colt – Rock and Racehorses: Sarah K. Andrew

A Visit to Zoar Ridge Stables and Rescue

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Sarah K. Andrew

Who said you can’t have a nice equine photo session in January?

This Saturday, my weekly photo volunteer work took me to Zoar Ridge Stables and Rescue in Newtown, Connecticut. The adoptable horses were from Camelot Auction, New Holland Auction, and from a local neglect case.

Please contact Zoar Ridge directly with any inquiries about these horses- I photographed them, but the farm has all the details about them. The farm has worked with them for many months and knows their history, health records, etc. Phone: 203 470 9939 Email: zoarridge@sbcglobal.net

BELLE

Belle is a registered Quarter Horse mare- she’s 16 years old and 15.1h. Here’s her pedigree (click here). She has no vices, and rides nicely. Zoar Ridge would like to find a home for her where she will get individual attention since she has already paid her dues as a lesson horse for most of her life. Her adoption fee is negotiable.

You can watch a video of Belle under saddle here:

Photos of Belle:

NAOMI and DOBBY

Naomi was purchased at Camelot Auction in Spring 2011. She was pregnant with Dobby. Naomi’s breed is unknown- she’s 9 years old and just under 15 hands. She was said to be an Andalusian/Quarter Horse cross at the sale, but her colt is gaited. Naomi does not gait at liberty, but her colt Dobby shows a variety of very strong gaits. Dobby’s conformation and movement make him look like a Missouri Fox Trotter, so perhaps Naomi is as well.

Naomi is unbroke, and is considered a training project for an experienced trainer. She was pleasant to handle for the photos, and was very willing to pose for us.

Photos of Naomi:

Naomi’s 8-month-old colt, Dobby, was also very pleasant to work with. He has excellent ground manners. The folks at Zoar Ridge did a great job working with him- he leads, stands, picks up his feet, etc. When he plays in his pasture, he shows a variety of gaits. He is playful, and loves people. Here’s a little video of him…

Photos of Dobby:

HONEY

Don’t tell the other horses, but Honey was my favorite of the bunch. Honey’s name is perfect for her sweet disposition, as well as the color of her eyes. She is 12 years old and about 15h. She was a neglect case, and had not been ridden for more than 6 years. Zoar Ridge is working her on the longe, under tack and she’s been backed several times. They believe she was once broke to ride, but needs confidence. She is very easy to handle, ties well, etc.

Although I only spent a little time with her during our photo session, I got the sense that she’s a really special mare. She has a very easy-going attitude, and she seems very trainable. Honey is very focused on people, and despite her past of neglect, she seems to really thrive on attention. I think she’s the kind of mare who will blossom in the right home, and be a devoted equine partner.

She is colored like a palomino, but her mane and tail have streaks of darker hairs. She might be a “dunalino” (palomino with dun factor) or possibly just have really neat countershading. Her eyes are a lovely honey color, and her ears are REALLY, INSANELY cute. They tilt in toward each other at a steep angle, and are tippy at the edges.

Photos of Honey:

CRYSTAL

Last but certainly not least is Crystal. She’s a 12-year-old registered Haflinger mare who is about 14h tall. She was purchased from New Holland Auction. Crystal rides and drives. She has a wonderful temperament and would love to be a family pet. Because she is a Haffie, she can be a little pushy so would be best suited for an advanced beginner. Her dream rider would be a teenager that would like to go trail blazing as she is steady as rock. Her adoption fee $800- neg. to the right home. Contact Nicole Bourne if you are interested in Crystal: 973-222-9401

Photos of Crystal:

Cigar Mile Day 2009: The Three F’s

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Sarah K. Andrew

For many, Thanksgiving means the Three F’s: food, family, and football. To this, I add Fotography. And Fillies. And many Furlongs of graded stakes action.

Cigar Mile Day is generally the last hurrah of the season for New York racing fans. This time of year, the weather gets chilly, racing at Aqueduct moves to the inner dirt course, and the holidays approach.

I brought my friend Lisa to the track and she did a great job as my assistant. She also learned quite a bit about the light at the track and how to get the proper exposure for bright sun and the shade of the grandstand.

Before you know it, Derby Fever will be upon us. This Saturday gave racing fans a little more information about their favorite two-year-olds.

Launch N Relaunch broke his maiden with ease.

Buddy’s Saint (center) won the Remsen handily.

Although they did not take a trip to the winner’s circle, there were many other nice colts at the Big A that day, including Imaging:

Highveldt Storm:

Lentenor, full brother of Barbaro. Barbaro’s Kentucky Derby was one of my favorite races of the decade, but I never got to see the great colt in person so it was a treat to see his younger brother carrying on the legacy.

But the day was not all about the colts. Stardom Bound had an eventful return from her layoff. Peach Brew stumbled out of the gate at the start of the Gazelle- if you view the video (below), you can see that it happened in the blink of an eye, but the photo shows how much it can affect a horse’s game.

The marquee race of the day was the Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile Handicap. Kodiak Kowboy won the race and a real shot at this year’s Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter.

Furlongs and Furlongs of Fun for this Fotographer. Hope you had a good weekend as well.

The Legend of Alibar: A Star is Born

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Sarah K. Andrew

Alibhai’s Alibar was foaled in New Jersey on March 28, 1979. Alibar was liver chestnut with a big blaze and two hind stockings, a left front sock, and a white right pastern. His milky chin and knife-point stockings are signs of sabino genetics at work, and his raccoon tail and speckled flanks indicated rabicano markings as well. His foal coat was reddish but as he matured, his coat became a rich, chocolatey color that had a purplish cast in some light. Although he was genetically a chestnut, his mane, tail and back were so dark with countershading that some people mistakenly called him a bay.

Although Alibar was registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club and was the son of a Quarter Horse dam, the largest percentage of blood in his pedigree was Thoroughbred. Alibar’s sire was a tall, leggy Appaloosa stallion named Golden Alibhai. Golden Alibhai was sired by a Thoroughbred named Peakablu and was out of an Appaloosa mare of Canadian lines named Golden Candy. Peakablu had the blood of champions in his veins; his grandsire Bull Lea was the king of Calumet Farm and sire of Triple Crown winner Citation and his broodmare sire Alibhai was highly influential to the breed and was grandsire of the immortal Kelso. Blue hen broodmares such as Blue Delight and Teresina are also found in Peakablu’s pedigree. All of these ancestors could not make Peakablu run any faster, and he had an unsuccessful career in California and went on to sire horses of other breeds. Not much is known of the Appaloosa side of Golden Alibhai’s pedigree. I found a few photos and made MANY phone calls to breed registries but the roots of the bloodlines are lost to the Canadian winds.

Golden Alibhai was very athletic and temperamental. He was a very talented jumper and sired some successful show jumpers, but his personality kept him from having success in the show ring. Alibar’s breeder told me that Golden Alibhai made a habit of walking on his hind legs with a rider in the saddle. I found this photo in an old issue of Appaloosa Journal. Such a big fellow and very different in appearance from the modern Appaloosa.

Alibar’s dam was a small, stout, black Quarter Horse mare named Treva Bar. She was bred 4×4 to influential sire Three Bars. She came from mostly racing and cutting lines. Alibar’s breeder said that she had a nasty disposition and killed one of her foals. A few years ago, I corresponded with the family of Treva Bar’s breeder. This is what they had to say about Treva Bar and her sire, Reddi Go Bars:

When I started training her as a 2 yr old, she was a bundle of energy. Everything was pretty typical at first but once I got her out of the round corral and started riding her in larger areas, once we moved from the walk into a trot or canter she would never come back down to a walk; she would just jig. I worked her in deep sand in a dry river bed doing figure 8’s around the trees trying to wear her down. She never wore down. One good thing I remember was that she felt very solid and secure doing figure 8’s in the deep sand, never felt she was struggling in the deep sand. She was stout and very muscular. It was just very tiring to ride her because she wouldn’t walk. We were working on a ranch in eastern Colorado at the time and my husband took her to ride a couple of times. The first time he had been out moving and checking cattle all day and coming home Treva Bar was still jigging. The second time he took her for the day, he roped a 2yr old bull off of her. He said she handled it just fine, but still with all the work she wouldn’t walk. She would always stop when we ask, but just not walk.

Reddi was always pretty good to handle and ride. Treva Bar looked a lot like him. They used Reddi to breed their own mares and showed him at halter. Reddi’s colts always looked like him and black was the dominant color.

Alibar was turned out with a few other Appaloosa weanlings in the summertime. According to his breeder, the weanlings were so difficult to catch that they had to leave short lead ropes attached to them. On the notes for these photos, she titled them “The Three Musketeers”.

After Alibar was weaned, my mom’s friend Diane purchased him. And you’ll learn more of her adventures in Chapter Two :^)

And so begins The Legend of Alibar. Thank you for reading about my special horse and I look forward to sharing more of the Legend soon.

I Want Revenge and Joe Talamo Win the 2009 Gotham Stakes

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Sarah K. Andrew

Saturday 3/7/2009

Cabin fever. Derby fever. Spring fever. Call it what you want. The gaggle of racing photographers had it in spades when they all flocked to Aqueduct for the first Saturday in March. The whole gang was present and accounted for and we shot the Aqueduct inner dirt with enthusiasm in our eyes and roses in our minds.

The Girls of Aqueduct: photo by Bud Morton

I Want Revenge and Jockeys star Joe Talamo won by over 8 lengths, thus capturing the imagination of many Bloggers and columnists. Captured a little gas money for me, too. I managed to hit the Gotham trifecta :^)

Did you watch the race? What did you think? Who is on the top of your Derby list?

Spotlight: 2008 Eclipse Award Winners!

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Sarah K. Andrew

A big congratulations to the connections of these wonderful horses and to the recipients of these awards. And congratulations to the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance for the shoutout by the Hennegan Brothers.

Check out Thoroughbred Daily News for full coverage of the Eclipse Awards.

Champion Older Male and Horse of the Year: Curlin