Luckily, or maybe not, September came in hot and dry and the last four days of our meet were held under optimum conditions. Maybe if it had rained the results of my last race at Yavapai would have been better. FD Icy went off as second favorite in the September Futurity and although he was in contention the first part of the race he went wide off the turn and finished up the track in 6th. I was disappointed but that’s racing. I had a fun time entertaining friends before the race and had a few drinks afterwards while they consoled me. Even my 90 year old mom came to the races for only the second time all summer. Anyway, I have no excuses. The horse was fit, ran well for part of it, dull for part of it, pulled up well, and cooled out fine. I went back the next day and picked him up so he is home in a pen as at the moment, as all my pastures are full.
With the races over, I had one day to pack for a long-awaited vacation. I borrowed my Mom’s car as nothing I had would make it to Minnesota and back – well, I guess the truck would have, but I could have bought an airplane for what that truck eats in gas. Mom has a lovely small Cadillac and even though it’s six years old it is practically brand new. Besides it has all the bells and whistles and it was just sitting in their garage as neither of my parents drive any more.
Thursday morning at 4 am I picked up my friend Barton Lee and headed north. AAA routed us up through the Navajo reservation and straight up through Utah to I 80, then straight across Colorado and Nebraska. We followed their route pretty much but decided the scenic back roads through South Dakota and Minnesota looked more fun then just going straight on the Interstates. We arrived in Alexandria, Minnesota about 5 pm on Friday night. I hadn’t been to the family cottage in about five years and before that visit, it had been about 40 years. The place has been in the family since around 1860 when my great grandfather bought the property to use as a fishing camp. It is hardly even a cottage anymore with five bedrooms and sleeping for about 15. I used to go every summer but when my grandmother died, she gave the cottage to my cousins and I always seemed to have better things to do. They have kept it up and it looks much the same as when I used to go. It is on what is known as the chain of lakes which is seven or eight lakes that are connected by bridges so you can take the boat all the way around for a nice long boat ride. It rained the night we arrived and one other day, but the rest of the time it was lovely and I spent 10 days swimming, racing around on the Jet Ski, feeding the chipmunks and just enjoying the lake.
We did do some sightseeing – had stopped to look at the dinosaur tracks on the way up as well as numerous historical markers and on the way home we went to visit Wounded Knee and Mount Rushmore. While in Minnesota we drove up to Itasca to see the headwaters of the Mississippi River. You can step across it so that was pretty cool. Also took in Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox but they weren’t as impressive as Big Ole in downtown Alexandria. Saw buffalo, wild turkeys, prairie dogs, deer, antelope and even a mountain lion. It took us two days getting home and while it was a long drive we had a good time and it was good to get away from my houseguests and I think Barton Lee appreciated the break from her husband – and I am sure they were glad of a break from us. The trip was fun but it was good to get home.
I thought for sure Chad would be gone by the time I got back and was curious as to which horses he had taken, but he was still here. He only got five stalls at the track but will be living at a place close by, where he can keep the rest of his herd and train. By the time I got home he had taken five down and he had taken all the ones I thought he would leave home. That’s what I get for thinking….. The horse hauler was busy and he still had 12 up here so Chad was driving back and forth every day, about 80 miles one way. He took Cash, Nae Doot and Barilla to the track. Usually Phoenix is pretty easy for the first month or so here’s hoping they can make some money before it gets too tough and they need to come home. Nae Doot is the only one that has started and he ran awful but he did have to be checked severely which caused him to interfere and now he has a big cut on his ankle. Barilla has decided she doesn’t want to go to the track and in her first work would only run for a 1/4 of a mile so didn’t even get a time. She did work well the next time so maybe Chad figured out what it was that was bothering her. Cash had 60 days off and it will take at least that long to get him back and ready to run.
Within the week, the horse hauler arrived and we loaded up the last 12 horses and Chad was gone. My friend Bridget also left my parents house and headed to Phoenix so I wasn’t home but a couple of days and it was back to work taking care of the elderly parents. It’s pretty easy as they are still fully functional – they just need someone there, so Matt takes the day shift and I go in every night and while we don’t get paid very much – any income is a help.
When Chad took his twelve horses away, it left me with only six horses on the property. Two of those came from the Ruidoso, NM sale and were scheduled to leave mid-October to go to John Bassett’s place for training. Both were wild so I told John he would need to send help. He did and it took four of us 30 minutes to catch one of the two, but then, lo and behold, he loaded in the trailer like a professional. The other gave in quickly and she too, loaded easily and away they went leaving me with four – all mine – well three are mine and one is a barter horse that I trade feed for housecleaning. Which is no way to make any money but at least my house looks nice.
Of the four at the house, Butch, the old guy got a stay of execution as he suddenly went to eating and started to put on weight. He is between 35 and 40 years old and went down hill rapidly all this past summer. Winter is really hard on his arthritis so I had planned to put him down when I got back from Minnesota, but as long as he looks and feels good he can stay around. I have warned him not to get sick, though. Crown Secret is also here and is feeling mighty fine. She runs and plays so hard that I will probably put her back in training next spring instead of breeding her.
Icy came home for about 60 days of R & R but will now be here indefinitely as he hurt himself. He stuck a hind leg through the gate, kicking at the horse on the other side of the fence and cut himself right down to the bone just below his hock. It’s a mess but there doesn’t seem to be any fractures or chips so he may escape with just a scar. The vet has to come about every other day to change the bandage. Hopefully the next time will be the last time he has to come for awhile as my vet bill will look like the national debt. They seem to think he will be fine so that is good news. Horses are just walking accidents.
Newton‘s Theory is back in training and while it took him a while to re-adjust to training after being turned out, he is coming along well now. Alex wants to work him once more and then will start looking for a race for him. I sure hope he comes back at the same level. I doubt I will run him on the bottom, at least for awhile, but we shall see. I don’t want to keep him as he is such a head case but he does seem to have a little talent. I imagine everyone in New Mexico knows how squirrelly he is, and probably no one would claim him if he did run on the bottom. Maybe I will just let the trainer decide.
October is supposed to be nice but it has done nothing but rain. That’s nice for my pastures and after the mower lady came they look really, really good. Not having any horses on them will help, also. Matt is going down to the ATBA sale on the 21st and is acting as agent for a guy in North Dakota who he used to train for. Dale owned the mare, which he gave away when she was done racing and is interested in the having the colt. I doubt anyone else will bid on her as there isn’t much to look at in the pedigree lines, but mom had so much heart, Dale wants to take a chance on the colt. I have a bit of money left over from my vacation and boy do I want to send it down to try and get something cheap. Just what I need is another horse…….