's owners, Jerome and Ann Holbrook Moss, in her barn in Milyone (Maria's Mon).

Linda Moss became friends with Ann Holbrook Moss and Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs back in 2011 when she honored Zenyatta at a local conference for women in business.

“I am a board advisor to the Professional Business Women of California and we have a conference every year,” Moss explained. “The theme for our conference in 2011 was connect, explore, inspire and I was responsible for producing the inspire section. I wanted a special woman to represent the inspired section and I chose Zenyatta to do that.”

The next thing Moss did was head to Hollywood Park to meet the queen herself.

“Shortly after the conference, I went down to the track and met Zenyatta,” said Moss, who had owned Arabs in the past, but always loved Thoroughbreds. “My older Thoroughbred Milyone was there, about three stalls down from Zenyatta. He just kept calling out to me as I was walking down the barn aisle. When I went up to his stall, he just put his head in my neck. John said, 'He has never done that with anyone before.' I jokingly said, 'Well if he ever needs a home, he has one.' A year and a half later, Dottie called me and said, 'Do you still want Milyone?'”

Of course, Moss said yes. Then, in June of 2019, she received another call from Ingordo-Shirreffs.

“When Ziconic was ready to be retired, Dottie called me and said John and I feel he should go to you,” Moss said. “We talked about it and that is how we got him exactly three years ago.”

According to Moss, Ziconic is well aware of his royal heritage and enjoys the attention that comes along with it.

“Ziconic is the type of horse who knows who he is and likes to be treated special,” she said. “He is extremely proud. He is probably the smartest horse I have ever been around. He is also very playful and loves an audience.”

Moss said Ziconic has taken to off-track life very well. He started his retraining as a jumper with trainer Sarah Pollock and the pair even won their first show together back in 2020. Unfortunately, Ziconic's show schedule was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and an EHV outbreak in the state of California.

She continued, “He really loves to jump and be in the arena, getting all the cheers and being photographed. It has been a very inconsistent show career for him because of COVID and the EHV outbreak. We gave him the winter off. He is back in a jumping program now with the goal of showing in the fall jumping circuit. We will probably start him back at the .80 or .85 [meter], but he was jumping a meter previously.”

Under the care of Moss and the de Sousas, both of Zenyatta's boys have found their callings. They have taken the athletic ability and winning attitude they inherited from their superstar dam to new venues, shining a brighter spotlight on off-track Thoroughbreds everywhere in the process.

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This year's event–held concurrently with the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, which will take place at the nearby Kentucky Horse Park–will be part of the nation's oldest and largest racehorse adoption charity's year-long 30th Anniversary celebration.

“We can't wait to welcome guests back to New Vocations at Mereworth Farm,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations' Thoroughbred Program Director. “We've made a few exciting changes to the event this year and this Open Barn & BBQ will be the best one yet.”
Guests can expect an expanded educational program featuring live demos by: retired GI Kentucky Oaks and Breeders' Cup-winning jockey, aftercare advocate and OTTB trainer Rosie Napravnik; New Vocations' Lexington Trainer and Facility Director Leandra Cooper; and Veterinarian Dr. Sarah Escaro.

Jen Roytz–manager of Brownstead Farm, past executive director of the Retired Racehorse Project and an OTTB owner and rider–will moderate the sessions. Attendees will have the chance to meet adoptable horses, tour the facility's barns, enjoy live music from Trippin' Roots and partake in a celebratory 30th Anniversary dessert. Guests will be able to enjoy delicious delights from four food trucks and a boutique bar (two drinks included with each ticket), featuring the event's signature Peach Kentucky Mule or other selections from Jackson Family Wines, Braxton Brewing, Pinhook Bourbon and Tito's Handmade Vodka.

Guests can also bid on exciting items and experiences (including a trip to Africa) in the always-popular silent auction and–new for 2022–will have the chance to try their luck in a wine pull. All proceeds from these fundraisers will go directly to support New Vocations' mission to rehab, retrain and rehome retired racehorses.

Gates will open at 3:00 p.m. with the first demo getting underway at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here ($30 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under). Proceeds from the event will benefit New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

The post New Vocations’ Open Barn & BBQ Returns Apr. 29 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Daily Racing Form reported that trainer Richard Schosberg dropped the claim after hearing from breeders Drs. William Wilmot and Joan Taylor expressing concern for the gelding.

Twisted Tom boarded a van bound for ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption the next day.

Schosberg is the president of Take The Lead, the New York Racing Association's Thoroughbred retirement arm.

Twisted Tom leaves the track with $939,135 in earnings, picked up wins in the private Terms and Federico Tesio, as well as the New York Derby and Albany Stakes early in his career. More recently though, he had made appearances on the claiming circuit.

Schosberg told the Form's David Grening that he thought the horse may make a good jumper someday.

“We want to make sure these horses retire before they have major issues,” Schosberg said.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form

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“The TRF is eager to launch the new Second Chances Program in western New York so that we can provide this important vocational opportunity to more incarcerated individuals, who will also care for up to 25 Thoroughbreds needing a safe haven after their racing careers are over,” said Pat Stickney, TRF's Executive Director. “We are grateful to the NYSDOCCS for their continued support in this collaborative effort which serves these two important missions.”  

The TRF Second Chances Program is a unique and pioneering program where incarcerated individuals build life skills while participating in a vocational training program as they provide supervised care to retired racehorses. The program has successfully expanded to seven states, where incarcerated individuals have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous training program where they learn horse anatomy, how to care for injuries, equine nutrition, and other aspects of horse care. Graduates of the program receive a certification based on the level of expertise they have mastered. After their release from prison, graduates of the TRF Second Chances Program have gone on to careers as grooms, farriers, vet assistants, and caretakers.  

The TRF Second Chances Program at Wyoming Correctional Facility will operate within one of the former dairy barns, converted for the purposes of housing horses just as it was at the TRF's flagship facility at Wallkill Correctional. The program will utilize approximately 50 acres of land near the barn, which will be reseeded and fenced to maintain the equine teachers who will live there.  

The work on the property is slated to begin in the spring of 2022 to prepare the facility for the arrival of horses. To start, the program will welcome ten retired racehorses to the facility and as the program grows and strengthens, additional fencing will be added to accommodate up to a maximum capacity of 25 retired racehorses at the facility.   

“The Department is elated to welcome the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Second Chances program to another one of our facilities,” said DOCCS Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci. “TRF's mission is not only humane in offering sanctuary to retired Thoroughbreds, but in the humanity it brings to its participants. This program has been lifechanging to countless incarcerated individuals over the years, and we are proud to expand this opportunity for a new lease on life to both incarcerated individuals and equines alike. 

Currently, Wyoming Correctional has a strong offering of vocational services for incarcerated individuals including small engine repair, horticulture, welding, and HVAC. The addition of the TRF Second Chances program for equine vocational instruction will add another layer of unique and necessary skills available for the men to learn while they are serving their sentence as well as a much-needed place of sanctuary to the horses who will come to call Wyoming Correctional home. 

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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.”

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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