One charitable organization is forging a new path in this aspect of the industry, as The Horse Fund establishes a unique precedent for Thoroughbred ownership groups by taking the 'after' out of aftercare and instead, standing in as the gatekeeper.

The aftercare partner of the ownership group Wasabi Ventures Stables, The Horse Fund tracks all current and former Wasabi horses, from both their racing and breeding programs, and assists in their retirement. Though the organization officially received 501(c)(3) status in July of 2021, the work began long before that, spearheaded by Michele Kuegler.

“Initially my role was Director of Community. We have a lot of club members so I would do things to keep them involved. And then I realized as we began to buy horses, there's an aftercare piece to this. So, I became Director of Community and Aftercare,” said Kuegler, whose husband TK founded Wasabi in 2017.

Built on the concept of low-risk opportunity with an emphasis on sharing the excitement of involvement in the sport and the Wasabi community, Wasabi Ventures Stables members only pay a one-time fee when buying a percentage of a stake in a racehorse in the program. When the time comes that a racehorse is retired, sold or claimed away, the invested partners will receive profits if the horse produced a positive return. Otherwise, they never receive a bill and will never have to pay any additional funds.

So that's where Kuegler started. She began with giving Wasabi members the option to donate $5 to an aftercare fund if their horse left the racing program with a positive return. That money would then be pooled together and donated to an aftercare program in the state where that Wasabi horse had raced.

But it was how the membership responded after Wasabi lost Shamrock Kid (Dublin) in a tragic training accident in March of 2021 that Kuegler realized just how supportive the Wasabi community was of aftercare.

“He had been a pretty successful horse for us and it was actually a club member who said, 'I'm leaving $50.' It was just this continual following of that, other club members thinking 'I'll do that.' We raised so much money that we were able to fund the rehab of a [retiring] horse [at an aftercare facility],” said Kuegler. “I had this snowball of an idea, after Shamrock Kid, thinking 'Okay, this group believes in aftercare. How can I do more with this?'”

Mob Mentality | courtesy of The Horse Fund

After becoming a corporation in the state of Florida, The Horse Fund officially received 501(c)(3) status and Kuegler gave up her outside work as a consultant to serve as the executive director of the organization on a full-time basis. Since then, she has been single-handedly keeping track of every horse that has made its way through Wasabi's program and when it's time, assisting in their retirement from the track.

Though the numbers continue to grow, as Wasabi has transitioned from primarily a claiming operation to growing their own breeding program, Kuegler is a big proponent of taking accountability for all of the horses currently in their care and those that were in the past.

“I feel like we're part of the ownership process and we're responsible for these horses. I've helped retire horses that we owned for a month, but we had hands on them and we continued to run them, so we own that and we owe it to those horses,” said Kuegler. “Our first foals were born in 2019, so I track every single foal, even the ones that we bred that we will never race. We're the reason these foals are here, the reason behind those claiming horses that we had for a month, and though we didn't retire them, we still need to keep an eye on them.”

Utilizing her virtual stable on Equibase, Kuegler keeps track of every Wasabi-connected horse online and organizes the ever-changing data on an in-depth spreadsheet. It's a simple task when it comes to the horses retiring directly from Wasabi, but for those that are claimed away and racing elsewhere, tracing their whereabouts can be difficult.

But tracing each horse is only step one, as Kuegler must also assess how the horse is faring on the track based on recent results and decide when may be the right time to step in and contact connections.

“I have to be cautious of how I do it because I don't want to insult anyone, but if I see that a horse isn't active, I give them two months. It's common to give your horse a month or two off, to let them take a break, but if it's been two months and I notice they're in lower-level claimers, I'll reach out to let them know we're here to help if they're thinking about retirement,” said Kuegler. “I get everything from no answer to, 'we're not ready but when we are, we'll come back to you,' or I've had people that say, 'great, let's talk about this.' We'll usually offer to buy them, if that's part of the process, or just help them find placement. We've done a little bit of everything.

“I try to hopefully be a step ahead of the trainer or owner when they're ready to retire because we don't have a physical facility. If they say I'm ready to retire them, I need to have a safety net already in place.”

Since the early days of Wasabi, Kuegler has invested her time in getting to know various aftercare groups across the country through her blog series, 'The Aftercare Ally,' which she created to highlight their efforts and share on Wasabi's website and social media platforms. And this is the network that Kuegler now works with when retiring a horse.

The Horse Fund provides funding to privately purchase the horse from its racing connections, if it's a case where the horse has been claimed away, and also sends donations to the aftercare facility that takes them in.

“The thing that I'm really transparent about [with the aftercare facility] is that I don't know the health status of the horse and honestly, I'm not going to do a pre-purchase exam, because it doesn't matter. Whether the horse is lame or not lame, they need to retire. In the end, it's probably not going to change the price that I offer because I just want the horse to retire,” said Kuegler. “It's through these connections that I've made in the last five years or so that usually I can get a stall, and of course we make a donation to them or they might have a set amount that they need. It's nice to be part of a community working together.”

Morrigan | Courtesy of The Horse Fund

As The Horse Fund has amped up its work to retire Wasabi-connected horses, Kuegler has also amplified her fundraising efforts, beginning with a switch from requesting a $5 donation when a horse leaves a positive return to instead, giving people the option of contributing $5 when they're purchasing a share in a Wasabi horse. The donation rate has remained a steady 99 percent.

But just as the cost of everything else has risen, so has the price for a horse coming straight off the track.

“Last year, it was probably about $3000 to retire a horse, between buying them and making a donation. Now it's easily $4000, and I know that's even low,” explained Kuegler. “That's another goal, for our funding to be enough that rather than waiting for a trainer being ready to sell, I could afford to claim a 4-5k claimer, knowing that on top of that there are still costs. At this point, if I claim a horse for $4000 and I need to ship it and make a donation, we're looking at twice that. And if I do that, I can only buy one horse instead of two. But that would be another goal, to create some fundraising to that point.”

Since its founding, The Horse Fund has assisted in the retirement of 27 Wasabi Ventures Stables horses, nine of which were private purchases. In 2023, they raised over $38,000 for aftercare through the support of donations made from club member horse purchases, monthly donors and their annual fundraiser, 12 Days of Giving, during the month of December.

For Kuegler, the story of retiring Exxtop (Exaggerator) stands out as a particular highlight.

On July 30, 2021, trainer Jesse Cruz claimed the then 3-year-old gelding for $7,500 on behalf of Wasabi Ventures Stables. He raced two times for his new connections before being claimed away that September.

Despite the brief time he spent as a member of Wasabi's stable, Kuegler kept a close eye on Exxtop and in the fall of 2022, she reached out to his owner/trainer Marcus George Thompson to let him know that when the time came for the gelding to retire, The Horse Fund would take care of it.

After consistently finishing fifth and sixth in lower-level claiming races on the New York circuit, Exxtop finished last in a $5,000 claimer on Sept. 5, 2023 at Finger Lakes. His 45th career start would be his last.

“I reached out and the trainer said, 'I have him entered in one more race,' and then the day of, he messaged me and said, 'I'm scratching him.' What's even more amazing is that he still keeps in contact, always asking how he is doing and telling me, 'When you know where his home is, please let me know,” said Kuegler. “Some people on the outside might think this trainer didn't care because he continued to run him but out of all nine horses that I've privately purchased, he's the connection who has written to me the most. He even said, 'If he's going to be a jumper or something locally, I'll bring my kids to watch him.' It was a very positive experience.”

The Horse Fund purchased Exxtop privately in mid-September and sent him to Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program at the Purple Haze Center in Farmington, NY. This month, he was adopted and has since started his next chapter in a new home.

“It takes a lot of time to keep track of this many horses, to keep information on each and every horse and stay in touch. There are horses that seem to disappear, so I spend time researching online and reaching out to contacts,” said Kuegler. “My calendar is now filled with alerts for races to watch. I've always tracked them in my stable on Equibase, so I know when they work and when they race, but a while ago I decided we should be watching the race because a fourth by six lengths might be wonderful or fourth by six lengths might be a sign that something is wrong.

“And then it's money…can you get people to support it? I'm just so grateful to have a club that supports this.”

Kuegler also keeps track of Wasabi retirees, doing her best to stay in touch with their new owners and receiving updates on their progress in their new careers.

“I think right now I have about 40 different people who have Wasabi retirees – whether they're directly from us or horses that were claimed away from us – who once or twice a year give me updates on their horses,” she said. “I wanted to keep track of their 'gotcha days' and there was no hesitation, every single owner knew what that day was.”

Wasabi Ventures Stables currently has 1,400 members involved in all aspects of the game, from breeding to racing, and as they've learned more about the importance of aftercare, some have even gone on to adopt Wasabi retirees.

For Kuegler, who wasn't introduced to racing until she met her husband, it's been quite the learning curve as she's transitioned from her initial roles with Wasabi Ventures Stables to founding and running The Horse Fund.

Seville Sangria | Lauren Floyd Photo

“I didn't ever think I'd be doing this full-time and if you'd asked me 20 years ago, 'do you think you're going to be running a non-profit that retires Thoroughbreds?' I would have said no. But now, I tell people that it's the best job I've ever had,” she said. “There are days that it's frustrating and there are days that are sad, but then I get a horse retired or I get an update and it's a feel-good moment, always.”

Looking ahead, Kuegler hopes that she and her husband will be able to purchase a farm, which would primarily serve as the home of the Wasabi Ventures Stables breeding operation and layups, but could also be a facility for Wasabi retirees to reside until moving on to an aftercare program.

“The big leap I have to make when I retire horses is securing where they will go, and if we had a place of our own, that would be great,” said Kuegler.

In the meantime, she'll continue her work behind-the-scenes, watching over the horses that have made their way through Wasabi's barns and stepping in when she's needed. Kuegler only hopes that the process of tracing horses becomes easier and that through her work, she educates more people on the procedure and its importance.

“I know The Jockey Club has started tracking them [as retirees], but I wish we made it easier for owners and trainers with more answers out there. There should be easier ways to report it and you should not feel ashamed about it,” she said.

“Maybe I'm naïve, but I think it really is about the animal and not just the wins and the glory. For all that they do for us, when they run and train, the least we can do is give them a good happily ever after.”

To learn more about The Horse Fund, go to thehorsefund.org.

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Trained by Brendan Walsh, the gelding retires with $1,704,683 in earnings from 56 starts, which includes 15 wins, 18 runner-up finishes and seven thirds. David Ross, racing under the banner of DARRS, Inc., claimed the horse four years ago.

“We had him scanned and it looked like he was starting to get the beginning of a bone spur,” Ross said.

“We are on a mission to find him the perfect place because he has brought so much joy to everyone who has been a part of his life. He will thrive in his second career, possibly as a riding horse because he loves to do trails. We want to make sure he is happy and productive going forward.”

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Dr. Lillian Hellmann and colleagues from the University of Sydney, Auburn University, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences created a study to try to better understand why those outside the racing industry often hold preconceived notions that many Thoroughbreds are dangerous or behave erratically. The team was interested in determining if these stereotypes affect the transition of retired racehorses into new homes and second careers.

The researchers hoped the information gleaned from the study would help develop and modify programs that transition horses into careers after racing. The researchers surveyed 313 horse owners, requesting information about breed, sex, birth year and discipline, as well as owner-perceived information about their horse's behavior.

The results included four main disciplines: eventing, dressage, show jumping, and pleasure riding. Owners of retired racehorses generally felt that their horses are more social than other sporthorse breeds. They also believed their horses possess greater self control, but that their horses also appeared to be more dominant and aggressive. Overall, they felt their horses behaved better than other breeds. The researchers conclude the belief that Thoroughbreds are not well-suited for specific disciplines because of their temperament is not supported.

Read the abstract here.

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The JRA has subsidies in place to support high-end retiring racehorses, but maintaining a retired racehorse still costs between $600 to $1,000 per month. The Japan Times reports that previously, those that did not qualify for these were “culled,” which often means they were sent for slaughter. Horse slaughter is legal in Japan.

In 2018, the JRA launched a program that focuses on finding retired racehorses second careers and improving their environment when they retire. The JRA is investigating new ways to support Thoroughbred aftercare, with particular focus on programs that allow children to learn from OTTBs.

The Japan Times notes that it remains difficult to find the physical facilities or skilled personnel to support a robust aftercare initiative in that country.

Read more at the Japan Times.

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T.I.P. was created to encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding. The annual T.I.P. Championships features competition in a variety of disciplines, including hunters, jumpers, English pleasure, Western pleasure, and classical and Western dressage. T.I.P. champions in eventing are determined at the American Eventing Championships held each year. The 2021 T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships will be the first time a championship event has been offered in the discipline. The event will feature thousands in prize money and additional prizes for the top horses.

“Thoroughbreds have made their presence known in recent years in Western disciplines, particularly barrel racing, so we are happy to be able to showcase yet another area in which these horses excel through the inaugural T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships,” said Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and administrator of T.I.P. “Hosting this event in conjunction with the Thoroughbred Makeover will provide the deserved spotlight for these Thoroughbreds that are excelling in careers that may not be typically associated with the breed and will allow us to potentially grow the Championships in future years if there is enough interest from barrel racing participants.”

Featuring competition in 10 different disciplines for recently retired racehorses and over $135,000 in prize money each year, the Thoroughbred Makeover (Makeover) and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, is the largest and most lucrative retraining competition in the world. This year, the event will feature two competition years, including horses from the postponed 2020 event as well as 2021-eligible horses. Makeover entries in the Barrel Racing discipline will have the option to cross-enter the T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships and roll their time from their Makeover runs into the championship standings.

The T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships will be sponsored by The Western Thoroughbred, a grassroots organization that recognizes the contributions of the Thoroughbred to the Western horse industry and celebrates the achievements of Thoroughbreds in Western sports. The Western Thoroughbred's founder, Katelin Bradley, is serving as organizer and steward of the event, and The Western Thoroughbred will be sponsoring buckles for average round winners.

“I am honored to help T.I.P. and the Retired Racehorse Project in organizing and hosting the inaugural T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships,” said Bradley. “This event will be the biggest all-Thoroughbred barrel race in the country. We hope to attract open competitors and encourage Thoroughbred Makeover trainers to participate as well. It should be an excellent showcase of what these horses are capable of achieving in all levels of barrel racing!”

Entries for the T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships will be open to qualified and declared Thoroughbreds in August. Thoroughbred Makeover Barrel Racing entrants for 2020 and 2021 will have the option to cross-enter at the time that they make their Final Entry to the Makeover. Outside non-Makeover participants for this inaugural event will be invited to enter, with preference given to horses that were declared for the barrel championships by the early declaration deadline of June 30, 2021. All participants will need a T.I.P. number to enter.

“We're excited for the opportunity to partner with T.I.P. and the Western Thoroughbred in this way,” said the RRP's managing director Kirsten Green. “The work of our three organizations is so closely aligned and we're happy to come together to offer more recognition to those who are blazing a path for OTTBs to become more of a staple in Western show pens. Katelin and the Western Thoroughbred Ambassadors have contributed heavily to improving the level of competition we offer for our Western Makeover disciplines and we're grateful for her assistance organizing this special event.”

More information about the T.I.P. Barrel Racing Championships can be found here.

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Before stepping foot on the grounds of TAA-accredited After the Races, volunteer Susan Miller repeatedly told herself that taking a horse home was out of the question. The time spent around the horses would be enough of a prize for her hard work.

That mantra didn't last long as she immediately fell in love with a bay filly, named The Cake Is a Lie, who was rehabbing an injury.

“My first day there I fell head over heels for this filly, despite having told myself I was not under any circumstances taking a horse home,” Miller said. “'Cake' was rehabbing a bowed tendon, so there wasn't much interest in her.

The New York-bred daughter of Sir Whimsey found the winner's circle four times in 13 starts. She was injured and vanned off in her last start, which took place in August of 2018 at Monmouth Park.

“She stayed at After The Races, and I kept volunteering there, loving on her as much as I could, and daydreaming about adopting her,” Miller said.

After months of volunteering and growing closer to Cake, Miller and her husband were on the move to Kentucky after her husband accepted a new job. Not wanting to leave her friend behind, she adopted Cake to bring along for the journey.

“I kept telling myself, 'She's just a gangly bay filly, nothing special,' but it didn't work,” Miller said. “There's just something special about her and we clicked. She's wonderful. She lives at my house with my other Thoroughbred.

“Her bowed tendon healed nicely, she's grown and filled out into a huge, strong, shiny beauty,” she added. “Most importantly, her personality has really blossomed. She is quirky and intense but also fun, sweet, and caring.”

Now that the rehab is finished, Cake and Miller are taking it one day at a time with retraining, as they focus on lower-level dressage, trail riding, and learning a few tricks.

“She is the first OTTB I've retrained by myself and she is teaching me so much and becoming a really fun horse to ride,” Miller said. “My biggest goal is just for her to be happy and healthy and enjoy our time together.

“She's already worked hard and given a lot for people, and I value her comfort and the relationship I have with her more than riding achievements.”

While Miller says she'd love to eventually dabble in eventing or fox hunting if it's in Cake's wheelhouse, she's just incredibly thankful for the organization that allowed her to find her perfect equine partner.

“I am so incredibly grateful for this horse and to After The Races for all the fantastic work they do on behalf of OTTBs,” she said.

Read more at Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

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When asked why she enjoys the breed, she says she appreciates that they are innately wired to please. Once a Thoroughbred understands what is being asked of them, she says, most want to work with their riders. The key to successfully retraining them is patience, she says.

Once Caitlin determines an OTTB is safe to ride, she will placea pole in the ring and ask the horse to walk over it to determine if he is bold or overwhelmed, which will factor into how he is trained. Once the horse is ready to begin jumping, she doesn't train a Thoroughbred any differently than she does any other breed.

Caitlin reminds riders that a Thoroughbred was first trained for speed and that a forward, galloping Thoroughbred hunter can be lovely to watch if trained to relax and jump correctly.

Caitlin says she has seen more Thoroughbreds in the show ring, and more groups and individuals advocating for their return. She expects the Thoroughbred classes at horse shows to get more competitive.

Read more at The Plaid Horse.

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Looking for a new endurance mount, Dixie Kendall was immediately taken by what she saw about Casey's Lear—first, her beautiful coat; and second, that she had some trail experience. The decision was an easy one for Kendall, who brought Casey's Lear home and appropriately renamed her “Steele.”

“Steele is everything I ever wanted in a horse and truly encompasses the example of a 'heart horse,'” she said.

While racing on the track wasn't in the cards for Steele, the mare has taken to the longer races of sport of endurance riding. As Steele and Kendall rack up their miles—they have completed two 25-mile rides and recently finished a 50-mile ride—Kendall has her sights set high for their future.

“My primary goal is that Steele will someday earn the AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) Equine Longevity Award and we will earn the Decade Team Award,” she said. “Those titles are awarded to the horse and rider that have completed at least one 50-mile endurance ride for 10 years or more. I also hope to complete 100-mile rides with Steele, including Big Horn and Tevis (Western States Trail Ride), as well as earning Best Condition awards at future endurance rides.”

Working toward those goals, Kendall knows the important role Steele plays as an ambassador of the Thoroughbred breed at her competitions.

“I purchased Steele for the purpose of promoting the Thoroughbred breed in the sport of endurance racing,” she said. “Steele has proven to be a once-in-a-lifetime horse and continues to amaze me with her abilities.”

Read more at the TAA.

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A warhorse, in racing parlance, is a horse who has made more than 50 career starts. By its very definition, a warhorse has to be not only talented, but also sound and gritty enough to withstand the rigors of an extended campaign.

This Is Debt, a 2005 sorrel gelding, is a warhorse –and is now a first-race speed event horse.

Bred in Ontario by Brian Farrell, he was campaigned by the Farrell family–owned by Bill, trained by Laurie–exclusively at Ajax Downs in a career that spanned from 2007 to 2011. He won or placed in 15 of his 52 starts, earning $57,698, including appearances in the 2008 Maple Leaf and Ontario Bred and Foaled derbies.

Sired by Royal Evening Snow, he is out of the Pacific Bailey mare Pipe Dream Bailey.

Brandi Lloyd is a lifetime horsewoman and is friends with the Farrell family. She served as a groom for This Is Debt during his racing career and loved his Pacific Bailey bloodlines. She asked the family if she might be able to get him when his racing career was over and train him for speed events like barrel racing and pole bending.

“They called and said he's ready to come and get,” Brandi says. “I picked him up and we gave him about a year off, and then I started him back. He's been super easy. He's light, runs to the snaffle, took to the barrels really easily. He's excelled in pole bending. He keeps getting better and better.”

The horse the family calls “Pretty Boy Roy” or “Roy” has adapted well to his new life. Brandi trained him on the barrel pattern by riding exhibition runs at events while her two sons were running their ponies. She says that Laurie Faurell's horsemanship and early training of Roy made the horse's transition from racing to arena competition especially easy.

When her son, Ty, was old enough, Roy was given to him for a Christmas present. They have been competing together for about four years.

“Roy and Ty just click,” the proud mom says. “They make a great team. I trained the horse, but he runs harder for Ty. Ty motivates differently than I do, too, and kinda hangs it out there, and Roy really tries for him.”

Roy has earned 6.5 points in limited AQHA competition, as well as several Top 10 finishes in barrels and pole bending at the prestigious All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio.

The family goes to events together, mainly competing at National Barrel Horse Association and Ontario Barrel Horse Association competitions, with Brandi and Ty riding, and her dad and younger son sitting together in the stands, providing priceless Statler-and-Waldorf-type commentary on their videos.

“He's pretty great,” Brandi says of Roy. “He has an attitude some times, but as far as working with him, he has a great work ethic, he's happy to do his work and do his job.”

While Roy is the family's first second-career racehorse, he's probably not going to be their last. In addition to having a great horse, they've also gotten checks from the Ontario Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program, which promotes the careers of Ontario-bred racehorses even after they leave the racetrack.

“Honestly, I'd do it again in a heartbeat,” Brandi says. “I'd encourage anyone interested to look at one for sure.”

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.

The post Successful Racing Quarter Horse Now Besting Barrel Competition appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Biscuit De Feu–whose name is “fire cookie” in French–was bred in California by Bryan and Pamela Scheer, owned during her racing career by Jeannie Baldwin and saddled by champion trainer Kenneth Roberts in Louisiana.

The strapping 2013 brown mare has an unusual racing pedigree, as she is sired by First Down French, a son of one of barrel racing's all-time leading sires, Frenchmans Guy, out of a mare sired by A Classic Dash.

Her dam is High Tide, a daughter of champion runner Ocean Runaway and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame stallion Strawfly Special's daughter, Casual Slip Knot.

Biscuit De Feu's racing career was limited to two starts as a 2-year-old, including a solid second-place finish, when her connections decided it was time to move her into her new career.

Leanne Marie Sine of Dewinton, Alberta, was looking for something sired by First Down French, who was himself a successful barrel racing horse and sire, and she found Biscuit De Feu on Facebook and bought her.

“She caught my eye,” Sine said. “And then I really liked her bottom side, too.”

The mare, now known as “Ferrari,” moved to her new home in Alberta, and the barn of her owner, who is a professional trainer specializing in reining and barrel racing horses.

Sine's skill has paid off for the mare her owner describes as “an absolute little firecracker.”

The mare was racetrack broke when she arrived, and Leanne was prepared to be patient teaching the horse her new job.

“I took my time with her, went back to the basics and got her really broke,” Sine said. “I train reiners, too, so I put a really strong foundation on her. She's a real sensitive horse and a little bit hotter bred too, so lots of slow work and really took my time with her. I got her broke, broke, broke.”

Ferrari is a workaholic, and is saddled up on average six days a week – she doesn't like taking time off.

They travel to events in Alberta, as well as traveling to the United States to compete. Their first year they debuted in some smaller futurities and events, allowing Ferrari to learn and build confidence. In 2019, the first of her derby years, they began stepping up to bigger events, with placings and 1D wins, including a top 10 finish at the AQHA World Championship Show in Level 2 senior barrel racing.

“She's just full of herself, but a sweetheart to have around,” Sine said. “Just a personality.”

As for 2020, it's the final derby year for the mare and Sine had plans to campaign the mare, but, well, “This year … our plans have kinda got kiboshed.”

“This is her last derby year and I had some bigger stuff planned that we didn't get to do,” she said. “But hopefully (we'll get to) some bigger races and rodeos (when things start back up), we will see what she wants to do.”

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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