This section will be devoted to sharing some of the happy endings with CANTER “alums” and their new owners…
If you have a story and photos that you would like to share, please email us and send your photos.
Some Success Stories…
We wanted to share a few stories that proud new CANTER Moms have passed on to us…These are great stories. If you would like to share your own, email canterne@canterne.org.
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BIG SHOULDERS AND KID MIRAGLIA
Big Shoulders at the Beach!
By racing standards, Big Shoulders and Kid Miraglia were just about worthless in the fall of 2004: too slow to pick up a paycheck anywhere else, they had ended up at the Northampton Fair…the “end of the line” in the racing world.
Sound and kind, all they needed was a second chance in a new career.
Thanks to Kara Riley-King, that’s what they got. Kara saw both horses listed on CANTER NE’s web site and fell in love upon meeting them in person.
Today, Big Shoulders goes by “Pippin,” and here are just a few of his accomplishments: he’s finished in the top 12 of every event he has attended; he’s had top 5 placements at the UNH Fall Horse Trials and Huntington Farm Horse Trials; and he’s earned accolades from renowned horsemen, including Jimmy Wofford and Darren Chiacchia.
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BROCAT
The black sheep of the family. The odd one out. The ugly duckling.
Brocat is Truly a Member of the Family
Those were just a few of the phrases used to describe Brocat once upon a time. He was born with blue bloodlines – his half-sister, Lady Tak, is a Grade 1 stakes winner and millionaire – but just couldn’t succeed as a racehorse, hard as he tried. His legs were a little crooked. His speed was virtually nonexistent. At the age of 3, he was sore, unhappy, and already “washed up” – barely getting it done in the cheapest of claiming races.
Still, when the CANTER volunteers met this sweet-natured, loveably goofy boy at Suffolk Downs in 2006, they noticed something special about him. He was incredibly sweet and forgiving, and was bursting with personality. Luckily, his trainer and assistant trainer elected to donate him to CANTER NE’s adoption program.
It took some time, but Brocat bloomed in foster care. And that elusive quality of his soon caught the eye of Massachusetts rider and OTTB fan Jane. She felt drawn to him; he reminded her of a favorite old horse, and when she met him, she thought he was pretty great, too. Two months after he said goodbye to life as a racehorse, Brocat had a home.
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RASOR D and SALTY’S ACTRESS
Ardent TB lover (and wonderful CANTER foster mom) Wendy is now the proud owner of two Suffolk Downs alums, both of whom were in the barn of trainer Paul Thornton. Their stories couldn’t be more different, but both are testament to how very talented, versatile, and remarkable off-the-track Thoroughbreds truly are.
In Wendy’s eloquent words:
“After racing until age 10 with 130 starts under his belt, iron horse Rasor D has fully embraced semi-retirement. He just loves being able to spend all day turned out with ‘his’ herd (it didn’t take him long to get to the top of the pecking order!) Rasor is remarkably easy to handle, kind and so sweet I can’t help but dote on him and make sure he knows what a good boy he is.
Although he’ll always have a lot of track in him, Rasor is so well mannered to ride that one of my favorite things to do is just hop up on him bareback and mosey around. We’re chipping away at dressage work, but I’m taking things slowly since I think Rasor has really earned the easy life. I’ll let him tell me when he’s ready to pick up the pace.”