First OTTB Success Stories for
For a new off-the-track Thoroughbred owner there are lots of "Firsts". First Ride, First Show, First Canter or even their First Success Story posted to this site. If you are wondering what it is like to own and ride your own OTTB, read these stories from our buyers about their "Firsts".
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A+ on First Ride for OTTB Leader Board aka “LeeBo”
Here is a picture we took the day he arrived at the farm. “LeeBo” started training today and he did Great! Victor, the trainer, gave him an A+ today! He was so quiet and didn’t seem to care about much. We took him to the ring with the jumps and he barely even looked at…
Rap It Up – Cuts Up at His New Home
I haven’t gotten on Rap It Up yet. By the time I got home Sunday evening, it was too dark to let him get much exercise, so it was yesterday afternoon before I could let him out for a good romp! And boy did he romp! We just missed snapping a pic of him when all fours were LITERALLY 3 feet off the ground!
Water Jumps and Logs – No Problem!
Antioch learns to jump cross-country fences.
Show and Tell with the Bank President
Banker and I have had our first ride which was fun and interesting. It feels like a long way up when you sit on him, thankfully I stayed up there = ). He took the first few minutes to show me what a “feel good” horse he is and I showed him that its not my first time. After the “show and tell” time we settled into a nice trotting circle. That is pretty much all we’ve been able to do as he is still recovering and I don’t want to push it with him.
Five Weeks – Our First Trail Ride
This weekend Maverick and I will take the next step in our journey together. We will be moving him to his new home closer to me. I am excited to think that I will be able to see him every day, but I am also sad to see him leave his wonderful, temporary home at Bits & Bytes. In addition to it being a great facility, it has been a place of real learning and confidence building for me. I have learned from an expert (Elizabeth) how to do everything from selecting tack that works best for Maverick, to ground work, to riding in the ring, to our first trail ride together last weekend.
German Import Gets American Thoroughbred
As soon as it was certain, that we were going to move from Munich in Germany to Huntsville, Alabama, I started searching for the “perfect” horse on the other side of the world…. and soon got hooked on 4 year old Rule My Heart. It took some time, but then Heart finally moved from Kentucky to Alabama, almost a week before we would actually be moving. So here I was with a horse, I had never seen in real life and which I would not even be able to welcome home, since his new home was still not my new home.
Love at First Meeting!
….I didn’t even quite realize who was over in that pasture, until Barry said “now Aly….stays over in this pasture” and I just about exploded in a scream, I don’t think words can describe what happens when you feel the soft muzzle of an Aly BaYboy for the first time, I felt so quiet when I first touched him, I think its because such feelings, just can’t be expressed, that’s all there is to it.
Race Track Training Pays Off at Combined Training Event
Hi Elizabeth – Sorry for the no photos…just got a new camera and hopefully some photos to come soon before my lovely horse gets hairy! We did do our first event 9/17-19…Windy Wyoming. We had a ball! Jack Eleanor’s Groom) was very well behaved for such a baby and he never even thought about refusing a fence. I was so proud of him as the distractions were many! Guess it was his racetrack upbringing. He’s beginning to look for the next fence in both the stadium and on cross country and I think he really enjoys his new career. I’m certainly loving him…he’s so sweet! Thank you, thank you. Photos to follow (I hope, I’m technologically challenged!).
Lydia Dequine
Mimi’s Ava Joins AVA Productions, Inc.
Phil did not know Mimi’s Ava’s full name when he began the buying process. It soon became clear that Mimi was meant to be his horse when her full name turned out to be the name of Phil’s audio visual company – AVA Productions, Inc. Coincidence or divine intervention?
Brett’s 2010 End of Year Wrap Up
Hi Barry & Elizabeth! So, here’s the Brett and Judi end of year round up: first place at our first ‘A’ show, fourth out of 27 in our first hunter classic-with a score of 80 in the first round, 76 in the second. Our divisions the largest in our local show association-usually 20-26 in our…
Maverick on the Move!
His ground manners and patience are all improving. He’s been taught to be hobbled. I only did this because he was getting to be such a handful camping and on big trail rides, I feared for his saftey and didn’t trust him not to jump to get with the herds. He struggled some, but quickly learned to calm himself. The Sunday afternoon following the Saturday that he was first hobbled it actually paid off in an unexpected way.
First Ride for Finder’s Chance and Jim
Jim rode Chance yesterday for the first time. He fussed and threw his head and jigged for about five minutes until Jim got him settled down. When Jim rode him today, he never did so much as stick his chin out! They have really connected.