I thought it was a bad day when I heard the HBO show about Horse Racing was canceled due to the death of the third horse to perish while the show was being produced. This horse wasn't running. He was being walked to his stall, when he reared up, fell backwards on his head and had to be euthanized. Fear of animal group backlash, stopped production and ended up canceling the series which had been renewed for a second season earlier this year.
People always ask us about horse personalities… are they all the same?, how do they differ?, etc. We always pointed to the sweetest horse we knew as the example of horse that could be a pet. Her name: Meriwether Jessica. When we first met her, she was owned by MMTAGC Mike Dickinson (that stands for Much More than a GC). Mike ended up selling her to Patsy Symons and Patsy recently sold her to Stonestreet Farm (the home of Horse of the Year, Curlin and Rachel Alexandra) as a broodmare.
You could come right up to Meriwether Jessica (MJ for short) and hug her. She loved it. If you tried to leave, she'd start bowing her head, inviting you back for more hug time. What a gentle animal and a star on the track too!
She'd been mated to a wonderful sire named Street Cry and was out in the corral with other horses, when one of them got a little wild and kicked her in the head. She had to be euthanized. Writing this just brings more tears to my eyes. What a shame! This was really a bad day… not just for me but for all those involved with this very special horse. RIP, MJ.
We have no runners this week. Maybe it's better to take it easy and go hug some of our horses.
May the weekend bring better days for us all.
Best,
A.
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