Letter From Our Director

Hello everyone!
Here is a letter that our director Susanna Thomas wrote for our first monthly e-newsletter (which will be sent out next week sometime) re-capping 2008 and giving an overview for our plans for 09:

Welcome to Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center’s new e-newsletter! What a successful year 2008 was for the Maker's Mark Secretariat Center at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington!

Thanks to the Horse Centered® ReSchooling program implemented this spring:

1. We had 20 horses adopted and 8 fostered for a total of 28 horses finding loving homes this year! The average adoption fee per horse was a respectable $1450.
   
2. We took in horses from six different rescue agencies as well as, the TRF and horses directly from owners and trainers.
   
3. We started an internship program for students from area colleges and universities as well as a volunteer certification program for the public at large.
4. Our training sessions were open daily to the public throughout the Kentucky Horse Park season. Every Saturday we were busy with interactive demonstrations for visitors.

We were busy in the office too:

1. We restructured our website, initiated a blog, now have Face Book address, and have videos of our horses posted on YouTube.
   
2. We completed a marketing study to help position us in 2009 and for the upcoming World Equestrian Games. Our goal is to make ourselves a major attraction to the Horse Park as the showcase site the in the United States for the reschooling of off the track Thoroughbreds.
   
3. We have a proposal for a documentary film about the TRF-MMCS and are now seeking funding for production in 2009.
   
4. We are looking at a variety of fundraising venues for 2010, from sponsorships to marketing the MMSC name and Horse Centered ReSchooling program.
   
5. We also established an advisory committee.

This spring we plan to:
· Start a training library
· Begin a lesson program
· Initiate a regular rostrum of lectures at the MMSC with TB experts
· Develop a line of merchandise for sale.
· Put the details of our marketing study into play.

Big plans, yes, which we think we can achieve by setting one small realistic goal after the next. We would love to hear your thoughts and would welcome any suggestions or advice. After all, this is your flagship facility for the retraining of the off the track Thoroughbred, and for heralding to the public at large the value of the Thoroughbred horse. With your support, we can surely make it the best that it can be.

We’re off!
All best,
Susanna Thomas Director

Center update: January 16th

Just a quick update to let everyone know that we are now taking resumes for our spring 2009 internships...we are starting them a bit late in the semester since the horses are away for the winter so interviews will be held the first week of February.

We launched the undergraduate internship program this fall for sophomores, juniors and seniors from universities in the Lexington, Ky area. This spring we offer students the choice of three different internship positions: equine management/training, equine communications, and farm maintenance.

Equine Management/Training Internship: Teaches students both basic barn management practices, and our 90-day Reschooling Program (R) for our ex-racehorses, which includes a combination of natural horsemanship, classical training methods, racetrack training methods, as well as basic dressage and hunt seat skills. They have the chance to observe our vet, farrier, dentist, chiropractor and accupuncturist at work. Also included in their cirriculum are issues specific to training and management of horses in the Thoroughbred racing industry.

Equine Communications Internship: Teaches students about communication as an art through different promotional mediums such as our website, blog, newsletter and local newspapers/magazines. They learn about promotions for an equine facility as we create flyers and postings for our horses, and hold weekly demonstrations open to the public. Since we are a non-profit, we also teach interns about fundraising and grant-writing as a 501c3. Interns may be required to give a presentation about their experience to potential sponsors at the end of the semester.

Farm Maintenance Internship: Teaches students about the non-training part of an equine facility: pasture and land management, construction of horse-friendly barns and run-ins, surface management and machinery operation/repair are central to the hands-on part of the internshp. They will also be asked to budget projects in these categories for a non-profit organization.

Anyone interested in applying should send their resume and cover letter to ncvoss2@yahoo.com . Applicants for the equine communications internship should also submit a writing sample. Applicants for the equine management/training internship should include a video or still photos of themselves writing as well as one equine reference.

Internship schedules are dependent on students' class schedules. There is a small stipend awarded at the end of the internship which may be given in the form of a scholarship.

End of 2008

Hello everyone! Just a quick note to thank everyone for their support this year. We found great homes for 29 horses--nearly six times as many as last year--and launched our first undergraduate internship program and website. We have many more plans for next year, and we want to see all of you when we re-open to the public March 1st. Thanks again for a great year...we could not have done it without you, yes YOU, whether you're a casual reader of the blog, a sponsor, adopter or former intern. We appreciate your support!

Happy new year to all!

Secretariat Center Update: December 19th

Hello to all our fans in the blogosphere!
I apologize, Sarah has brought it to my attention that it has been ages since I have updated you all of the goings-on at the Center. As usual, it has been very busy the last few weeks. We were pleased to hold our holiday open house on December 6th, and it was quite the success! The interns gave a presentation to our many guests as their final project of the internship. It's so sad to think that we won't be seeing them every week after the holidays, but we will be bringing in a new group for the spring semester soon. I am now in the process of revising the curriculum and designing a brochure about the program in preparation for spring; I'll be advertising the internship with local colleges when I return to Kentucky in January and expect to be holding interviews the first week in February. If there are any undergraduates out there interested in applying (or charitable organizations interested in funding the program), drop me an e-mail at ncvoss2@yahoo.com !
Susanna and I are already making plans and timelines for our winter projects here at the MMSC and we have quite a list. We will be working to implement the marketing plan created for us by StudioMudio, which for me includes overhauling the design for this blog (if anybody knows how to custom design a BlogSpot layout, let me know!), as well as secretariatcenter.org . Susanna has plans to start a book about our 90-day re-schooling program (R), as well as a promotional film about the Center (which Ashley Judd has agreed to narrate!). First on the agenda after the holidays will be fundraising and grant-writing, however.
We also have a long list of rennovations that we're working on around the Center, including electrical work to the barn, construction of run-ins, jumps, and a shavings shed, and work to the surfaces in the roundpens and arena. We would also love to cover the arena so we can continue to work horses next winter.
As for the horses, we are pleased to say that they have all found some sort of home for the winter!

• Dawn's Creek, Herr Heinz, Fly Lite, Code Forty, J's Dream and Invincible Vince are boarding at a facility in northern Kentucky and are still available for adoption there.
  
• Core Sample is being fostered by Leah, one of our equine management/training interns from fall 08
• Gentle Bandit will be fostered by Sarah, who hopes to adopt him.
• Golden Golden is being fostered by Luann, one of our dedicated volunteers, who plans to officially adopt him in February
• Valentine, Sweet Immersion, PY Twenty, and Astronomical were all adopted...this brings our number to 29 horses adopted in 2008 (28 of which were adopted since May!!)
• Melissa, another of our dedicated volunteers, is fostering He's A Hoot at Susanna's farm
• French Lieutenant joined an EAGALA program in Arizona under a foster arrangement
• Todd T (Roger) is staying at Blackburn's facility until we re-open to the horses in February.
  

We will be planning visits to look at new horses after the new year. So far the waiting list is rather short but I'm expecting it will grow over the winter.
Thanks to everyone for their continued readership...I will be keeping the updates coming over the next several weeks as we make progress in our marketing and rennovations. Have a happy holiday everyone!
~Natalie
P.S. for all those doing last-minute Christmas shopping, please register for us with www.igive.com--this site has deals with several hundred online merchants (including ebay, amazon, barnes&noble, and all the major department stores), who agree to contribute a percent of online purchases made by igive users to a charity of the users' choice. Some of them will contribute as much as 2% of overall purchase totals to the chosen charity, and believe me that money adds up, so please sign up today...it won't cost you a thing (hardly any time, the sign-up is very straightforward), and it will really help us out!!

Update: November 23rd

Hello all!
We continue to make progress with adoptions as we wind down our training season! Walinsky shipped out last week to his new home in Paris, Ky. We have now found foster placements for Golden Golden ('Nemo') and Gentle Bandit; Nemo will be going home with Luann, one of our dedicated volunteers, and Bandit is going to stay with our very own communications intern, Sarah! Both Luann and Sarah will get to know them over the winter and consider adopting them before we re-open in March.
That said, we are still looking for homes for Code Forty, Fly Lite, He's A Hoot, Invincible Vince, Sweet Immersion and Herr Heinz. Code Forty and Fly Lite are sweet, hunter-type mares who are both sound and ready to go into training for the show ring. He's A Hoot, Sweet Immersion and Herr Heinz are all young and sound, great for any discipline; He's A Hoot has spectacular movement and would be good at dressage but has the athleticism to make an eventer as well. Sweet Immersion ("Merv") has a very event-type build but could also make a jumper/field hunter. Heinz is ready for anything, very sweet and relaxed, sound to jump in any context. Vince has had some dressage training and is sound for pleasure riding on the flat or trails.
The interns and I took a field trip to the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville this past weekend--it was a good chance to teach them about the sport our horses are coming out of, as well as the life cycle of a racehorse. Look for Sarah's article about our trip on the News and Events section of www.thoroughbredadoption.com !
We are all preparing for the Secretariat Center's open house on December 6th. Hannah, Leah and Sarah will be doing a presentation on the internship program and 90-day re-schooling program (R), and there will be refreshments so come and see what we're all about! It's a chance for us to thank our sponsors, past and present and inform new people about our mission and plans for next year. All are welcome, we are located within the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The hours for the open house will be 1-3.
That's all for now!
~Natalie

Update: November 17th

Hello all!
Winter is upon us and things have gotten very busy at the Secretariat Center! We are moving into winter hours soon, which means we hope to have all our horses out of the facility by December 8th. They will be back in March, and we'll resume training then. In the meantime we'll be doing some renovations and focusing on marketing and fundraising. This means however that we are faced with the tremendous task of getting sixteen horses adopted or placed in three weeks! Fortunately we've had applications turned in on several of them: Walinsky, PY Twenty, Astronomical, Todd T., and Valentine all look like they will find homes. J's Dream will be going to a foster home in Phoenix for an EAGALA program. We've had some interest in He's A Hoot and Sweet Immersion, and since they are so young and sound they should be easy to place. Core Sample, who has chips in his ankle will require surgery, and fortunately the University of Missouri has graciously offered to take him over the winter and do the surgery for free! We are very grateful.
That does leave us with a long list, however: Dawn's Creek, Fly Lite, Gentle Bandit, Golden Golden, Herr Heinz, Invincible Vince and Sweet Sweet are all still very available. Fly, Golden, Heinz and Sweet would all make great show horses of various types, while Bandit, Dawn and Vince are ready to hit the trails! I'll post their pictures below. All are featured on http://www.thoroughbredadoption.com/ , so please please take a look and if you are interested please e-mail me: ncvoss2@yahoo.com

Code Forty

Golden Golden

Herr Heinz

Fly Lite

Dawn's Creek

Gentle Bandit

Update: November 3rd

Hello everyone!
We are now beyond capacity here at the Center--15 Thoroughbreds + 2 pony horses--and our goal as we move into winter is to get these guys out of here! It seems however that horse-hunting works the same way as house-hunting for most people: better done in the spring and summer. All the same we are plowing ahead, slashing adoption fees along the way,with the hopes of getting everyone into a new home by the end of the month.

• Legacy Thief has come and gone--he had sustained so much damage to his joints that he was inappropriate for anything more than a pasture horse, but he found a job as a babysitter to weanlings on a local breeding farm.
• Herr Heinz and Py Twenty are still here; Heinz will make a good show horse--you'd think he was a 10 year old lesson pony by the way he acts, very relaxed and willing but he's actually only 3. Py has some backaches that will probably limit him to trails, but his attitude is similar to Heinz so he will be very good at that. We can tell these two have been treated well!
• Several TRF adoptions from previous years have come back due to financial problems (the horses are also feeling the results of a sinking economy); Invincible Vince comes in with lower-level dressage training and is sound enough for light pleasure/trails. Very pretty golden boy. Walinsky is the same story, VERY good mover, lots of big floaty gaits and natural carriage; he is a big, powerfully-built gray. J's Dream has been trail ridden for the last couple of years and is sound for more of the same.
• We also took in a couple of new horses--Sweet Immersion and He's A Hoot. Sweet Immersion has the build and attitude to be a great cross-country horse, while 'Hooter' has the smooth, floaty gaits of a dressage prospect. Both young (4) and sound.
• Roger continues to recover well from surgery. He is being hand-walked every day now and is allowed to go out in the paddock for a few minutes each day. He continues to keep a gentle attitude and the vet says everything is healing up just the way it should.
• Code Forty is turning into a great hunter prospect--she seems to do best with stronger (usually male) riders, and is a little nervous at first but quickly evens out and becomes a great mover.
• Core Sample has chips in one ankle, says the vet, and we are hoping to find the money to pay for surgery this winter.
• Everyone else (Astronomical, Dawn's Creek, Fly Lite, Gentle Bandit, Golden Golden, and Valentine) are ready to go as-is, just looking for good homes!
• Please check out our horses at www.secretariatcenter.org . The new adoption fees are listed on their pages. Tell your friends!