Wednesday – September 16, 2020

Harry’s car needed an oil change today, and because I am such a good wife, I took it to the dealer for him. He has plenty to do in the studio, and doesn’t need to be doing such prosaic chores.

As it happened, there was a guy waiting for his car. When he got up to leave, I noticed he was wearing a Breeder’s Cup T-shirt, so I asked him if he has racehorses. Well, yes, he has a mare. We only had a moment to chat, he was on his way out, but I have made cards (to promote my blog, of course) and I gave him one. To my astonishment, he emailed me later, and sent me a link to a story about his horse racing adventure. The article was in the St. Louis Post Dispatch in April, and it is written by the talented Benjamin Hochman. This is a great story https://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/benjamin-hochman/hochman-owned-by-ordinary-guys-in-st-louis-the-horse-resurrection-road-races-for-all/article_3be81158-bec4-53ae-98d9-1679553b128c.html

The coincidences in the story are hard to believe. The mare’s barn name is Bunny. Bunny was one of our most beloved horses from the past. Holly Steinmeyer owns Elusive Silver, the horse I competed in the TB Makeover in 2016!

So, this got me thinking about the wonderful thoroughbreds that have come through my life. There isn’t time to go into too many of them, but Jane McClaren requested a picture recently of Dress Gray in the St. Louis Puissance Class many years ago. He was a Thoroughbred, given away after his race career (he raced as Mr. Sunni Dust). He was my horse of a lifetime, putting me on the map. Harry bought him for me as a first anniversary present.

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And there was Thomas Equinas, another giveaway, this time to us. He raced as Just As Ordered. Subsequently, he fox hunted and showed in both the hunters and the jumpers, and was beloved by countless riders over the years. I wrote about Tom when he died last year, well into his thirties.

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The horse I thought would be my “old lady horse” was the thoroughbred, Artie, who raced as Street Art. That’s not why we bought him, but it was an appropriate name, given Harry’s occupation. I had a most memorable year with Artie, doing the TB Makeover in 2015. Instead of being an old lady horse, Artie moved on to Kari, a young lady, who loves him tremendously.

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One more, and the most recent, was the special mare Elusive Silver, with whom I competed at the 2016 TB Makeover. She still belongs to her breeders, John and Holly Steinmeyer, who produce lovely thoroughbreds, and do right by them. Ellie was talented and beautiful. Best of all, she introduced us to the Steinmeyers, who are wonderful horse people.

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This morning, Marmalade greeted me, before running off to the flatbed restaurant. I call his scalded cat runaways “Marm Alarms”. I don’t think he is scared, it’s just what he does.

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I changed the water in the water trough, finding two toads and a frog underneath. The frog left with a tremendous leap before I got a picture. Remember, amphibians are a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Nurture and protect them.

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Stone appreciated the fresh water, but Bart is the boss. That’s life in a herd, even a small one of three. The order must be maintained.

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Solace is found with the one at the bottom of the pecking order. Oisin may be the biggest, and he may try to push people around, but he knows his place in the herd. And he loves to share a scratch.

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Finally, one of Rebecca’s exotic red sunflowers is blooming! They are unusual and dramatic and unlike the Mexican sunflowers, these will be on the list to plant next year.

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Stay safe, stay well.