Page 11 - December 2005 The Game

Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper The Game, December 2005 11
Great Expectations
Nina Count at Blue Bonnets Racetrack in 1973.
A Head at the Wire
The second in a series of real life stories by Paddy Head
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When my dream finally came true,
fantasy faded as reality galloped in, or in
my case, reared up and landed on my foot.
On my first day walking hots at Suffolk
Downs, a two year filly initiated me to into
the joy and pain of the racing world.
Terrified of losing my whole future on the
racetrack, I iced my broken toes,
swallowed bute and continued, dancing
around the shedrow as deftly as Mikail Baryshnikov. My next lesson came a
couple of weeks later when I brought my
first horse to the paddock. One moment I
was in front of the horse in the saddling
stall and the next I was beneath him,
hooves dancing around my head.
Someone pulled me out and I limped
bruised and battered to the grandstand, experiencing my first serious doubts about my dream life. I watched the horses gallop by in the post parade and looked closely at the jockeys. Perched on the horse’s back with just a postage stamp of a saddle seemed dangerous to everyone else, but at that moment it looked like a much safer position to me. Time to get into the saddle!
Go west, young woman, go west! I heard the call of my childhood heroes and by late fall, I was in Vancouver. Once again, expectation vied with reality. Even out west, trainers weren’t leaping onto the woman jockey bandwagon. I’d have to bluff my way into the saddle. Trainer Ron Principe was impressed enough with my spunk to give me a leg up. Winter training was in a large indoor arena and I learned from watching other riders and imitating their style. Taking a cross certainly helped with the balance on the sharp turns but the extreme acey-duecy length of their stirrups proved to be too much for me. A slightly higher right stirrup was just enough. Spring arrived and we headed out to the track, the Standardbred track that is. Several TB stables were using the facilities in Cloverdale on the hard gravel surface. All went well until the horses became fitter and I was galloping a gelding named Swell Deal. Half way along the stretch he stumbled. I made it through the stumble but was unseated by his subsequent buck. Flying through the air my last thought was that I would now discover just how hard this track was. Oblivion followed until someone was lifting me to my feet. There was no dancing after this episode, not for 6 weeks until the cast on my leg was removed.
Within 2 weeks, I could bend my leg enough to take a galloping position. Two months later I could crouch low enough for my first workout. Same horse, different track, Lansdowne racetrack was much kinder, to both horse and rider. With expansive turns on the one mile track, I thrilled to a speed I had only imagined, the power, the smoothness, the rhythm, I was hooked!
My beloved west wasn’t to be as generous as promised. Exhibition Park was Jack Diamond’s playground and as far as Jack was concerned, girls couldn’t play. I travelled with Ron Principe’s stable to LeBois Park, Boise, Idaho. I am proud to say that I was officially licensed as an exercise rider in the very same place as Gary Stevens.
quality of these spotted horses made me an instant fan. Ranchers would arrive with Appies and quarter horses in the back of their pickups, unload them, race them and take them back to the ranch to work. I remember one trainer bringing in a horse to work 1/4 mile.
Dissatisfied with the slow time, ........
CONTINUED PAGE 12 - SEE A HEAD AT THE WIRE
Idaho is Appaloosa territory and the
Simply visit any Champions location between December 13th and December 24th, and receive one stamp with every paid admission. When you collect 8 stamps, you'll get a free gift from Champions, and your card will be entered into a draw for a $300 wagering voucher!
24 LOCATIONS. ALL WITHIN BETTING DISTANCE.
To find the Champions Teletheatre nearest you, go to www.WoodbineEntertainment.com/champions or phone 416-675-RACE.
* Offer excludes Hong Kong racing and is not valid at WEGZ, Turf Lounge, Greenwood, Mohawk or Woodbine racetracks. Stamp cards must be submitted at a Champions location by December 31st, 2005
to be eligible to win a $300 betting voucher. Draw to be held on January 10, 2006. Odds of winning depend on the total number of entries received. ® Registered trademark of Woodbine Entertainment Group.