Page 174 - November 2016

MORE THAN SPEED
It’s all about the flash for Paint racing advocate Carolyn Bay
by Alannah Castro, Paint Horse Journal
Growing up, Carolyn Bay of Clare, Michigan, always had an affinity for colorful horses. Helping her grandfather and his team of cowboys work cattle from the tender age of 5, it wasn’t uncommon to see Carolyn out on the ranch aboard her favorite mount, a Paint named “Billy.”
“You know how grandfathers are. They think their grandchildren are better than they really are,” Carolyn said, laughing. “I was a tagalong, even at 5 years old. He said I was helping, but I’m sure I was really more of a nuisance than help.”
BACK TO HER ROOTS
As an adult, Carolyn began working with the local track in Mount Pleasant, Michigan,
a a n n d d i it t w w a a s s t t h h e e r r e e h h e e r r r r o o a a d d b b e e g g a a n n t t o o l l e e a a d d C C a a r r o o l l y y n n back to the Paints she loved as a child. She
was approached by a group of Paint racing
enthusiasts to help get those races added to meets in Michigan.
“I did a lot of work with legislators; that was my role as a volunteer,” Carolyn said. “Paint Horses couldn’t run legally here because they weren’t in the laws. The Paint people would give me the information, and I would do the legwork.”
With the help of legislators and others, Carolyn was successful. The bonus of getting Paints added was they were eligible to run in the same races as other breeds.
“The difference here is that Paints can run for the same money as Quarter Horses, Appaloosas and Arabians,” Carolyn said. “If it was a $5,000 race, you could run Paints with the Quarter Horses and they would get the same money. I know in some states Paints get less money, but we’re on equal ground in Michigan.”
DIVING IN
Carolyn quickly became enthralled with Paint racehorses and bought several mares in the hopes of breeding a Champion. In 2006, she bred her prized mare Hot Cash 123 (QH) to Judys Lineage to produce her first Paint racehorse.
“I picked Judys Lineage because he had a phenomenal pedigree and he also produced color,” Carolyn said. “I wanted a colored Paint.”
The product of that breeding was 2010 World Champion Running Paint Horse I Do One Two Three, a sorrel tobiano gelding with a special story behind his name.
“My grandparents didn’t think my father was good enough for their daughter to marry,” Carolyn said in a March 2011 Paint Horse Racing article. “My mother and father started using ‘123’ to say ‘I love you’ to each other without my grandparents knowing.”
C C a a r r o o l l y y n n ’ ’s s g g o o o o d d Q Q u u a a r r t t e e r r H H o o r r s s e e m m a a r r e e H H o o t t C C a a s s h h 1 1 2 2 3 3 w w a a s s b b r r e e d d t t o o l l e e a a d d i i n n g g P P a a i i n n t t s s i i r r e e J J u u d d y y s s L L i i n n e e a a g g e e t t o o p p r r o o d d u u c c e e r r h h e e r r W W o o r r l l d d C C h h a a m m p p i i o o n n P P a a i i n n t t I I D D o o O O n n e e T Tw w o o T T h h r r e e e e . .
172 SPEEDHORSE, November 2016
PAINT HORSE BULLETIN