Page 18 - 16 March 2012

I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for this year’s “freebie,” Feb. 29.
LEAP DAY
An extra day well spent.
by Stacy Pigott
Once every four years, the universe gives
us a “freebie” day. Well, not the universe, exactly...it was actually Julius Caesar who
introduced leap years over 2,000 years ago when
he replaced the Roman Calendar with the Julian Calendar. While an improved method of date keep- ing, the Julian Calendar was not entirely accurate, and it wasn’t until the Gregorian Calendar in 1582— the calendar system we use today—that date keeping became as accurate as it is.
Leap years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth’s revolutions around the sun. If we didn’t add a day on Feb. 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours off our cal- endar every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days!
According to timeanddate.com, it takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days—or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds—to circle once around
the Sun. However, the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year. Caesar’s solution, which was later refined, added an extra day every four years to accom- modate the extra hours. The Gregorian Calendar allows for leap years every four years with these caveats: The year must be evenly divisible by 4; The year can- not be evenly divided by 100, unless the year is also evenly divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.
Now I don’t know about you, but it seems there
are never enough hours in the day for me, so anything that recovers six hours a year is okay in my book! Traditionally, we get the benefit of those recovered hours on Feb. 29—Leap Day. While Leap Day comes with its own traditions and superstitions for some, to others, it’s an extra day—a freebie, if you will—to cel- ebrate life and make the most of the time we have been given. While it wasn’t planned, I couldn’t have hoped for a better Leap Day than I experienced this year.
With a watchful eye on the weather forecast that was predicting rain, I hopped in the car on Feb. 28 and headed south 225 miles to the little town of Giddings, Texas. Located about an hour southeast
of Austin, Giddings is named after the San Jacinto Battle veteran Giles Giddings, who gave his life to help Texas achieve its independence from Mexico. With a city motto promising “hometown hospital- ity,” Giddings served as the perfect stopping point for the night before going on to my final destination, Ledbetter, Texas, the next morning. The purpose
of my trip was a photo shoot at Narcisco “Chicho”
Flores’ Stablewood Farms.
Leap Day dawned overcast but dry, a good sign as
I packed up my photography gear and headed toward Ledbetter. Along the way, I met up with one of Speedhorse’s owners, John Bachelor III, and co-worker Jay Palmer. We were all looking forward to Chicho’s guided tour of the ranch and the facilities.
From the minute we drove through the stately front gate, time seemed to stand still. The facility had originally been built by Johnny T.L. Jones, and the attention to detail and functional yet beautiful design showed through in every building.
The ranch’s most recent owner, prior to Chicho, was the legendary Joe Kirk Fulton. Inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2011, Fulton has bred the earners of more than $16 million on the track, includ- ing World Champions Dashs Dream and Special Leader, and 72 other stakes winners. Looking at the beautiful pastures, it was awe-inspiring to think of the horses that had trod this same ground.
And then, of course, there are the horses that are there now. Trainer Heath Taylor and his wife, Tracy, call Stablewood Farms home and run their world- class training operation at the historic facility. While their first string had already shipped to Remington Park for its opening weekend, there were still some phenomenal 2-year-olds to see. Among them was You Call It Madness, the Mr Jess Perry filly David and Susan Mackie paid $630,000 for at the 2011 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale. Chicho also proudly showed
off his 2-year-olds, including an outstanding pair of half-sisters out of millionaire Eye For Corona. One of them is sired by Chicho’s own stallion, Swingin Jess.
With the rain clouds still visible but dry, we headed out in the Kubota to tour the Stablewood pastures. While most of the broodmares were in Louisiana to foal and be bred, we still saw some promising Swingin Jess yearlings, and a days-old
filly by Tempting Dash. And, of course, no tour of Stablewood is complete without a drive through the exotic animal pastures and a glance at Chicho’s classic car collection. Luck held, and it never did rain.
While the rest of the Speedhorse team headed to Houston for the night’s rodeo, I made the trek back home with a camera full of pictures and a mind full of memories. It was only then, driving through the dark, that I realized it was Leap Day. I smiled as it crossed my mind that I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for this year’s “freebie,” Feb. 29.
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SPEEDHORSE, March 16, 2012
UNDER WRAPS