Help a Racing Warrior Begin His Second Act →
Kissing Sally Falls had a spectacularly unsuccessful racing career. She retired after two races. Sally finished in last place for her first race. In the second race, she passed one horse to finish next to last. That horse had stumbled in the homestretch, allowing Sally to leisurely lope by him. Her race trainer told me [...]
Lightening Ball (aka “LB”) won over $300K in 59 races. He was known for hanging back, then surging past the field to sweep the win at the last minute. At age nine, LB was still running in lower level claimers in WV. His original race owners (Bob and Pat Orth) claimed him back to retire [...]
As 2016 comes to an end, I want to share a tale of two horses who came to LOPE. Of all the horses this year, these two stories show why we are so passionate about our charitable work — and why we are asking for your continued support of the LOPE horses. The holiday season [...]
LOPE is delighted to announce a partnership with renowned equine artist Joanna Zeller Quentin of Dallas, TX! Joanna’s award-winning artwork has been exhibited internationally and her images have appeared in the Chronicle of the Horse, Southwest Art Magazine, Horseback Magazine, and Horses in Art. Her work has hung at The International Museum of the Horse, [...]
2015 was one of the biggest years ever at LOPE! Here are some of our favorite highlights. Most Historic Donation: American Pharoah Halter In 2015, Bob and Jill Baffert donated one of American Pharoah’s halters to LOPE! They sent the halter in honor of LOPE graduate Wooden Phone, who was trained by Bob Baffet during [...]
By Suzanne Minter Suzanne Minter is a LOPE staffer and lifelong equestrian. She adopted Wooden Phone (aka “Watson”) from LOPE in 2012. Suzanne has studied classical dressage since childhood and regularly competes in local shows. She especially likes horses with “interesting” personalities, expressive faces and natural aptitude for dressage movement. Ex-Racehorses Aren’t Just for Pros [...]
Wimberley, TX – November 25, 2015 – LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers (LOPE), a Wimberley-based nonprofit devoted to retraining and rehoming ex-racehorses, was the recipient of a generous donation by Bob and Jill Baffert of a gorgeous leather halter worn by Triple Crown and Grand Slam winner American Pharoah. The Bafferts donated the halter in [...]
Many of you might have heard that the Retired Racehorse Project is holding a big Thoroughbred Makeover event this October in Lexington, KY. Contestants must enter TBs that have either raced or trained at the track in 2013 or 2014. The horses must not have any post-track training (other than 15 allowable rides) before January [...]
Favorite Media Coverage: The Blood-Horse Article in Winner’s Circle In August, LOPE was featured in The Blood-Horse Winner’s Circle section. The story was titled “A Leap of Faith” and chronicled LOPE’s start as an organization. We appreciated that the reporter focused on LOPE’s interest in horsemanship and training for the ex-racehorses in our care. She [...]
The Education of LOPE LOPE is approaching its 12-year anniversary in 2015. That’s an exciting milestone, especially when you consider how far LOPE has come since 2003. We’ve helped over 1000 ex-racehorses find new careers. Our work has morphed from a simple listing service to multiple adoption farms. Our latest growth has been in the [...]
50% off sale!Retraining Racehorses: Back to the Basics with Tom Curtin. Tom works with ex-racehorses and demonstrates key horsemanship principles.
