The Maker's Mark Secretariat Center is a non profit facility located in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. We are dedicated to reschooling, and showcasing the athleticism of the off track Thoroughbred so that they can go on and become ambassadors for the breed in second careers. We are also committed to educating the public about these wonderful horses: We welcome visitors of all ages, interns, and volunters . This blog publicizes unofficial updates on our horses and our programs. For more information, visit www,secretariatcenter.org or www.facebook.com/makersmarksecretariatcenter








Saturday, October 18, 2008

October 18th, 2008

Hello to all from your new equine communications intern! This will be my first foray into the blogosphere, bear with me. It seems like every time I walk through the door here, the whole barn is turned inside out. Recently we received 3 new horses: PY Twenty, Herr Heinz, and Legacy Thief. All are adjusting very well, the barn staff especially loves PY Twenty (a son of Affirmed!). He’s described as a big teddy bear, very stocky and solidly built, with gentle eyes. He used to be a pony hose on the track, and is now looking at a career as possibly someone’s new trail buddy. His pal Herr Heinz (a son of Stravinsky) is also a big guy, but very laid back and willing to learn. The staff can’t believe he is only 3 years old because he is so gentle! Herr doesn’t have much experience under saddle, but is coming along nicely because he’s smart and a quick learner. Legacy Thief’s bad ankles may mean that he’s only suitable as a pasture pet, but you couldn’t find a friendlier horse to hang out with! Just this week we have had 4 new horses come in; Invincible Vince, Sweet Immersion, Walinsky, and He’s a Hoot. Sweet Immersion came to us from Blackburn, we are still assessing his potential, but so far we know that he’s a big boy and he is sound to ride. Vince was returned to us because his owner could no longer keep him, but he is such a great guy that he won’t be here long. He has a wonderfully sweet disposition and will be a great lower level hunter jumper. Hooter was also a return, and so far he seems like he’s always alert and ready to go. Walinsky is a big gray quarter horse type who was a great trail horse for his previous owner. We have also had 2 horses leave us to go to the Blackburn facility: Mighty Sue and Wall to Wall. So as you can see, the parade of Thoroughbreds marches on at the MMSC! The last two weekends we’ve been out at Keeneland manning our booth at the Breakfast with the Works events. Everyone should come watch, it’s early, but it is so fun to see the horses working out before their races (plus, admission is free, there is breakfast, and kids activities). Today was hugely busy entertaining visitors of all kinds, and photographing our newest additions, so look for the new horses on our website! We are busier than ever with projects of all kinds, and there are sure to be more important updates coming soon.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Update: October 2nd

Greetings, all!
  • It has been a very busy couple of weeks since our last post. Here are a few odds and ends: Hannah's application on Lucky Bid has been officially approved and he will be going to his new home in Versailles this weekend. She's so excited! Bluff will be shipping out too, as soon as his new barn is finished.
  • We've had three new horses ship in: Marylou Whitney sent us Legacy Thief, who I'm told is absolutely beautiful. Herr Heinz also came in with a stablemate (whose name escapes me...ah the frustration of working from school, I don't have the horses' baby books next to me); one of them is a son of Affirmed, the other Lady's Secret--we are surrounded by Thoroughbred royalty.
  • We have had an e-mail from Julie, Lion's new owner to say that she is thrilled with him. They have really bonded--on his first night with her, he lay down in his stall with his head in her lap and fell asleep for an hour. I think he knows he's found his home. Pictures are coming soon.
  • Today is Media Day at the Kentucky Horse Park, and we were all at the office late putting together our fabulous media kits for the ~60 journalists who will be coming through this morning. We're also getting a visit from Purina to do some filming for a promotional video they're creating for the AAEP. Busy day!
  • This weekend will be our book fair at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on Nicholasville Road. Anyone in the Lexington area, come buy your books there on October 4th and 5th--20% of the proceeds will be going to the Center. We will be there both afternoons, handing out flyers on our available horses and taking donations.
  • Anyone headed to Keeneland on Saturday will see Susanna giving a demonstration in the walking ring with one of our horses prior to the first race. Not sure who's going yet, we're still debating about which one of them could best handle hearing the call to post again.
  • In April, PBS's tv series Equitrekking filmed the Center in conjunction with an episode about Lexington, which will be airing in the coming week. It seems they've changed the original air date in Lexington...I think it may be this Saturday from 1:30 to 2 on channel 11, although I can't seem to find an episode summary anywhere to know if it's the Kentucky edition or not. You will see Susanna working with King De, Charlotte working with Tijur, and me with Raceready, all of whom have since left for new homes in New York and Tennessee.
  • We continue to get calls from people interested in volunteering. Keep them coming, we continue to need help in the barn and with grounds maintenance (aka weeding). EKU is planning to send us two large groups of students this month to paint some of our fences before it gets too cold, so an advance thanks to them.
  • The six new horses from last week are now on the website; Valentine and Dawn's Creek are ready to go, Core Sample will need a little more time and work, and Bandit and Golden Golden (Nemo) have been in the roundpen with Hannah and Leah, but aren't ready for riding yet, as they are very skinny. Todd T. had surgery to remove ankle chips last week and is recovering well. He's already put on a noticeable amount of weight (thank goodness), but will probably have 4 more weeks of stall rest and hand-walking before he'll be ready to go. It's amazing how much better he looks, even with the giant bandage on his leg.
  • Communications intern Sarah has been hard at work for new articles for the Thoroughbred Adoption Network site (www.thoroughbredadoption.com), so look for those in the next couple of weeks. Also, I'll be having her take over the blog (as soon as we're both stationary long enough for me to explain how she can access it).

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more info, and email me (ncvoss2@yahoo.com or nvoss@trfinc.org) if you want to donate, volunteer or adopt. Happy Keeneland!

~Natalie