What a ride it has been! Get a taste of our journey and see our plans for what's next.
Our roots were modest: walking the backstretch of Texas racetracks and helping trainers find new careers for their slower racehorses. Back then, we just had a website listing service, no ranch.
Our executive director, Lynn Reardon, would take grainy photos of the horses with a basic digital camera and post them on our website with descriptions and trainer phone numbers — to help them find new homes.
There was no Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Just a laptop and a hastily compiled email list. We sent out emails with the horse listings and networked online in horse forums (like The Chronicle of the Horse).
The whole operation was based out of a small apartment in Austin. Lynn drove a Saturn to the racetracks — which in no way deterred trainers from trying to give her horses, usually injured ones in need of rehab.
Within a few months of founding, we had rented some pastures ($20/month) – and boom, the adoption program officially began. Famously, Lynn expected just a handful of horses to be donated the first year. Instead, 40 arrived, one after the other, in rapid-fire succession.
A former office worker, Lynn had to undergo extreme on-the-job training. The process was so intense – as well as entertaining – that she wrote a book about the experience. The book hit the bestseller lists for Amazon, Austin and Dallas and was nominated for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award.
There was much interest in our work right from the start, including articles in The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, Cowboys and Indians Magazine, and even a feature on The Today Show.
Many Texas friends joined our cause, helping to fundraise and spread the word far and wide. Austin Equine became our official vet sponsors. All of our success came from the generous support of our fans and friends – thank you!
Over the years, LOPE steadily grew and adapted with the OTTB market. By 2013, we noticed that the biggest gap in that market wasn’t horses or buyers – it was in horsemanship education. Racehorses and adopters lacked many of the basic skills, creating an opportunity for LOPE to begin teaching and advocating foundational horsemanship.
At our 10-year mark, LOPE began to expand our work to include educating the public about the OTTBs and how to retrain them. A teen volunteer program morphed into a full-fledged internship program for aspiring future veterinarians and horse industry professionals.
Our education programs even found an audience in the race industry. In 2019, LOPE was invited to hold an education clinic at the Camarero racetrack in Puerto Rico. The clinic was a big success! The jockey school at the track sent almost their entire student body. Many horses were brought for our teacher (master horseman, Gary Bailey) to work with at the clinic.
By 2017, the commercial market for young, sound OTTBs exploded as people recognized their affordability and value. LOPE decided to refocus our mission and help the most at-risk OTTBs — the older horses still running at the track at advanced ages (aka“warhorses”). Our oldest warhorse retired from the track at age 16 (after winning his last race).
Download PDF with details on mini-campus.
