“There are many things that I may not be: I may not be the most talented, I may not have all the best resources, but what I do have is the best interest at heart for the horse. Sometimes that means another person gets the call to jockey. I really hope that I finally get the call for this horse named Awesome Choice.”
“Every day during feeding time, I feel like I am engaged in a game of chess.” American Lioness is testing Marcella Gruchalak’s creativity and knowledge in feeding, but Marcella has a few tricks up her sleeve.
“The Give Back to Go Scholarship may just have launched a movement — of paying it forward, looking outside of one’s own experience and raising awareness of off-track Thoroughbreds in new and creative ways.”
“What are the facts? Why would you not take a chance on a horse that has proven he can win, already broke and riding, and has the look… not to mention his $50,000 sale price as a two-year-old. Someone obviously saw some promise in this horse at some point!”
Combining the best parts of March Madness — so, you know, the bracket — with the 16 most popular Thoroughbred sires of sport horses, the Retired Racehorse Project has rolled out “Sire Madness” for another year.
“Repeat after me: It is never a good idea to go ‘just look’ at a horse when you are a) sad b) have an empty stall and c) your husband isn’t home to say no. Someday, I’ll lead by example.”
“Prior to attending the Makeover, I had a strong bias against off-the-track thoroughbreds. My opinion was that they were hot headed, broken, hard keepers… the list went on. However, by the time I had watched the Makeover finals, I was hooked.”
Have you always dreamed of applying and experiencing the happiest horse show on earth for yourself? Here are all the details you need to know on the application process for the 2019 Thoroughbred Makeover!
“We had all walked very different paths to get to this moment; some of us hadn’t made it to the Horse Park at all. We were here for various little reasons, but our motivation was the same: we were here for the love of the OTTB.”
“While I had been looking forward to showing Jobber’s talents with cattle in the freestyle, I equally had zero expectations for the class as far as placing and scoring went — I simply wanted to show the world that Thoroughbreds could work cows!”
All of the ups and downs, training challenges, blood, sweat and tears came down to today: Kristen Kovatch and Jobber Bill showed today in the ranch work division at the Thoroughbred Makeover. How did it go? Click here for the full recap and video!
“So I don’t want to alarm you, but Jobber’s kind of freaking out in his stall.” Highs, lows, big challenges and great moments — Kristen Kovatch and her Thoroughbred Makeover horse Jobber Bill have truly done it all today.
The Kentucky Horse Park is filling up with talented ex-racehorses and the trainers who have devoted the past ten months to bringing them along — Kristen Kovatch reports with her project Jobber Bill!
The rider of the 2018 America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred, to be named at this week’s Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, will be honored at the Breeders’ Cup in November!
“I couldn’t resist hugging him right then and there: we had made it, after all, and no matter what happened after that moment, we had accomplished my little bucket-list goal — we were here in Kentucky.”
New for the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover at the Kentucky Horse Park, the Retired Racehorse Project is presenting a free Makeover Master Class on October 7: watch four trainers evaluate off-the-track prospects and demonstrate introductory training.
“It’s not easy to admit, but very few of us are perfect horsemen.” Kristen Kovatch loses sight of her ultimate goal with her OTTB Jobber, but finds her way again thanks to the heart of her willing horse.
The award will be presented at the 2018 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover & Symposium in October to a professional horseman who responsibly rehomes horses off the track. Nominations are open now!
“If you want to go for a gallop on your Thoroughbred in the morning light instead of working on upward and downward transitions for another session, go for a gallop. Enjoy the ride. There’s more to this horse life than tomorrow’s training goal, after all.”
