This is a story of transitions; a person transitioning into middle age, and a horse transitioning from young racehorse into sporthorse.
I first found Afton Mountain on the CANTER MidAtlantic website (
http://www.canterusa.org/midatlantic/index.htm) when idly searching for my next project. He was the first horse listed under "CANTER OWNED" and his picture and description captivated me from the first.
The only problem was I still had the horse I was trying to sell and couldn't do anything about moving on until I had found her a new home. I had a buyer in the final stages, though, and was hopeful enough to begin shopping. Whether that was a jinx or not, who knows, but the sale fell through and I was back to the beginning. Advertising, showing, hoping, waiting. Selling horses is never fun or easy (although since this was the first one I had ever tried to sell, how did I know?) but as the economy got worse, the prospects of selling a 17 year old horse were getting dimmer.
That was when the person who had first come to try her back in the summer of 2007 emailed me out of the blue to see if she was still available. Sometimes the stars just align. Within 10 days, the sale was complete, and Paris Blues was on her way to her new home. By all accounts and reports, she is well loved, being cared for like a princess, and impressing all the trainers with her abilities and her condition. I guess I did something right.
In the meantime, it was no almost three months since I had first seen Afton Mountain's photo and started reading his foster-rider's blog of his progress. I was amazed that the horse was still available, considering how well he seemed to be taking to his new career. At four years old, he had raced 14 times, won twice, finished 3rd three times, for career winnings of just over $26,000. He had been donated to the CANTER Program (which is a non-profit organization dedicated to re-homing Thoroughbred racehorses) by his trainer to ensure his future. Anything other than galloping around a track counter-clockwise, however, was pretty foreign to him! That's half the fun of working with these horses though!
I immediately started the process of evaluating the horse for my needs based on all of my requirements. Since he was four hours away, it was a challenge. Eventually, I just took a Saturday and drove down to try him.
I was looking for a bay gelding (no more chestnut mares for a while!) -- check -- between 15.3 and 16.1 -- check -- between 4 and 6 years of age -- check -- with good conformation -- check -- and no known soundess issues or vices -- check -- that had a pleasant expression and seemed to like people -- sort of check. When I first saw him in person, he had a very cautious look on his face, as if he were skeptical of this person's intentions. I think the track horses can get this way, as they get shuffled from trainer to trainer, groom to groom, they are never able to make strong connections with specific people. Some horses don't care, some do. His expression wasn't bad or mean by any stretch, it was just a bit cynical. I continued with my evaluation.
I was on my own with this adventure, which made me a bit nervous. My dear friend Pat went with me for moral support and to man the video camera, but my trainer wasn't there, and my husband was in Aiken, SC competing. I had only my own judgement to go on, which had me a bit nervous. It was also the first horse I was looking at in my search. This seems to be a pattern with me, though, and has worked out well so far.
When it was time for me to get on and ride him, I was nervous. Getting on a young just off the track thoroughbred can have unpredictable results. What impressed me the most was that my nervousness vanished as soon as I sat on him. I was totally relaxed and comfortable. I have no idea why, but that made a huge impression on me. He was willing, pleasant, and oh-so comfortable! Walk, trot, canter, turns were a bit wobbly and assisted by the indoor arena walls, but that's a baby horse for you. He even happily jumped some little jumps, never surging in front of them or on landing. I walked him out the driveway and around the front field, where trucks, cars, and motorcycles were whizzing past, and he was rock solid. His expression had even softened by the time we were finished, as he began to trust me.
I was beginning to get excited.
On the four hour drive home, I had lengthly conversations with Duncan (husband) and with Maureen (trainer) to tell them my experience and my thoughts. I was trying to be dispassionate, but could find nothing to tell me not to buy this horse. I decided to proceed with getting him examined by a vet for the pre-purchase evaluation.
The following week was a whirl of making plans long distance (scheduling the vetting, coordinating people to be in certain places at certain times, all while being insanely busy at work) and then waiting. The vetting was scheduled for Thursday. Waiting is the worst. In the end, though, it was all okay. The vet called Thursday night and found nothing to raise red flags, so Maureen drove down on Friday to bring him home.
Afton Mountain was my project!
