Tag: Horses

Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare, Uncategorized

#weekendcoffeeshare – #156 – March 15, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

Good morning and welcome to my #weekendcoffeeshare #156! So glad to see so many of you. I have several kinds of brews waiting on you, so just help yourself. I am a tea drinker and don’t drink coffee, so there are a couple of nice teas as well. Grab a mug and have a seat and let’s catch up.

As many of you know, I am mostly retired. I find myself, just about every day, wondering how I ever found time to actually work. Even retired, it seems that almost every hour of the day is filled up with something. Most of it good. Some not as good and I’d rather not deal with that! Do any of you who are retired feel the same? That there isn’t enough time? There is so much left that I still want to do.

I have a lot of writing to do as well as reading. I’m trying to read all the classics along with some of the newer stuff. Some traveling, though not a lot, is on my mind too. There are still a few places I’d like to see, a little traveling that I have left to do. I would love to visit New Zealand. There are also only two European countries I haven’t seen. One is Switzerland and the other is Scotland. I especially want to go to the Scottish Highlands since one half of my DNA comes straight from there., Another fourth of my DNA comes from the Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland. The last fourth is from Sweden and I have traveled there several times. I still have cousins in both Scotland and Sweden who I would love to meet in person. I don’t know if I’ll be able to travel to any of these places in the coming years, but I certainly hope so. Where would you like to go on your travels?

Scottish Highlands

Stockholm, Sweden

Isle of Lewis, Scotland

My ancestors came from each of these places.

A funny story. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s mother emigrated from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland to America.

Do any of you engage in genealogical research when you aren’t writing? I have worked on my genealogy off and on since I was 18 years old. I’m interested in exploring so many of my family lines. I’ve developed family trees for my paternal grandfather’s line (Sweden) and my maternal grandfather’s line (Scotland). My maternal grandfather’s ancestors were in America before the Revolutionary War that split the U.S. from Great Britain.

My paternal grandfather’s family were new immigrants in the early 20th century, immigrating from Sweden to the state of Michigan in the U.S.; northern Michigan to be precise.

Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula of MIchigan, US.

Other than dreaming about traveling and writing, my week has been pretty quiet. Unfortunately, I’m dealing with some illness in my family and am consumed with concern and involvement with that. It’s one of the disturbing things about getting older. Family and friends start to get sick.

If you are ever curious about the state of Kentucky in the U.S., I have a book for you. One of the things Kentucky is known for is thoroughbred horse breeding and racing. We are only a few miles from the Bluegrass region of Kentucky where the limestone in the ground turns the grass blue in the spring. It is particularly good for horses. The horse industry has thrived here since the 1700s. I am reading a wonderful book depicting the history of the horse industry in Kentucky set in a wonderful story. The book is called “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks. I highly recommend it. What are you reading?

Thank you for joining my #weekendcoffeeshare. It’s been wonderful to see and spend time with all of you. Have a great upcoming week!

Thanks to Natalie the Explorer for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare!

The betting window

I am lucky enough to live just about 60 miles from the most beautiful horse country in America – the area around Lexington, Kentucky. The horse racing track located here is Keeneland Race Track, ranked in 2009 as the #1 premier horse racing track in the United States by the Horseplayers Association of America. Keeneland has two racing meets per year. One in April for 4 weeks and one in October for 3 weeks. Here is a photo of two horses in the padlock in the 2016 October meet:

Besides racing, Keeneland does many other things. They have sales meets every year at which some of the best all-time race horses have been sold. Nineteen Kentucky Derby winners have been sold at Keeneland along with 21 Preakness and 18 Belmont winners. Eighty-two of 88 Breeder’s Cup World Championship race winners have been sold at Keeneland.

.The atmosphere at Keeneland can’t be beat. It is a bit old-world and certainly “old Lexington” and reminiscent of the thoroughbred industry of both the past and the present. Lots of old and new money changing hands but the common person off the street can also have lots of fun. There is seating from general admission at $5 per person to very expensive box seating. You can always “ride the rail” and feel the dirt being kicked in your face by the horses as they pound the track running by.

The dining options are extraordinary with three fancy dining rooms. Make your reservations way in advance! Then there are the equivalent of fast-food restaurants but many serve a Keeneland specialty food called Kentucky burgoo which is a type of stew. Burgoo can be made out of almost anything. The recipe is a closely guarded secret. Rumor has it that it may have rabbit, squirrel, or other game meats in it.

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Of course there is the gambling. Betting on horses is certainly gambling. Racing forms abound at Keeneland and there are experts sitting around in the most varying costumes. There are also ATM machines which this writer advises you to stay away from!

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The betting window

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There are so many things to do at Keeneland. You can go there early in the morning, watch the horses exercise, and sometimes have breakfast. They have a famous equine library you can peruse. Their gift shop and its merchandise is to die for. Arrange a trip to the backside (the stables) if you can and see the horses, grooms, and what really goes on in racing stables up close and personal.

There is also the quite fascinating people watching. Sit on a bench, relax, and watch the quite varied types of people who wander through Keeneland Race Track. That will entertain you all by itself. This is truly a travel destination. #amwriting #amblogging #writing #Keeneland

 

 

Destination Travel: Keeneland Race Track in Bluegrass Country

Posted in Non-fiction

Kentucky Derby Week: American Pharoah

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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It’s Kentucky Derby week! The Week of the Horse. Even though some say horse racing is on the wane, you would never know it this week. In fact, you would never know it in Kentucky at all. Kentucky is the thoroughbred horse capital of the world though others try, on occasion, to steal that claim to fame. They have never succeeded! Particularly not after the 2015 Kentucky Derby. America and, perhaps the world, fell in love with a plain brown colt named American Pharoah. Even his name was misspelled! But Pharoah didn’t let that or anything else stop him. He won the Kentucky Derby, and then the Triple Crown coupled with the Breeder’s Cup Classic. He was the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 when Affirmed won it and the first Grand Slam winner ever…….the Grand Slam being all four races.

What is so special about this brown colt, born and bred in Kentucky? Some horses are just special. Secretariat was special, like Seattle Slew and Man ‘O War were special. Pharoah has a gentle temperament. Thoroughbred horses are known for many things but a gentle temperament is not one of them. Instead, many are temperamental and nervous. Pharoah loves his adoring public and during his racing seasons, and now while he is standing at stud, his public goes to visit him in hordes.

Something else special about American Pharoah. For over 40 years, horse racing has been trying to find another Secretariat, that very special big red horse that won the Triple Crown and broke all speed records. Secretariat certainly posted a faster time in the Belmont Stakes than Pharoah, but unbelievably, Pharoah actually accelerated in the final quarter mile of the Belmont, won the race going away, and beat Secretariat’s quarter mile time by 0.68 of a second.

I personally know Pharoah loves his tribe because I am one of them and I have visited Pharoah at his home at Ashford Stud near Versailles, KY. He poses for the crowds, tall and proud. He is not a bit nervous but very calm. When you get close to him, he has a kind, quiet look in his eyes and he meets your gaze lovingly. He does not shy away. They say that now, even during his breeding season, he is still our calm, sweet Pharoah even while getting at least 80 mares in foal. I can’t wait for his first foal.

In some ways, American Pharoah revived horse racing. He retired to stud with a record of 9-1-0. Not only does he have a breeding career ahead of him, you can’t turn around in Kentucky without seeing someone wearing some piece of American Pharoah merchandise……a jacket, a cap, or something.

They say he loves to go out in his paddock in the mornings before his breeding and public visiting sessions and have a run and a good roll in the mud. Just once, I would like to climb over that paddock fence onto his back, go for that run with him, feel his powerful muscles, and see the world through those big brown eyes. #anericanpharoah #kentuckyderby #triplecrown