By: Deb Kitchenmaster
Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner, is the most famous American horse nicknamed “Big Red.” Known for his striking chestnut coat and record-setting speed, he is considered one of the greatest racehorses in our 250 year celebration as a nation! His record-setting time in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, where he won by 31 lengths, still stands. This red colt was the result of a coin toss.
In a foal sharing agreement in 1965, Christopher Chenery, founder of Meadow Stable, began sending two mares at a time to the stallion Bold Ruler, who was owned by the wealthy Phipps family, and standing at stud in Claiborne Farm. The result of the two foals would be determined in a coin flip arrangement between the parties. Penned by Journalist Bill Nack, “Then events began unfolding in the spring of 1968 that set the stage for the most monumental coin toss in racing history, a curious flip in which the winner lost and the loser won – but neither one knew it at the time.”
A three stranded cord is not easily broken. As owner (Penny Chenery), trainer (Lucien Laurin) and jockey (Ronnie Turcotte) partnered together, a champion with a big heart, touched ours. We express gratitude as we salute Big Red in calling each of us to “run our race.”
Old Whitey was a horse that belonged to Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States. Old Whitey was Taylor’s war horse during the Mexican-American war. Old Whitey didn’t fit the specs of a war horse due to his light coloration. In fact, while reading about Old Whitey, the horse was referred to as an “antithesis”. I looked up its meaning. Antithesis is when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect. Taylor rode him anyway, and he was just as Taylor wanted. Taylor was known to sit calmly on Old Whitey as bullets went past his head. We salute Old Whitey as the horse who reminds us to “look beyond the color.”
Big Red was a racehorse, Old Whitey was a warhorse, and Blue is a family-owned, good trail-riding sweet horse in Tennessee — equally valued, yet, with different purposes. Blue is a registered Quarter Horse. “Quarter” refers to the distance, a quarter of a mile, most commonly run in Colonial racing, often on the main streets of small villages. Blue was foaled in Oklahoma and is now owned by a Tennessee family. His color is “blue roan.” Blue was purchased as a 5-year-old. Point him in the direction you want him to go, and he’ll take you there. It matters not if it’s a creek, hills, a slope, or treed area; he willingly takes you where you want to go. He’s known to enjoy a few marshmallows around the campfire. “He’s a joy to ride, a loyal friend, and always happy to see me. He has a heart as big as he is.” And he stands at 15.3 hands. (One hand equals 4 inches).
The message from a racehorse, “Run YOUR race.”
The message from a warhorse, “You must look past the color and see the good and value — the worth.”
The message from a domestic horse, “Enjoy a loyal friend and enjoy being a loyal friend.”
If we each activated these three messages, can you imagine what our one nation, under God, would look like? Yes. After hitting the “pause” button for a bit, I can to!
Your “NEIGH” bor,
Deb Kitchenmaster
horsinaround188@gmail.com
