There’s no denying it now. We’re officially in crunch time for this year’s Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover, and I still have a lot of decisions to make. Not only are there only 79 days until the start of competition, but there are also only eight days for me to declare my potential second horse. Eight days to decide which, if any, of the makeover-eligible horses available to me I think has the best shot of showcasing their talent in an entirely new discipline and hopeful future career in only 79 days. Exciting! And utterly nerve-racking at the same time!

As I’ve touched upon over the past few months, the Thoroughbred Makeover’s inclusive horse eligibility requirements allow for several different paths to the final competition, and I’ve had it go just about every way. I’ve had a horse coincidentally adopted at the perfect time for a month-long letdown and a Dec. 1 start; I’ve had a horse straight from the track enjoy a summer and fall off before a Dec. 1 start; I’ve had a horse fall into my lap in the spring; and I’ve had a similarly timed spring horse prove they were far more ready for the competition than the one I had already restarted on Dec. 1. But never have I gotten this close to the wire still weighing so many options.

In fact, only one thing is for certain. Team Teddy Spaghetti is official. Competing as a team is also new to me, but I can’t wait to share the experience, and the reins, with Teddy’s oldest kid, Grace Hammer. Too young to compete herself, Bay Hammer will support us as owner, and no doubt be riding around the horse park every chance she gets.

Teddy and Grace schooling off property. (Courtesy of Caitlan Brooks)

Both kids have been an integral part in Teddy’s retraining, and I am so glad that Grace decided to give competing a shot. As for Teddy himself, our past month of intended-basics boot camp has been derailed by a series of lost shoes, and horribly hot, humid, and stormy weather. Lazy by nature, nothing has had Teddy less inclined to work hard than the heat. While I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried about the impending deadlines, we are trying to change it up and keep him interested and having fun— flat work one day, bareback trail rides the next. Hopefully, we’re back on track, and we have a big month of field trips and our first away show ahead of us.

As for Natty Bumppo, when we last checked in, we were assessing soundness and weighing options as far as continuing to restart him this year or giving him more time. It was not long after that that we discovered an abscess on a hind foot. Upon attempting to clean it up a bit, my farrier found the remnants of what had once been a large subsolar abscess most likely plaguing him for several months.

On one hand, I was thrilled. Not for his pain obviously, but for a probable reason behind the hind end unevenness we were sometimes seeing and feeling. However, on the other hand, it only reaffirmed my feelings that waiting to restart him probably is in his best interest.

Natty Bumppo’s right hind after abscess clean up. (Courtesy of Caitlan Brooks)

Unfortunately, with abscesses of this nature, it is very likely that we have not seen the last of it. He spent several days inside — soaking it and bandaging to keep it clean — but there is still no guarantee that he won’t abscess again in an old track, or develop a bruise, especially with the extreme summer weather we are having. So, I believe I am officially hanging up his hat for this year’s Thoroughbred Makeover anyway.

I love Natty Bumppo’s brain and personality so much that I would hate to intermix his restarting with occasional pain from his hoof or be stuck in a constant cycle of restarting and stopping for abscesses. Instead, he’s going to live the good life for a while with regular trims, balancing, and monitoring that sole, with the occasional groundwork and ponying mixed in to keep him mentally engaged. You never know, but timing may work out to see him aiming for the 2026 makeover this time next year. A girl can dream anyway.

With the decision to temporarily stop on Natty Bumppo, I was left looking down the aisle, so to speak, for other possibilities. Just as I was starting to wonder if taking a second horse to the Thoroughbred Makeover was in the cards for me, I had a potential client reach out for a lesson. She was already on my waiting list for a stall for training board but was hoping a lesson would at least start her on her path and send her home with some homework she could focus on in the meantime. She also happens to be a state veterinarian at the tracks here in Maryland and part of a family steeped in racehorse training tradition, in other words the perfect person to help spread the word that I may be looking for a new project. However, as we were chatting and talking about eligibility dates, she realized that her horse, a homebred who was partially sold to owners and trained by her family for the entirety of his career, was in fact eligible himself.

Patriotic Party, also known as Prince. (Courtesy of Caitlan Brooks)

Meet Patriotic Party, or “Prince” as he’s known around the barn. He is a 6-year-old bay gelding who ran until he was 5 and retired last spring. After his last race, she bought out his other owners and took him home to their farm to letdown and enjoy life in the field.

This spring she started working with Prince on the ground and going on trail rides here and there with her friends, but he has yet to be formally restarted. Having moved in just last week, my initial impression is that he is very cute and well-mannered, and while expressive and reactive at times, he is very quick to get over the excitement and settle in. All great traits while looking to retrain an off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB). Her future goals are to have a well-rounded eventer and occasional fox hunter, which I think would mesh well with potentially pointing toward the field hunter and show jumper divisions. While the Thoroughbred Makeover does offer an eventing discipline as well, I fear that with our shortened timeframe, expecting him to excel at all three phases within eventing may be a tall order.

As always, anything is still possible. But only having eight days to declare my second horse or lose the spot will certainly be looming as we continue to work with both Teddy and Prince this week. Stay tuned!

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.