Monthly Archives: November 2010

Learning a little at a time

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A couple of weeks ago, I was looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend when my mom called and said, “Dad’s going to need your help tomorrow.”

My heart sank a little.

She was talking about helping round up the cattle and bring them home. Horses are the family business but the cattle are a little more my mom’s thing. I’ve never been a fan, and neither is my dad.  In fact, the bright side of living so far away used to be strategically timed trips home; ones that never coincided with moving cattle.

Once I realized it’s a little late to get that little brother I could bribe or blackmail into doing my chores –   it occurred to me that I’ve gotten off pretty easy when it comes to working on the farm.

My parents made a conscious choice early on, that even though the horses were their world, it didn’t have to be mine.  They decided they would let me find out what I wanted out of life on my own. In fact, when I came home from college and said I’m going to work in Hollywood, they just said, “Drive safe,” (Well, maybe they said a little more than that but for brevity’s sake, you get the picture).

Unlike most kids who grow up on a farm or ranch, I didn’t have many chores nor did I have to adhere to a daily routine with the animals. If I had to help with chores, I was usually assigned the tedious task of watering: filling water for the animals. I hate watering.  You pretty much just sit there and watch the water rise. It’s like watching water boil but without the nice bubbles in the end.

That lack of childhood chores now means that when I want to know more about the work at home, I have to make the effort to learn it and prove I can handle the tedious tasks as well as those hands-on.

The weekend’s “helping Dad” meant something more “hands-on.” We would be rounding up one of the pastures full of cattle and herding them into the trailer to move closer to the ranch for winter.  I’d be riding a horse or ATV (which one, I didn’t care) on a nice fall day and I’d probably get a stop at the Tastee Freeze out of the deal.  This didn’t sound so bad so I resigned myself to going home early. The chances my cattle inexperience would get me run over were really only 1 in 50 after all.

Sunday morning I expected a ridiculously early boot-camp style wake-up call from my Dad.  Instead, I stumbled out of bed mid-morning to find the plans were changed. In the 11th hour, and in true Mom style, she decided we didn’t have to do it. Instead, she would help later. Translation: I don’t want you guys to screw it up so I’ll do it myself.

Once again, I got off easy. 

I’m still deciding if that is a good thing or not.

It’s a big weekend for the sprinters

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On Friday, one of the biggest but little-known weekends in racing will begin: The Bank of America Challenge Championships.

The Challenge Championships is to American Quarter Horses what the Breeders’ Cup is to Thoroughbreds – sort of. Horses will be running a number of prestigious races they have had to qualify for by winning regional races throughout the country this year.  The Challenge will offer more than $5 million in purse money this weekend alone.

I admit, I’m actually partial to the Challenge since Quarter Horses are my family’s business but this is probably a good time to explain some of the differences between the two breeds of racing. 

There are a number of differences between running the Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses but I think it is best explained by thinking of Quarter Horses as the sprinters whereas Thoroughbreds are the distance runners.

Quarter Horses actually take the title of the “fastest” horse in the world as they can (and do) reach speeds of nearly 50 mph.

The average distance for an American Quarter Horse race is about 350 yards but it can vary from a 100 yards to 850 yards. Many times Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds will be racing at the same track during the same season or when a track hosts a “mixed meet” During a mixed meet, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds sometimes run against one another in an 850-yard race, and those can be interesting, if not fun for bragging rights.

At such short distances, Quarter Horse races time out between 17 and 18 seconds. In less than a minute, years of work, money, and hope can pay of…or not. There is no time for Quarter Horses to be closers, they have to be out in front with a clear path from the start or be ready to fight for the lead with everything they have.

This year’s Bank of America Challenge will be held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. First post is 5 p.m. Friday. All 13 races will be shown live nationally on HRTV, and this year’s show will be hosted by Gary Stevens and Jon White. Stevens is a hall-of-fame jockey who often does the Kentucky Derby show and also starred in Seabiscuit. Stevens and his brother Scott (who still rides at Canterbury in the Twin Cities) got started riding Quarter Horses.

Zenyatta: Still a win

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I was hoping for a bit of a miracle on Saturday and even though it seemed to be missed by a nose, I think in the end, I got what I was looking for.

No mint juleps, but  a good margarita and a big TV that could show the race with a Bison game going on at the same time are what I found to watch Zenyatta in the Breeder’s Cup.  

For the better part of an hour, no one else was watching our TV; instead all were focused on football.  But soon, I noticed a slight shift the closer it got to post time. I started looking around,  at first seeing just a flicker of interest catching  one or two’s eye, but as the countdown to post time clicked down, interest perked up.

Watching the race from a horsemen’s perspective, or one with experience in the industry, I know what a feat it truly was for Zenyatta despite the second place finish.

The odds just piled up and from the start when she was pinched off at the break. True to her style, it wouldn’t have been a big deal but it set her farther back than she has ever been, at one point 20 lengths (a length is about the length of a horse) from the front runner. Then, not only does she have to run faster and harder for most of the race, when she went to make her move, she was boxed out of finding a hole to move on the rail and jockey Mike Smith (beautifully by the way) had to take her to the outside of the pack to get through which means she also had to make a wider turn, once again covering more ground than the inside horses.

As I saw the wall of horses come around the last turn and Zenyatta find her hole to push forward,  I heard my voice turn from a subconscious whisper  of “Go! Go! GO!” turning into full screams.  

 I stopped myself and instinctively looked around expecting to see the football fans looking at me like I had had one too many. Instead, it seemed like the whole place had somehow gathered around our table – which was front and center – when I wasn’t looking. No one heard me yelling because they were too busy rooting for Zenyatta themselves.

She picked off the other horses one by one and was about to do it to Blame when the wire hit. Even at the end, it was evident Mike still had horse left. Having “horse left” means she still had the stamina to pull ahead of Blame had she had the distance.  

It was heartbreaking.

But, it was also heartwarming. I witnessed a large group of strangers get so involved in a race not part of the Triple Crown, and one they likely knew little about. They cheered her on like a Bison running back about to score an overtime touchdown and appeared as disappointed in the second place finish as if they’d known her all the while.

For me, the reason I love this crazy world of horse racing is because it is somewhat of a reflection of the human spirit. To succeed, it takes a little bit of luck, some talent, much work and most of all, a lot of heart.

No one showed more heart than Zenyatta on Saturday. For that, I couldn’t be happier.

No Ordinary Girl

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By 5 p.m. today, I plan to have my dress on, stilettos strapped and some ridiculously ugly hat on … and I’ll likely have no place to go.

I will, however, be ready for horse racing  history to be made.

Zenyatta, the first and only filly or mare (female horses) to win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup will be running her last race before retirement. (Yes that means a horse won more in 2 minutes than most pro-ballers make in a year.) 

Not only her last race will happen on Saturday, but her last win if all goes correctly. Her record currently stands at 19-0.

So, if you’re not a fan of horses or horse racing why should you care?
Well, you really don’t have to. But why does anyone care about any sport, anyway?

For one, competitions are fun to watch. We root for someone to win (more often than not the underdog) and it makes us feel good when they do. But in Zenyatta’s race, as a girl, I particularly root for her to win.

See, she has routinely beaten not only the other horses in every race she’s won but she’s beaten the boys. Even in the Kentucky Derby ­– the most well-known of all horse races although not the richest – only a handful of girls have won.

Zenyatta is the story of a fellow girl (albeit one with four legs) who has gone up against the boys and beaten the pants off ‘em every time, even when the odds are stacked against her.

Physically and mentally, the male (studs or geldings) horses tend to tower over the fillies in racing. But, Zenyatta’s record isn’t the only thing that stands out about her.
At 17-hands, Zenyatta’s grace and beauty is incomparable. She towers over her competition and her sheer size rivals that of Secretariat.

Speaking of Secretariat and getting back to why this Saturday’s race is important: Zenyatta is somewhat the Secretariat of my generation. Even the most non-involved person with horse racing knows who Secretariat is and is aware (if not only subtly) of the reverberations that went out around the world the day he won the third leg of the Triple Crown. Think, of the cry, “He’s a tremendous maaaccchhinnneee…..” or the Time Magazine cover of the big beautiful “Red.”

Well, if, er…I mean whenZenyatta wins her second back-to-back Breeder’s Cup and sets a career record of 20-0, she will likely do it in true Zenyatta style: Coming from the back to pull out a win in the nick of time, and although she likely has the speed and endurance left to do so, not pulling out too far ahead. She doesn’t like to hurt “the other horses’ feelings,” as her owners suspect. 

So when her nose hits that wire first, it will likely reverberate around the world once again. A moment in time that will live on for the next  how-many-years to be relived in books, magazine covers and the like until even those who never knew what a Zenyatta was—does.

It might not be a banner wave for the underdog (she is favored to win), but it will be a coup for the girls and it is something I would much rather watch live than hear about it after the fact. 

And so, I will be there too, in true horse racing style, donning  my best dress, girliest threads and highest heels (because horse racing is not a “cowboy” thing)  with a slightly disgusting mint julep in my hand.

 Now, I just need to find a place in Fargo that knows how to make mint juleps….