Page 36 - November 2015

by Tracy Gantz
As the holiday season approaches, many people have favorite charities that they support. It may be a local food bank, Toys for Tots, or a worldwide cause such as the Red Cross.
These organizations need and appreciate the help, and Quarter Horse people are leaders in stepping forward. They have always shown their generosity for such projects and are incredibly quick to lend a hand.
Not only does this industry help worthy causes on a general scale, it looks after its own. If someone gets hurt on the racetrack, people on the backside and the frontside leap into action. They set up funds for medical expenses and college tuition for that person’s children, if necessary. They conduct bake sales and raffles. They support youth groups.
They also look after their animals. Many owners and trainers work tirelessly to find second careers for their horses whose racing careers have ended. Some racetracks even have a loose coalition of people who take care of feral cats roaming the backstretch, whether through a trap, neuter, release program or by finding homes for them.
Los Alamitos outrider Eric Najduch received this year’s RTCA White Horse Award
Organizations have
sprung up to coordinate
many of these efforts. People
wanting to focus some or all of their
holiday giving to the racing industry
have plenty of choices. Options range from national and even worldwide in scope to community based, and the accompanying list includes just a few of these.
Perhaps one of the most well-known charitable racing organizations is the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF). Created by horse people in both the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing industries, it provides financial assistance to former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic injuries on the track.
Champion jockey G.R. Carter Jr. is one of the many who support the PDJF. Quarter Horse racetracks have dedicated funds and fund-raising events to it. For example, during All American weekend at Ruidoso Downs, jockeys signed cards created by artist Ginny Harding, with sale of the cards benefiting the PDJF.
Currently, about 60 jockeys are receiving regular assistance from the organization. More than $5 million has been distributed since the PDJF began in 2006.
Horsemen’s organizations not only help jockeys, they help each other. For example, the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association (OQHRA) has created the Oklahoma Disaster Relief Fund. Oklahoma sees more than its share of weather-related disasters, such as tornados and floods, and the OQHRA set up this fund to help people with equine-related costs that aren’t covered by their insurance.
Similar organizations exist in other states. Natural disasters can wipe out a family and their business, and these charities help people get back on their feet.
The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) sees to the spiritual needs of people at the racetrack. Most tracks have a chaplaincy chapter
on the backstretch, with people available to listen and minister to those in need. Often
the chaplaincy goes well beyond its mission, organizing such things as food
and clothing drives.
Each year, the RTCA presents the White
Horse Award to bring attention to people “who have done something heroic on behalf of human or horse.” While that luncheon occurs during Thoroughbred racing’s Breeders’ Cup week, this year the award went to a Quarter Horse recipient.
Eric Najduch, an outrider at Los Alamitos, received the 2015 award for his efforts to rescue the Quarter Horse Walk The Dog. The 2-year- old gelding was one of two who broke through the starting gate before a race. Walk The Dog lost his rider, ran into the infield, and managed to get into one of the ponds. Najduch jumped into the pond and saved the horse.
Equine charities are another major category of organizations that Quarter Horse racing people endorse and support.
Fortunately, the Quarter Horse is such a versatile breed that ex-racehorses can go on
to many second careers, such as a barrel racer, roping horse, or trail horse. Still, not every horse has a ready home upon retirement from racing, and that’s where national and regional groups are stepping in to retrain and rehome racehorses.
Nationally, the Unwanted Horse
Coalition (UHC) is a broad alliance of equine organizations that have joined together under the auspices of the American Horse Council for this purpose. The UHC’s mission is to “reduce the number of unwanted horses and to improve their welfare.”
One very special second career for Quarter Horses helps horses and people. Quarter Horses have become excellent mounts for therapeutic riding programs. Regional therapeutic riding programs have sprung up across the country, often affiliated with the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. PATH
34 SPEEDHORSE, November 2015