Page 78 - December 2015

“I love trying to breed the ultimate 440
yard racing American Quarter Horse.”
STEVE FISCH
by John Moorehouse
Steve Fisch made a transition from the saddle
to the operating table, climbing in the irons as
a jockey throughout his teenage years before entering veterinary school and graduating from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.
Fisch served as president of the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (FQHRA) since its incep- tion in 2005 and through 2015. Under his leadership and with the hard work of many others, Quarter Horse racing returned to Florida in 2009 following an 18-year absence. The inaugural meet was held at the historic Hialeah Park, and the track’s 7th Quarter Horse race meet kicks off this December 26th with expected purses of $140,000 per day for the 40-day meet.
Fisch is a national American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Director, a member of the AQHA Racing Council and AQHA Racing Committee, on the Georgia Quarter Horse Racing Association (GQHRA) Board of Directors, a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners (FAEP), and of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
Currently, Fisch is one of 3 veterinarians at AVS Equine Medical & Surgical Hospital in Tallahassee, Florida. He also breeds racing Quarter Horses and has been Florida’s Champion Breeder twice in recent years.
This month, we get to know more about one of the most influential names in the Sunshine State’s Quarter Horse industry in this latest edition of our “Lighter Side” feature.
Q: Where were you born?
A: Selma, Alabama.
Q: What are your hobbies outside of horse racing?
A: I am an equine veterinarian and have been involved with horses all my life. I have had a racing Quarter Horse in some form—either broodmares, babies or horses on the track—since I was about 11. I grew
up in Moultrie, Georgia. During that time, AQHA recognized non pari-mutuel wagering at tracks in Georgia, such as Green Acres Raceway near Valdosta and Holiday Downs near Atlanta. There was also Gator Downs near Jacksonville, Florida, and Pompano Park in south Florida. There were also a few bush tracks. I rode at some of those tracks from the time I was 13 until just before I started college. Shortly after I graduated from UGA Veterinary College, I bought
a mare named Shes Classic, who was a full sister to
the dam of A Classic Dash, and got right back into the racing American Quarter Horse business and have been in it ever since. So you can see that horses, and race horses especially, are pretty much my life. So, any other time is pretty much spent with my family. The kids are all grown up now, so our new hobby is plan- ning a yearly family excursion to some national park or something along that line each summer. The week before Christmas, the whole family is going to take an 8-hour home defense course in using handguns and shotguns to protect themselves if the need arises. So,
I guess my hobbies are spending time with the family, seeing beautiful sights, and getting them prepared to say “go ahead punk, make my day.”
Q: What is your favorite movie, and why?
A: My favorite movie is Chisum because in the movie, John Chisum is a man who plays by the rules and does what is right. But when the situation requires him to ride into town and kick some butt, he has no problem doing that either. He also rides a very good looking American Quarter Horse in that movie. The last scene when he and his horse are alone on top of a hill and under a big tree as he looks down over the spread after the battle was won is one of my favorites.
76 SPEEDHORSE, December 2015
THE LIGHTER SIDE