Something for Everyone at Thoroughbreds For All

The panel that evaluated retired racehorses in the first segment of Thoroughbreds for All (Photos by Melissa Bauer-Herzog).
For the third consecutive year, West Wind Farm played host to hundreds of Thoroughbred lovers who gathered at the Thoroughbreds For All event presented by the Retired Racehorse Project and New Vocations on April 25.
Showing how much the event has grown from year to year, this edition’s packed bleachers more than doubled in size inside the arena. It was no surprise to see the sold-out crowd as fans were treated to a dinner before the event, which featured five different segments and The Jockey Club's T.I.P program's recognition of some of the Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event competitors who were participating in the event over the weekend.
ROLEX COMPETITORS WITH GRAHAM MOTION (CENTER) AND T.I.P'S KRISTIN WERNER (SECOND FROM RIGHT)

Throughout the night, there were a few surprise appearances by racing personalities. Trainer Graham Motion stopped by to talk about racehorse-turned-eventer Icabad Crane and prominent owner Ken Ramsey told the crowd the story of Kitten’s Joy and his son Ken’s Kitten during a dressage demonstration by Ken’s Kitten.
The night started off with a bang when Olympians Boyd Martin and Linda Zang entered the arena. The two, along with Jen Roytz and Anna Ford, evaluated retired racehorses while explaining what they look for in a prospective mount. Roytz gave insight on the pedigrees of the four horses presented, explaining which of the bloodlines were known to be a little more feisty and more laid back. She also explained a little bit about the “balancing” of pedigrees that some breeders do to get the perfect mix of speed and stamina for a top-notch racehorse.
JEN ROYTZ DISCUSSES PEDIGREES WITH THE CROWD

While evaluating the Thoroughbreds, Zang also talked about the untapped talent in the United States.
“I firmly believe that we have a gold mine here in the United States, and I’m sure Boyd would absolutely agree with me. We make the most beautiful, athletic, bold horses, and right now there’s a big push … to get warmbloods from Europe and bring them in to our sports, but I believe the Thoroughbred can do just as well and maybe even better,” Zang said.
LINDA ZANG EVALUATES A THOROUGHBRED FOR DRESSAGE

After evaluating the horses as they walked and trotted without tack, two of the Thoroughbreds then returned to the ring with a rider for evaluation. Zang, now a top international dressage judge, looked at each horse and explained what she liked and didn’t like about each horse when it came to making them a dressage mount. Martin then took over, evaluating the horses’ flat work in relation to eventing before setting up jumps to see their potential in the jumping phases of eventing. After having both horses go over a cross rail a few times, Martin had the ground crew set up an oxer (a jump with two sets of standards and poles, making it wider than normal jumps) to get a better feel for the horses.
REIN KING JUMPS OVER AN OXER DURING THE EVALUATION DEMONSTRATION

“We want to see their natural ability to see how scopey they are. You want to go down to a jump and feel how big they can jump,” Martin said. “When you’re trying a Thoroughbred, you have to go through this process because if they are a rubbish jumper, I would recommend that you keep shopping [for an event horse], so we’ve got to test them.”
BOYD MARTIN TALKS ABOUT JUMPING HORSES

Zang took the stage again after the evaluation process was done as Ken’s Kitten, a Kitten’s Joy gelding who is currently competing in third-level dressage, entered the ring. After Ken Ramsey came out to give a little history about the gelding’s sire and how Nuno Santos ended up with Ken’s Kitten, Zang gave Santos some advice about the gelding.
AFTERCARE SUPPORTER AND RACEHORSE OWNER KEN RAMSEY

The session proved to be educational for all those listening who were interested in dressage as Zang talked about some indicators that let riders know when they should work a little bit more on a movement. She also explained how she would score certain movements that Santos and Ken’s Kitten performed and what she was looking for when evaluating a horse that she was bringing up through the levels. After the brief “lesson,” Ken’s Kitten and Santos spent a few minutes showing off their dressage movements, much to the applause of the crowd.
KEN'S KITTEN AND NUNO SANTOS DURING THEIR DRESSAGE DEMONSTRATION

The return of Cathy Wieschhoff also seemed to be a popular segment as she guided an ex-racehorse over a course of jumps before talking about the natural horsemanship she uses with her horses. 
Not only did she explain why she utilizes natural horsemanship but she also explained that the end result she gets from it is that the horses are more connected to her, no matter what distractions are around. The crowd seemed to enjoy the demonstration, especially when Wieschhoff dismounted and lunged the Thoroughbred she was riding over a jump.
Perhaps the most popular segments for the crowd came at the end. Pan American gold medalists Lynn Symansky and Donner (who raced as Smart Gorky) entered the arena. Symansky, who had ridden the test dressage ride for the judges at the beginning of the Rolex competition, talked about the test and what she had expected. She also talked to the crowd about Donner’s history and her experience with other Thoroughbreds and how they compare with other breeds that she’s ridden.
LYNN TELLS THE CROWD ABOUT DONNER AND HER LOVE OF THOROUGHBREDS

“I find that I get a little bit frustrated when I get on some of those other horses [of other breeds] that take a lot longer to mature,” Symansky said. “[Thoroughbreds] have their quirks and it takes a while to figure them out but … they’ll try their heart out, no matter what.”
As the final segment of the night, jockey Rosie Napravnik, her husband, Joe Sharp, and her horse Old Ironsides entered the arena to show the diversity of the Thoroughbred.
JOE SHARP AND OLD IRONSIDES

Known as Sugar around the barn, Old Ironsides entered the arena in Western tack with Sharp on his back. While Napravnik talked about Sugar’s history and explained that Sharp uses the horse to pony racehorses to the track in the mornings for racehorse trainer Mike Maker, Sharp and Sugar showed off some of his Western moves. As part of the segment, Napravnik switched to English tack after a few minutes of the Western riding and popped Sugar over a few jumps left up from Cathy Wieschhoff’s demonstration before talking about how quickly Sugar adapts to whatever Napravnik throws at him.

After the demonstration, Napravnik described her impression of the Thoroughbreds For All event after performing.
“It was excellent, it was fun and kind of casual,” Napravanik said. “There’s a total mix of people, and it was informative. It was fun and it was great to meet a lot of people who were here.”
New Vocations and the Retired Racehorse Project, who teamed to host the Thoroughbreds For All event, already are working on the 2015 event. 
To learn more about New Vocations and the Retired Racehorse Project, you can visit www.Newvocations.org and www.retiredracehorseproject.org.
ROSIE NAPRAVANIK AND SUGAR GREET THE CROWD