Greetings from the newest communications intern!

Greetings from the newest equine communications intern! I am Erin Clark, a senior at the University of Kentucky! Joining the MMSC Team with me are training intern Emily Andari, a sophomore at Georgetown college, and farm management intern Jana Clark, an attendee at University of Louisville. Below are Me, Emily and Jana posing around (in Emily's case on) "Secretariat"). My first weekend here, Adoptions and Volunteer Coordinator and Educational Programs Director Melissa DeCarlo showed Fly Light ("Fly") and Take the Balance ("Henry") in their first ever horse show, the Woodford Hounds Country Fair and Horse Show! Fly won three first place ribbons and two third place ribbons and was named Grand Champion of her division (yes, at her first ever show!). Here are some photos of our Champion and her new owner, MMSC's own Melissa DeCarlo!

Melissa plans to show Fly as a MMSC horse and The Clothes Horse has graciously agreed to make Fly a full wardrobe of custom made blankets in MMSC's teal and black with a Clothes Horse logo!

Henry acted like an old pro, it seemed everyone there wanted to fawn over our big, beautiful gray and he was only too happy to oblige! Unfortunately, we ran out of time and didn't get to warm him up so his first time showing was also his first time in a show arena! Poor guy was a little too excited to place but we are very proud of him for clearing all the fences, they simply weren't big enough to keep him focused! Here are some photos of our show veteran!

This past weekend, we hosted the first annual Secretiques, a collection of "elegant and elderly" objects that needed new homes, just like our horses (even though out horses definitely aren't elderly). Six of our stalls were filled with "found treasures" to be sold, Tilka of Tilka Fine Jewelry brought a collection of her jewelry, which she sold at cost + 30% that she donated to the MMSC. Mudpi, an acoustic-eclectic quartet (consisting of a guitar, mandolin, acoustic bass guitar, and harmonica) provided entertainment and Turf Catering donated the most amazing chili that we sold for $1 a bowl along with sandwhiches, baked goods, coffee, hot chocolate, hot tea, and warm apple cider. Wine was free of charge. Below are a few of the many photos from this successful (and fun!) event!



As the communications intern, I plan to update this blog every week, so check back! I have also started a Twitter page for MMSC so be sure to follow us! http://www.twitter.com/mmsc04

What a Busy Summer!

Hello All!

Before I get to the Busy Summer we are in need of LOTS and LOTS and even MORE volunteers this Saturday for our first Trail Blazing event. We will be working with the ELCR and a local trail blazing group to clear lots of trails for our horses! The event will start here at 10:00 am, Saturday August 29th. Hope to see you there!

Well, it certainly has been quite the summer! We started out our summer with the Kentucky Horse Park Adoption Fair. Guidance Up, Proper Authority, Supersonic Sun, Invincible Vince and Danzaway all went and strutted their stuff wonderfully, we couldn't have asked for better behaved and better looking horses! Fortunately, most of those guys have been adopted.

Guidance Up ("Benny") went to a local family where their daughter is learning how to ride, on him! Proper Authority went to a very nice lady from Western Kentucky where he will be a pleasure/trail horse- what a life:) Supersonic Sun shipped to Missouri to become a fulfilled life long dream of owning a horse. She absolutely adores Sunny and is so grateful to have him. Danzaway went to Cincinnati, where he is spoiled rotten (not that he wasn't already)! He will be an event and show horse for his new mother. PHEW! Well that gets us through June!

In July and August we participated in the KHP Media Day where 60 journalists from around the country came to see what different organizations, from the KHP, do! Susanna took MMSC mascot, Ferdinand's Star and showed him as a dressage horse, spring intern graduate Brittany Hawkins took Take the Balance and showed him as a Western horse and I (Melissa DeCarlo) took Fly Lite as a hunter. Despite the nasty weather, "Henry" (Take the Balance) was WONDERFULLY behaved and loved to show himself off...meanwhile the other two had a few issues, but nothing they didn't work out of- hey? what can you ask of horses who haven't been off campus in a while? :)

In July and August we adopted out Happy Bert, Alphadomo, Nobucksfortuck, Todd T. Shrupolini and Gentle Bandit! Happy Bert went on to be a therapeutic riding horse in Iowa, Gentle Bandit is now a trail horse with two wonderful volunteers from the MMSC, Todd T Shrupolini went home with Chef James (yes a chef:) ), and Alphadomo and Nobucksfortuck have gone to Cincinnati to be field hunters and pleasure horses for their new owners! Like I said, BUSY summer!

We also got some new horses on campus. Impressive John R is a BEAUTIFUL little guy who is really sensible about life, You Lucky Devil is a handsome 8 year old who is just aiming to please and Shooby Dooby Do is a very friendly, large horse who could make a GREAT eventer/jumper. I'm not sure if you guys have met Twitchy Witch or not, but if you haven't seen her yet, I suggest you check her out @ www.secretariatcenter.org. She is a BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL mare who would excel in dressage or in the hunter ring.

We were also so pleased to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chandler from Wisconsin back to the MMSC. They had previously sponsored a stall in the name of the granddaughter who passed away very young and they wanted to see the plaque actually up! Mr and Mrs Chandler are such nice people we hope they return soon with their whole family so we can let the little ones ride!

We were also visited by Mr. Kirschenbaum, a Maker's Mark representative, and a few of his friends! They all rode and Mr. Kirschenbaum got to go on a trail ride with Supersonic Sun- what a great visit.

While we were on the subject of visits, Nina Bonnie brought a LEGEND out to our center during the USHJA/USEF Hunter Derby finals. Mr. George Morris came out to see us and commented on what a WONDERFUL job we were doing- he even said "Thoroughbreds really ARE the best breed" and from talking to him, Mr. Morris really means that. It was so wonderful to hear his kind words about what we are doing and to have him visit the center!

Today we had a chef from the food channel come visit us! She learned alittle about natural horsemanship with Fly Lite and got to ride a little bit. They were very nice people and she seemed to enjoy herself. Please watch the Food Network for us and Fly Lite:)

As usual, we have been doing our Interactive Demonstrations every Saturday at 12:00. The MMSC is really lucky to get such great crowds who are really interested in learning about what we do and why we exsist.

As usual, I encourage you to check our website and facebook often and I will try to write more frequently now that the summer has slowed down a bit. We will keep getting horses in and shipping ones out so keep in touch! This year we have adopted out 20 horses since March 1! Our goal is 40 so keep telling your friends about us:)

Look for us at some shows this fall as well as at the UK Volunteer Fair on Wednesday September 9 from 10am-2pm! Everyone is welcome to visit whenever they like (see our website for hours). Hope to see you soon!

Melissa DeCarlo

June 20, 2009

Hello all!!

Sorry for the big delay within posts. My name is Melissa DeCarlo and I am the new "Natalie Voss!"
This week we have had people put down deposits on FOUR horses! Alfie and Tucker are awaiting their approved adoptions and will move to their new home in Cincinnati, Roger is awaiting his approval and will be moving to a local farm, Sunny will be shipping to a local farm as well! We are waiting to hear on a ship date for Take The Balance to meet his new family in Florida. It has certainly been a busy month!! That's five horses adopted this month and the month isn't even over!
Danny and Benny have had a lot of interest as well as Proper Authority- they are just waiting on their perfect match. We did get two new horses: Twitchy Witch and Happy Bert in from Walkill, NY. They seem very pleasant. Fly Lite has also returned from her winter vacation!
We had a lovely visit with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Executive Director, Diana, a few weeks ago. Although she only stayed a night, it was great to have her here and have her input for the advisory committee meeting.

Hope this blog finds you well,
Melissa DeCarlo
MMSC Adoption and Volunteer Coordinator
Educational Programs Director

June 2, 2009

Welcome back! We are sorry our blog has gotten out of date. Natalie Voss, our educational programs, volunteer & adoption coordinator has finished up a year at the center and another year at UK. She is now off to England and when she returns she will be persuing an internship a Thoroughbred racing magazine. We are sorry to see her go, but know she will do very well any where she ends up.
In the mean time we are being busy little bees! Our spring communications intern, Brittany, has joined our staff for the summer to help ride and keep our books up to date. Also joining our "staff" are WONDERFUL new horses. We welcomed Nobucksfortuck, Supersonicsun, and Alphadomo back to the program. All of them have been well cared for and are looking for their new homes. We also brought in another one of Mrs. Abercrombie's horses named Proper Authority. "Judge" is the sweetest horse and a barn favorite! He is STUNNING and would make anyone a fantastic trail, pleasure, or possibly even show horse. Please see them at www.thoroughbredadoption.com.
Guidance up, Invincible Vince, Danzaway, and Take the Balance are all still on the property and doing very well. Take the Balance has an adoption pending, which is exciting for him! Vince has been training first level dressage and really looks wonderful- check out his new video on youtube. Danny is really coming along and is moving GREAT- he would make a wonderful child's horse. Guidance up or "Benny" is recovering well from his trailer injury and is riding real sound. It is still a little sore at the canter but he is a great little guy. He, too, is ready to go off to his next home.
We have said good bye to many horses this past month. Besides Hootie and Sweet Sweet, Core Sample has gone off to a pleasure home in Naples, Florida, Dr. Hector went to Ohio, and Take the Balance is in the works. Gentle Bandit will be returing from his foster home this week, but already has an adoptee interested!
Jerry's grass is looking really nice and the horses are loving it! One field has been set for just riding, since we have so many horses that have just been ridden in a ring, we want to keep them riding in a field to keep their brains working. But, Jerry has been hard at work mowing and keeping our horses looking BEAUTIFUL.
We are looking for teal colored polos, lunge whips, and a color copier if you are looking for something to donate.
Hope this post finds you well and you are having a wonderful summer!
-MMSC-

Update: May 9th

Hello all!
So many updates!
First of all, our halter auction closed with a grand total of $3400! We truly appreciate the generosity of our bidders. Holy Bull's halter brought the most money at $517 and each exceeded their minimum bids. We are thrilled with the results and are excited to repeat the event next spring.
We had a table at the Rolex Three-Day Event again this year and met lots of great people. We had several interested in volunteering, and showed all of our horses to various potential adopters. We also sold lots of t-shirts and all of our used tack. What a great weekend!
We have had a flurry of adoptions in the last month also: Testament was adopted to a local dressage barn (after being here for only three weeks!), Hootie left for a new home in Pennsylvania, and Sweet Sweet finally seems to have found a foster home in a non-mounted therapy program in Colorado. Sam, a recent return has gone back to live with an old adopter as well...not a new home but certainly a good one. There are applications pending on Core Sample Dr. Hector, so my guess is they will be the next to go. Danzaway and Take The Balance are getting a lot of interest also. Danzaway is ready to go but Balance needs some more assessment before we will feel really comfortable sending him out. Still available are Invincible Vince, Dawn's Creek and Todd T. Shrupolini so check them out at www.secretariatcenter.org .
We're on the lookout for more young, sound horses to bring in and are hoping to work with some new local rescue agencies for off-track Thoroughbreds but are willing to accept horses into the TRF system from private owners. If you have a horse you feel is appropriate for re-training, call us at 859-246-3080.
Our interns have officially finished their spring semester and gave a great presentation for parents and professors alike. We had a really great group this semester and all of them learned a lot. I'm going to begin advertising for the fall internships in the next week. Anyone interested should drop an email to ncvoss2@yahoo.com .
We're still holding weekly demonstrations on Saturdays at noon for Horse Park visitors, so come hitch a ride to the Center after the Parade of Breeds at 11:15. We take visitors back in our truck at 11:45 from behind the Breeds Barn.
That's all for now, folks. Stay tuned for more updates!

April newsletter and other updates

The April edition of the MMSC newsletter is now available here: https://www.thoroughbredadoption.com/pdfs/newsletterapril.pdf

The halter auction is going well--all of our items have bids, but it's not too late to put yourself in the bidding! The auction closes at midnight on Sunday, PST.

We are working hard at Rolex! We've got a table at the trade fair in the indoor arena as well as extended office hours this weekend for visitors. We're a bit short-staffed so let us know at the table if you'd like to come by and see the horses so we can send someone back to the barn.

Next Sunday (May 3rd) at 2 pm is our final presentation for our interns. Come listen to their presentation as they show and tell about their experience here at the MMSC!

Halter auction

Hi guys,
The eBay auction is now live! Check it out and bid high--http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/run_filly_run_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

It hasn't even been up twelve hours yet and we've already got several bids--I'm thrilled! We also got a Holy Bull halter and letter of authenticity at the last minute from Darley America so we now have ten total for sale. Much thanks to Darley at Jonabell! Also, Adena Springs was kind enough to donate hats to go with the Giacomo and Ghostzapper halters they gave us and those are included with the halters. Remember you get a tax deduction for any purchase from this auction and these halters will only increase in value over time so it's a great investment all the way around. Pass the word!

~Natalie