Taking the bull by the horns - or horse by the bridle..

There's nothing I love more than seeing a bunch of people band together and rather than waiting for someone else to solve their problems, they just Get Going with a plan of their own.

Thus it was with the Oldham County thoroughbred owners.

When Del Lowell heard that the top agricultural crop in Kentucky in 2011 was chickens, she said "REALLY?  CHICKENS?"  And so she spearheaded a mission to make horses #1 again.

We all know the legislature has not been kind to the Thoroughbred industry lately.  There is that little issue of gaming, and the ongoing issue of sales tax charged to horse farms.  And then there are other concerns like regulation of race day medications, etc.

Not to mention the economy.  Did I say the economy?  The economy, yeah, everyone has it bad on that score and the horse industry was not left out of the mix.

But not one to whine, Lowell's new group, the Oldham County Thoroughbred Supporters started a media campaign and convinced the local newspaper, the Oldham Co. Era, to run a 6 week series of articles about the horse industry in the county.

After weeks of talking to and interviewing horse owners and farm owners in the county, researching the rich history of Thoroughbred farms and their winning horses, the group wrote the six stories for the Era, with help from Joanne Hepperman, who has already written one book about owning a small TB partnership (Rose Colored Horses).

They then planned a Meet-and-Greet for all those interested in moving forward with promoting their industryand getting more public awareness about the impact on Oldham County.  The Meet-and-Greet, held Sunday October 14, welcomed over 100 interested people including not only the horse owners and farm owners, but also local officials, state representatives and the nonprofit organizations which support the horse industry- KY Thoroughbred Association, KEEP and KY Horse Council.

The next event is Oldham County Day at Churchill Downs on Sunday, Nov. 4. Hepperman encouraged all in attendance at the Meet-and-Greet to not just attend themselves, but to bring a neighbor who might not normally come to the races.  They plan to highlight all horses running that were born in, or are being trained in Oldham County.

I want to say "YOU GO GIRL" but I know this is an effort by both sexes. Take a hint from the energetic and passionate horsemen in Oldham County and see what you can do in your county.  It does not need to be thoroughbreds, but could be breeding farms for other breeds, or a large trail riding community.  We all gotta get busy!

For more information about Oldham County Thoroughbred Supporters or to volunteer, contact Del Lowell at 502-639-1498, email Jo Ann Heppermann at joannebr@iglou.com, or go to www.oldhamahead.org and click on “Contact Us.”

When Nothing Seems to Go Right

So the other day I had one of the "nothing is going right" kind of days.

It happens to everyone -- just a part of life, I know.  So I'm not really whining about it.  But it feels good to commiserate with office mates, farm hands, even a horse - about the horrible day I had.  It's part of our human commonality -- life sometimes just stinks.  But the next day, everything is good.

Why the bad day?  Well, the nature of my job makes me dependent on a lot of people and equipment...
The car has to run, the phone has to be charged, the computer software has to work, the key decision maker has to be available, emails can't bounce, (or get lost), the internet connection can't go down... and the list goes on.

But frequently one of those things break.  And I can deal with it.  It's when they ALL seem to break in one day -  now that's a bad day!

What does this have to do with horses?
It's about the big "C" -- Control  Or rather Lack of Control.
No matter what plans I put in place, no matter what the timeframe they have to happen in... I'm really not in control most of the time.  A malfunctioning piece of equipment or a personal "drop what you're doing to attend to this" situation takes the control away in a split second.

Years of anger, frustration and disappointment when things all go wrong have slowly taught me (I'm a slow learner) that we just aren't in control as much as we'd like to think.  And now - somehow - I find these days kind of funny.  (Unless whatever broke that day got me hurt too!  That's not so funny...)

Don't we all expect that when we mount our horse for a training session in the arena or a quiet ride down the trail that we are in control, the horse accepts the saddle and bit, knows how to stop, doesn't buck and rear.... so we are totally in control. The weather is nice, the footing is good, everyone one is happy....

Or not.

Just a few weeks ago I was trial riding with a friend and her horse went down to its knees tripping over a jumble of rocks.  She hung on, the horse scrambled to its feet, and everyone was OK.  But for a split second, other (dangerous) outcomes were looking us in the eye.

You go into the barn and your horse comes out of the stall 3-legged lame.  Perhaps an abcess, maybe something worse.  And your show is tomorrow, you've already paid your entries and stall fees. Now not only do you have to miss the show, but you also lose your show fees, you might have a large vet bill to boot.

Control.   You thought you had it.   Horse was exercised, stalled safely, trailer loaded, plans all made...Then....No control.

So we can fuss and fume and pull out our hair out... or go grab a good book and a glass of wine, and chill.  And be glad nothing worse happened, at least today.

If Peru Can Do It, Kentucky Can Too

I just returned from an 11 day visit to Peru.

Why Peru?  Well, visiting Machu Picchu was on my bucket list, so that was reason #1.
Reason #2 was that my daughter and I have been going on equestrian vacations and we decided that a ride in the Andes mountains would be fun.

We booked a 6 day, 5 night equestrian vacation with Perol Chico, a well managed, private ranch which offers 5 to 12 day rides on their homebred Peruvian Pasos.  I won't tell you how much it cost, but it was expensive.... but we were willing to pay to have this once in a lifetime adventure.

The trip was wonderful, great horses, lots of personal attention, good food, great views, and were able to still return to a nice hotel at the end of the day to rest up. (At 10,000 to 14,000 feet altitude, resting was required to recover from lack of oxygen.)

One thought that kept coming into my head as we rode though was --- Kentucky should be doing this!  the market is there -- us old babyboomers who now have time to get away , who love to ride and who have some extra money to spend on a riding vacation before we kick the bucket.

Kentucky has such beautiful and unique scenery, and with the right offerings, we too could have people from all around the country -- and the WORLD -- coming to ride here.  We also have the added benefit of our interesting culture:  from the mining towns to historic bourbon distilleries to the country music highway to the world famous thoroughbred farms.  What an experience we could weave for those visitors.... everything within a few hours drive, hospitality and good horsemen to take care of them.

So what stops us?  I think it is lack of vision and confidence.  Lack of confidence that what we have to offer will really draw those vacationers.  Lack of confidence that the high prices that I paid to Ride Peru, that other people will pay to Ride Kentucky.  Lack of vision in those that have to start the businesses, that they can actually do it... get good steady horses, arrange for transportation, lodging and plan other cultural/tourist activities.

I left Peru with a sense of admiration for their horses, their country and their entrepreneur spirit.  The trip made me want to return to see more of their country, from the southern desert beaches to the Amazon jungle.

We need this in Kentucky.  We can capitalize on our natural resources, our excellent horsemen and our unique culture... and in the effort, create jobs and economic growth. What's good for Peru can be great for Kentucky.