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ROYAL CHACHINGALINGA
The Story of A Horse, Family And Healing
On August 4, 2018, Jose Vega was thrown from his mount and ended up in the hospital. During what was to be just a routine check, doctors found a cancerous tumor on his kidney.
Many in the horse racing world rallied around Vega and his family during his ensuing health battle, raising money to provide for a family that suddenly lost its only source of income. Glen Wilkinson, who owned the horse that unseated Vega, joined that cause.
But, to him, it wasn’t enough.
“I just kept having these feelings that I needed to do more to help him,” Wilkinson recalled, noting “this little voice in my head [saying], you need to do more. And so that’s what I did.”
And that’s how Vega was roused from sleep one early February morning to a phone call from Wilkinson. He offered to transfer the Vega family ownership rights to his Appaloosa, Royal Chachingalinga. That also happens to be the horse who threw Vega on that fateful August day at Retama Park.
“I didn’t know what to say,” Vega recalled. “At the time, my finances, I didn’t have any kind of money to take care of a horse. He said, ‘I think this horse will be a blessing for you and your family so I would like for you to have him. If you want to race him, go ahead and race him.’”
Vega not only raced his new acquisition, but reaped plenty of success. Royal Chachingalinga captured the Appaloosa
Horse Club’s 2019 Champion Three-Year-Old Gelding Award. Visit the ApHC website and see for yourself. Just note the listed owner of the horse is Fabiola Vega.
By John Moorehouse
That’s Jose’s daughter . . . age seven.
“She really loves the horse,” Vega said of his daughter. “She’s pretty excited about it. We all are. He’s been good to us. He’s been a blessing. Thank God for him, we found that cancer and he’s just been a nice horse.”
Vega noted his daughters, Fabiola and her little sister Valentina, have a special bond with the newer member of the family: “When I
take them to the barn and go see him, they get excited. I think the horse does, too. When they go see him, he goes to them and just puts his head down and lets them pet him
all over.”
The Vega daughters also got the opportunity to accept the gelding’s Champion award at a banquet held in February.
“Both my girls went there together,” Vega said. “They were really excited. When we got the invitation, they were excited, and they were counting the days.”
As for Wilkinson, he can’t help but ponder if something greater than himself had a hand in his decision to give Royal Chachingalinga to the Vega family.
“You wonder sometimes, is it the hand of God in this? Sometimes God makes lemonade out of lemons, you know? I don’t understand, but it just seems like something out of the ordinary.
“Jose was having his struggles, not having his income ... what could I do to help him out? Money is finite, right? You send $100, it’s $100, when
you’re through, you’re through. I
felt there was a connection in
that. We could somehow use
this horse to help provide
them income, rather than just sending them however much money.
“If they’re giving golden eggs, we’re giving the goose,” he added.
Meanwhile, Vega is feeling much better these days. He’s due for another doctor’s appointment in June. Assuming things look clear, he won’t have to go back for another year. At that point, if things still look good, he will be declared cancer-free.
“I feel good,” Vega said. “Compared to last year, I feel awesome.”
Vega also has been back riding for about a year since his sudden cancer diagnosis. At first, he noted he was nervous about being back in the irons, if only because doctors had warned him he ran a high risk of developing a hernia if he didn’t take special care.
“I had to ride with the belt on, wrapped around my stomach,” he said. “I rode all last
In 2018, Jose Vega was thrown from Royal Chachingalinga and ended up in the hospital, where doctors found a cancerous tumor on his kidney during some routine tests.
100 SPEEDHORSE April 2020