I know for those of you that have been following along as we prepare for this year’s Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, it may not seem like it, but I am normally a planner. Don’t get me wrong, I love a spontaneous adventure or horse show as much as anyone, but when it comes to the horses and the business, I always have a plan. But that’s the thing with horses, sometimes they have other plans ... and sometimes those plans mean changing all of yours.  

I should have spent the end of last week at Devon Fall Classic with my Take2 Thoroughbred Jumper and 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover graduate, Jersey Fresh. From there, we were set to make a quick turnaround to compete in the Take2 Championships this week at the Kentucky Horse Park. Instead, an unfortunately timed abscess has us sitting on the sidelines.  

Grace Hammer and Teddy Spaghetti showing. (Lia Sim Photography)

How does that affect our makeover plans for this year? Well, I now have an available, nonrefundable stall at the Kentucky Horse Park for the Split Rock Kentucky National this week, as well as an empty spot on my friend’s trailer and a hotel room. Should we pivot and take Teddy Spaghetti for a last-minute adventure?  

Of course, I was originally worried about leaving him behind for six days in these crucial last three weeks before the Thoroughbred Makeover, but I also knew Grace, my makeover teammate, planned to ride him and could easily pick up my slack while I was gone.

Now, given the choice to take him to Kentucky as a non-showing horse this week instead, we are left weighing the pros and cons. The obvious pros, he gets to see the Kentucky Horse Park prior to the makeover, experience settling into a huge horse show environment, and have almost my sole attention for six whole days of horse show schooling and boot camp. The cons? Shipping from Maryland to Kentucky two times in three weeks can be tough on a horse and could potentially take too much out of him. Could we find a layover farm and leave him down there? Of course, but as much as I would love to hang out in Kentucky with Teddy for three weeks, I can’t be away from my farm and other horses and clients for that long.

So, we're left deciding if we should leave well enough alone and stick to our plan, or if this is the ultimate, “when life hands you lemons” situation, and we should throw him on the trailer. The kicker? We have less than two full days to decide! 

As for what this past month has looked like for Teddy, it’s been busy but successful. We fit in a few more schooling opportunities at local rings, continued to expand his trail-riding experiences at home, took him to Swan Lake Stables Local Finale Show for another opportunity to spend the night away, and took him to Tranquility Manor’s Fall Hunter Pace to put our cross-country schooling to the test.  

Teddy Spaghetti showing with Bay Hammer, 11. (Lia Sim Photography)

Swan Lake was the first time that Grace had the opportunity to show him around a full course of proper hunter jumps, and they did great! Some of you may remember that at the NJ Jersey Thoroughbred Spectacular in July, Grace and I chose for her to do the cross-rail jumpers simply because the ring was bigger and we felt like it would be the better introduction to her doing a full course. Honestly, for Teddy, the jumps don’t matter at all, but it was wonderful to see them excelling in a more traditional show hunter setting like we can expect during the Thoroughbred Makeover. In fact, they did so well that she decided to take on Teddy’s first ever derby, and they finished sixth in a huge open 2’ Hunter Derby. We then took it one step further and let Bay, Teddy’s youngest kid, compete him in the cross-rail hunter division. As planned, they took it slowly and had a blast. Honestly, how many 3-year-olds only a few months off the track can safely trot and canter a cross-rail course with an 11-year-old in a large, multi-ring horse show environment? Not many!  

For the Hunter Pace, we had a much larger group than when Teddy and I got to accompany just his brother and Grace for the Spring Paper Chase, and quite a few newcomers, which proved to be a little more to manage than I had expected. However, despite getting a little upset when he felt his group was separating or leaving him, Teddy did all the big things wonderfully. He stood quietly with friends while others jumped all around him, patiently waited when other groups that wanted to go faster than us passed, navigated steep and narrow paths through the woods with ease, didn’t bat an eye at any of the deep mud or streams, and happily jumped everything asked of him. I truly couldn’t have asked for anything more.  

Bay Hammer competing with Teddy Spaghetti. (Lia Sim Photography)

As for Patriotic Party, who some may remember was my potential second entry here on training board, he ended up excelling so quickly and well, that his owner decided he was ready to go back home and begin his adventures as her eventing and fox hunting partner.

For him, the Thoroughbred Makeover was always a potential bonus goal if it fit into his training. He was originally only meant to be here for 30-to-60 days and would have only stayed through the makeover if it was a benefit to his owner and himself.

While I would be lying if I said I wasn’t bummed that I didn’t get to take a second horse, the fact that he came back into work so well that she was able to take the reins over herself for just about every experience was exactly what was supposed to happen. Plus, we will still see them for occasional lessons and out in the hunt field, which will be just as rewarding! 

So, a mere three weeks from the day we ship out for this year’s Thoroughbred Makeover, my message is the same as it’s been all along. Anything can happen. This business is full of ups and downs and pivoting on your plans, but anything is possible, and that is so exciting! 

The Jockey Club supports many aftercare initiatives including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare, and Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers. View all of the initiatives supported by The Jockey Club.