Kentucky Derby to Rolex: Thoroughbreds Beyond The Homestretch

We are currently in the middle of two of my most favorite weeks of the year, book-ended by two of the greatest annual US equestrian events: the Rolex Kentucky Three Day and the Kentucky Derby. And besides the horse people, they are tied together by one significant common denominator: Thoroughbreds!

With Thoroughbreds the only breed in the Kentucky Derby and a dominant breed in eventing, I thought this was  the perfect time to talk a bit about one of my new favorite books, Beyond the Homestretch. As a total bookworm and crazy horse girl, I tend to be a harsh critic of horse books. But this one earns four hooves up from me!

Author and founder of LOPE (LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-racehorses), Lynn Reardon happened to discover Regarding Horses and learned that I’m a bit of a Thoroughbred nut, and thought I might enjoy her book Beyond the Homestretch, which I believe was just released last fall. I think the initial email Lynn sent me describes the book well:

I’ve become a fan of Regarding Horses and of course of Ace’s blog too! Our nonprofit organization, LOPE, helps ex-racehorses find new homes after they are done racing — so I especially have enjoyed reading about Ace’s adventures with you.

I wrote a book — Beyond the Homestretch — about the different ex- racehorses I encountered in my work with LOPE. Although I had little horse training or ranch management experience, the horses here gave me the most effective “on the job” training program ever.

I’d like to send you a complimentary copy of my book — I think you would enjoy the “big” horse personalities I encountered and also would be entertained by my attempts to learn horse training on the fly.

(Please note too that she did not ask me to review the book on Regarding Horses. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have bothered to waste my time writing about it!)

I’ll admit, I was a tad skeptical about the book, because I tend to be skeptical of anything I get for free and because I wasn’t sure about a self-proclaimed inexperienced horseperson training ex-racehorses. But it’s always fun to get packages, and I enthusiastically tore into the box when it arrived. And I fell in love instantly when I saw the cover:

The picture captured my imagination and the soft, matte texture had me hugging the book to my chest as if it was a well-worn copy of my most favorite book in the world.

And I wasn’t disappointed once I opened the cover.

Not surprisingly, I fell in love with all the horses, each of whom get their own chapter in Beyond the Homestretch. But I also became a huge fan of Lynn, a DC accountant who started riding as an adult and quit everything to start a non-profit ex-racehorse placement program in Texas. (and yes, LOPE is a playoff of the well-known thoroughbred organization CANTER, who helped mentor Lynn).

I mean, what horse owner can’t appreciate a book that begins, It was 3 a.m., and I was trying to decide whether to shove pieces of rubber hose up a horse’s nostrils?

In Beyond the Homestretch, we meet a handful of LOPE horses with great personalities and stories who overcome injuries and retirement to find new jobs and forever homes.

There’s Zuper, a flirtatious gelding nicknamed the Sean Connery of horses who helps Lynn run LOPE and integrate new horses into the herd:

There’s Tulsa Mambo of whom Lynn says, “Tulsa Mambo’s personality showed immediately under saddle – he was opinionated about where we should go, exuded a jaunty cheerfulness during trotting, and liked to make faces at the neighbor’s horses over the fence. Tulsa reminded me eerily of Charles, a chatty European polo pro from my exercise rider days, a slim man who liked to smoke, make cynical witticisms, and curse in French while riding his herd of moody polo ponies.”

PJ’s antics made me laugh a lot: “A big, stocky three-year-old with a red coat and blaze face, PJ had the build of a dairy cow. When in doubt, panic and run into things – this was PJ’s philosophy on life. No matter how patient the handler, PJ was always on the edge of a minor freak out. The complete disconnect between PJ’s behavior and his appearance was maddening. You expect lanky, taut-muscled horses with high heads and white-rimmed eyes to act nervous – not round horses that always seem to be in a placid doze.”

And sweet Spider (who incidentally did not get the rubber hose shoved up his in Chapter 1 after all): “Spider quickly established himself as the clown of the farm. He liked to turn over troughs and splash the water out. If he saw you in the pasture, he would run across the field to greet you, gangly legs flying, with a delighted “you-must-be-coming-to-see-me” look on his face. It was impossible to be in a bad mood around Spider’s enthusiasm. Spider had an innate premise that the universe was a benevolent, wonderful place where everyone was there to pet him.”

And then there’s Lynn, who despite her self-deprecating ways, is uncannily horse savvy. She’s the very best type of horse person too; she doesn’t take herself too seriously and she listens to what each individual horse wants and needs. And in her business working with ex-racehorses, those are key traits to have.

Today, Beyond the Homestretch sits on the special bookshelf in my living room that is reserved for only my most favorite books in the whole world.

Support LOPE Horses & Get A Signed Copy of Beyond the Homestretch

Because I loved this book so much, I wanted to be able to share it with you all in a special way … one that not only gives you some added value but supports the horses of LOPE. Lynn has generously offered to provide personalized signed copies of the book with a $20 donation to LOPE. How awesome is that?

Visit the LOPE support page to make your donation via PayPal or check. Then email Lynn at lynn@lopetx.org to let her know that you are a Regarding Horses reader and would like a signed copy of Beyond the Homestretch.

And please come back here and let me know if you do; it’d be great to see how we are banding together for such a great cause!

You can learn more about Beyond the Homestretch and LOPE Texas on their respective sites.