Chrome Diaries: Calm Before the Storm

Forty-eight degrees at 5:30 a.m. seemed bitterly cold and awfully early as I stepped from my car this morning in the parking lot at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and started the walk back to the barn.  As many times as I have and will be making the trip from the clubhouse to the barns on the backside, it occurred to me that I should measure the distance, but then I thought better of it, as knowing might actually impede my progress.
As I strolled up to the barn, California Chrome’s groom Raul Rodriquez was cleaning out the colt’s stall and tossing in a load of fresh, straw bedding with a pitchfork while the chestnut champion waited in the neighboring stall.  It was just Raul, Chrome, the security guard and me this morning. I glanced across the yard and saw that the stalls of the barn facing us were all empty, the horses having occupied them yesterday gone.  With just one week left in the fall meet, their trainer may have pulled up stakes, or may be shipping more horses in for the remaining races.  We’ll see if we have neighbors again later in the week.

It was Monday, and a rest day for Chrome, who seemed to know that not much was expected of him today.  After preparing his stall, Raul led Chrome out to clean off his feet and wipe them dry before beginning his tour of the yard.  Hardly anyone was stirring, with just a few other horses being hand walked by stable hands, and Raul clucked and spoke softly in Spanish to his equine companion as they made turn after turn around the yard.

At either end of the oval they were creating in the freshly raked dirt, Chrome would pause from time to time, his ears pricked and head high, checking out something in his field of vision.  Raul paused patiently to determine what had caught Chrome’s attention, and then encouraged him to continue walking.  On one occasion the colt let Raul know that he wanted to do a little more than walk around, and the two of them did a spirited dance around the yard until Chrome accepted that Raul’s agenda for the morning would be kept.

Just before taking him back to his stall, Raul paused to chat with me while Chrome played with his lead line and nudged his groom.  His horse was very happy and extremely playful this morning, Raul told me, and I could see the sparkle in his eyes as he shifted his weight from side to side while his humans finished their conversation.
Chrome followed willingly as he was led back to his stall, but stopped short in front of the door and turned to look at me as if to say “Kat, can you help me out here?”  His savvy groom grabbed some of the colt’s favorite cookies from the container near his stall, and without any further encouragement the chestnut stepped lightly into his stall and accepted his bribe.

I stayed a little while longer to enjoy the first warmth of the sun as it crested the barns.  Raul generally has a barn full of horses to look after each day, but with just Chrome and an arriving trainee from Los Alamitos in residence at Del Mar, I asked the groom what he would do with the balance of his day.  “Nothing!” he said with a smile.  Happy in his work and happy at rest, this man deserves the opportunity to sit back and relax.  But you won’t be able to coax him from Chrome’s side, for there he will stay until it is time to mount the flight of stairs to his dormitory room for a good night’s sleep.
We confirmed another early start for tomorrow, and I bid my friend, the security guard and California Chrome farewell until morning, making a note to myself to wear thicker socks and remember my gloves.