6/20, Tuesday - Quilts and Kentucky Race Horses

A private quilt showing starts the day in Dry Ridge.  Mrs Davis pulls out all of her quilts and some of her family heirloom quilts as well.

We have breakfast at Cracker Barrel again.  It is very good.  Suzie gets hugs from most of the wait staff there.

I had my heart set on driving to the Racing Museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville.  Suzie suggests Old Friends ranch in Georgetown KY.  This group has made it a personal goal to rescue old race horses so they can live out their lives running in the green paddocks in Kentucky.

We get there and have missed the tour.  That throws a horse shoe in to our plans as our flight leaves tonight and we can't stick around for the next tour.

Do you have a place I can walk to to take some photos?  I ask.  It would be awful to come to Kentucky and not get a photo of a horse.  As I am talking to the lady a man stands asks what the concern is.  Suzie explains that we came to see horses but are on a time limit because of the flight.  Come on, he says.  Lets get in the golf cart and I will give you an abbreviated tour. We are having a farrier class on the ranch today he explains.

Once in the 4 man golf cart he grabs a bucket full of carrot pieces and off we go.  I don't know why anyone would give a horse drugs, he says.  They will do anything for carrots.

We drive to the paddock where American Champion race horse Silver Charm comes running when the man shouts "Who is the most beautiful horse in the universe?"  This fellow has great rapport with Silver Charm who rubs lovingly on his shoulder for more carrots.

We then drive to the paddock of War Emblem.  This horse is dangerous so we have him behind a double fence.  It has taken over a year for us to gain his trust.  He tried to kill several of us when he first got here.  War Emblem was a successful racer but not a successful breeder he explains.  He watches War Emblem but speaks to him with love and carrots.  We get some beautiful shots of this thoroughbred.

We meet Archie next. An old racer that did not weigh enough for the slaughter house in New York.  Blind in one eye and with no teeth this horse loves the man who is giving us this brief tour.  And he loves small carrot pieces please.

I am not sure if they are doing it for love or money but these horses will have the best rest of their lives at Old Friends Retirement home for race horses.

Looking through the brochure later we find out the fellow who gave us the tour was the President of Old Friends, Michael Blowen.

Suzie drives us back to Dry Ridge to get our bags and then to the airport in Cincinnati.  It is hard to say goodbye to our old friend.  Suzie has been gracious and has introduced us to Heartland on Netflix.  I wish Kenducky was next door to California so we were not so far apart.

The flight to Washington D.C. is no problem but we get stuck there waiting for the plane to come in from Boston.  It is a long night before we get to Massachusetts.  Bummed.