LOPE Texas - LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers

Join Our Mailing List

LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers (LOPE) provides Texas ex-racehorses with opportunities for new jobs after their racing days are over.

LOPE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that partners with the Texas racing industry to help find racehorses new homes through its ranch adoption facility and online services.

LOPE relies solely upon the generous support of our funders to accomplish this mission.

“This type of organization is long overdue. It will serve to protect these beautiful and generous racehorses who gave so much pleasure to their owners, trainers, jockeys and racing fans, while also making a lot of us jockeys and trainers very well off (and even made some of us famous).
I wholly support LOPE Texas.”

> Ron Turcotte
1973 Triple Crown Winner aboard Secretariat

The 2008 LOPE Benefit Horse Show Was a Huge Success!

There were almost 400 entries -- and over $12,000 was raised!

LOPE would like to thank the Texas Horse Enthusiasts Board for sponsoring and organizing such a fantastic event. An extra special thanks to Chrissy Fink of Lazy F Ponies for her outstanding show management and planning efforts.

And because of the generous support of the Texas Horse Enthusiasts Board, they have now joined LOPE's very special Founders Circle of VIP donors!

LOPE Launches Founders Circle

Members of the Texas racing industry are showing strong support for LOPE by joining the LOPE Founders Circle. When complete, the newly-created Founders Circle will consist of ten special donors, each contributing $8000 annually to LOPE to provide the foundation for its ongoing programs. Read more

LOPE is very excited to announce that Equestrian-Network.com has become our newest sponsor! The Equestrian Network is a prestigious group of equestrian websites with an audience that encompasses every horse discipline, breed, and riding style. Boasting more traffic than most major equestrian websites, their communities average 11 million page views per month. The Equestrian-Network.com website communities are EquestrianFriends.com, EquestrianSingles.com and EquestrianChat.com. LOPE is honored to be sponsored by such a tremendous online community of horse lovers!

Wooden Phone, winner of $830K, has been donated to the LOPE Ranch by Mr. and Mrs. James Helzer and Tom Durant. Learn more about Wooden Phone.

LOPE is excited to announce our first knee chip surgery, made possible by a grant from the Houston Equine Research Organization ("HERO"). Dean's Ready, a 5-year-old gelding, had chips removed from both knees by Dr. Dutton at Hill Country Equine. He is recovering well, and is back at the LOPE ranch ( after a month of post-surgery stall rest at Unicorn Equestrian Center in Manor). LOPE is grateful to HERO for the surgery grant, and also extends a big thank you to Dr. Dutton and Unicorn Equestrian Center.

LOPE is excited to announce that Vocation Vacations has added LOPE to its trip packages. Vocation Vacations is a great idea – they help people test drive their dream job by arranging “working” vacations with all types of interesting jobs and companies. So folks will now be able to come to the LOPE Ranch to learn about running an ex-racehorse adoption agency – and support LOPE at the same time. Check out their website for more information on how to register for the LOPE package or to learn about other dream job vacations.

LOPE in the News! The San Antonio Express-News recently published a very nice story about LOPE.
Read the full article here.

LOPE Texas is proud to announce that the Houston Equine Research Organization ("HERO") has awarded LOPE a grant to start a surgery fund (for horses donated to the program) and for facility/pasture upgrades to the LOPE Ranch.

LOPE is pleased to announce that it has now transitioned over 600 Texas ex-racehorses into new homes since 2003. We are so excited to have reached the 500 horses total so far, and our larger goal is to eventully place 300 horses each year.

Images of the Ray Hunt clinic hosted by LOPE Texas

The LOPE-hosted Ray Hunt clinic was a big success! 25 riders and over 125 auditors participated in the 3-day event, which consisted of colt starting and horsemanship classes. LOPE Texas extends its warmest thank you to Ray and Carolyn Hunt. And LOPE would also like to thank the Washington County Extension Horse Committee for their generous arena sponsorship and tireless volunteer support.

Eponaire Equine Products is a proud LOPE sponsor. Eponaire manufactures the Astride, a training aid that safely simulates rider weight and feel. LOPE will be using the Astride in our rehab and retraining program. Learn more about this innovative product.

Texas Jockeys wearing LOPE patches Texas jockeys are showing support for LOPE by wearing a custom-made LOPE logo patch on their pants. At Sam Houston Race Park, several jockeys began wearing the eye-catching LOPE patches during a recent Thoroughbred racing meet.

LOPE is a proud partner of the Texas Horsemen's Partnership (THP). THP is officially recognized by the Texas Racing Commission as the organization representing owners and trainers of horses racing in Texas. THP is a partnership between the Texas Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Texas Thoroughbred HBPA, Inc.

Learn About our Sponsors