Adopt A Thoroughbred
Fifth Annual Exceller Farm Open House June 30 in Poughquag
Patricia McCarthy on 4-year-old Thoroughbred gelding named Orleander at Exceller Farm
Lipizzan photos submitted by Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions
Visit TRF at www.trfinc.org
By John M. Benson
June 18, 2007
By John M. Benson
June 18, 2007
Exceller Farm in Poughquag is the local site of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), the oldest and largest foundation in the country devoted to the rescue, retraining, and adoption of Thoroughbreds after the conclusion of their racing careers.
The Fifth Annual TRF Open House will be staged from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, June 30, providing the public with the opportunity to visit the farm and observe the remarkable talents of these magnificent horses.
More than 350 Thoroughbreds have been adopted out of Exceller Farm in the past six years. The farm is managed by Michele Oren, and made available to TRF by John and Betty Hettinger of Aikendale Farm in Pawling.
“Retirement” is a bit misleading. Having been rescued after their careers are over at the track, these horses are as young as three to four years old, and ready to begin a new career in which they can be active into there 20’s and 30’s.
Monique Koehler and her friends founded TRF in 1982, with a mission statement that included providing humane, viable rescue programs at the end of the racing careers, and offering new careers to able-bodied Thoroughbreds through rehabilitiation and retraining that would enable the horses to live out full and rich lives.
Visit TRF at www.trfinc.org
Open House Schedule
2:00 Gates open, silent auction starts
2:30 First Lipizzan show, 2 20-minute shows
3:00 Parade of horses up for adoption
3:30 Second Lipizzan show
4:00 Horses up for adoption being ridden
4:30 Silent auction closes, winners announced
5:00 THE END
Admission: 12 and over $10, under 12 $5
Lipizzan Demonsrations
Herrman's Royal Lipizzan Stallions will perform two demonstrations of these remarkable show horses. For information about Herrmann's Lipizzans:
http://www.hlipizzans.com/
The featured guest performers this year are the Lipizzans. The Lipizzan is a show horse that is guaranteed to thrill horse fans of all ages, and children in particular. It is famous for its spectacular capabilities in performance, most notably what is called “airs above the ground”. For information on the Lipizzan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipizzan
Excerpt from Wikipedia:The Lipizzan, or Lipizzaner (Slovene Lipicanec), is a breed of horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria where the finest representatives demonstrate the "high school" movements of classical dressage, including the highly advanced "airs above the ground." The Lipizzan breed dates back to the 16th century,, when it was developed with the support of the Habsburg nobility. The breed takes its name from one of the of the earliest stud farms established, located near the Kras village of Lipica (spelled "Lipizza" in Italian), in modern-day Slovenia.
“Once it is a TRF horse, it is forever a TRF horse,” said farm director Michele Oren. “The new owner can bring the horse back at any time for any reason. We tell the new owner exactly what we know about the horse, because if anything goes wrong, they can bring the horse back. We are completely open and up front about the horses we are adopting out. We also check out the owners carefully, to be certain that our horses will have outstanding homes and dedicated and loving care.”
Orleander is the beautiful specimen in the photos and Photo Gallery that accompany this article.
Speaking with obvious affection and respect for the Thoroughbreds, Oren said of Orleander, “Orleander is a four-year-old gelding, and an all-around sweetheart. He is just phenomenal. We just started jumping him this week, and he acts like he has done it forever. He tucks his front feet right under himself. He has an awesome personality. He would rather be with people than other horses. He is a very fine horse. He is just four years old, but you would think he was much older than that. He is very settled and has no vices. He is 15.3 hands, and he would be great for a small person.”
Under the guidance of farm manager Oren, Thoroughbreds from as young as three and four years old are trained to perform all activities in the wide range of equestrian disciplines. The horses are remarkably intelligent and adaptable to many skills, depending on the overall health and soundness of the particular animal.
Many of the Thoroughbreds are totally sound and capable of everything from eventing to polo, from English to Western styles. Others are capable of being outstanding trail horses, and still others are of such gentle natures that they are serving a noble purpose as therapy at camps for people with emotional and mental challenges.
“The horses are all different, like any breed of animal,” Oren said. “Some are quiet and steady, some are hot tempered, and you just have to pick and choose according to what you want. Some people are looking for the quiet, gentle horse, and others for the hot-tempered horse. On the other side, I have just sent a four-year-old to be used for therapy at Story Book Farm, and you would think he was forty years old. We have many horses at the therapy farms for people with challenges.
“We have adopted out over 350 horses in our seven years here at Exceller Farm, and I am very excited about it. Our horses are actually playing polo and doing eventing and every sort of thing. Of course, we also have horses who are really pasture ornaments, and in every case, the owner will know everything we know about the horse before they decide on the adoption.
“For playing polo, we have a big client in New Jersey who takes quite a few horses, and we have another client in Vermont who takes horses for polo. In May, we have an outfit coming back for more horses for what they call polo-crosse, and I think that is lacrosse on horseback.
“We also adopt out the Thoroughbreds as Western style horses. Rockeby Rocket is an example with Linda and Stan Chase in Millerton, and we just sent Distinct Rainbow to an owner in Michigan who will be riding Western style.”
The aptitude of the horse is determined by his health and his intelligence, but Thoroughbred owners are consistently impressed with their hearts. Having adopted several, Rosie Forte rides them at fox hunting and in cross country competition with obstacles. As she says, “On the trails with them, we do walls, water, fallen logs, that sort of thing, and they just go right over everything. I like the Thoroughbreds because they are so versatile. They have tremendous heart. They will do anything for you. Whatever you put into them, they will give you back twice fold.”
Because Oren, Exceller Farm and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation are so successful at finding adoptive homes for the horses, by the time this reporter puts a bio for a horse on the website, he may be gone to some happy new home. But there are more just like them coming along in the next wave of rescued Thoroughbreds.
Oren made the following comments about several Thoroughbreds that were available as of last week:
T.V. Hunter is a five year old bay gelding, about 15.3 hands. He was retired from racing from an old bowed tendon, which you can’t even tell anymore. He has been going well under saddle. He is an easy keeper. He has very good feet. He would make a great Western horse, and we have ridden him both English and Western. He can jump. He is very quarter-horse looking. He is just an all-around good guy.
Commodities Trader is a five-year-old gray, and he is basically going to be a flatwork horse. He doesn’t have any physical ailments that we are aware of, but I don’t think he would hold up to jumping. He would make a good Western horse.
What A Prospect is a nine-year old bay gelding. He is 16.2 hands, and he is a very solid Thoroughbred. He is an easy keeper, great feet, jumps, likes to be out on the trails. He has been adopted and will be moving to Virginia, where his owner plans to do hunter paces and fox hunting with him. He could do eventing, he could do anything.
Fish’s Eddy is being trained for eventing. He is five years old, and he is totally sound. He is just about 16 hands, a real handsome boy.
Wheaton’s Ally is an eight-year-old Chestnut, about 15.2 hands. He came here as a stallion just a few months ago and we gelded him. He is as sweet as can be. He is eight years old, he is settled, and our rider Sue Roth may take him for her 12-year-old daughter. She has already ridden him all over the place, and Sue is very happy with him. He is a grandson of Alydar. |
