Kelly Lawrence
Fifth Year Mechanical Engineering

I wasn't looking for another horse when I got Big Al's Express, or Al around the barn. It had been a casual

conversation with my trainer, Madeline Bletzacker, since my horse Reno is 20 and will need to step down from competition in the next few years. But my plan was to wait until 2023, when I wasn't on the rotating co-op and class schedule, especially if I could take some time between graduation and starting a full-time job. We'd also talked about the Thoroughbred Makeover, a training competition held yearly by the nonprofit Retired Racehorse Project aimed at horses recently off the track beginning their second careers in a wide variety of disciplines. But again, it was "Maybe the 2023 Makeover could be a good goal, we can start looking at horses in November." But a friend of Madeline's from the track reached out to her about some horses that she was looking to sell to non-racing homes since she was leaving the business, we went to see them, my saddle in tow. The first one was anxious and not the quality I wanted. But the second we couldn't help but admire - he was sweet in the stall and beautifully put together, big and well-muscled despite having raced only a month before. And while I can't say the first ride went perfectly - he didn't know anything, and I was riding him in a field that he was used to being turned out in, so the concept of steering was even harder since he really wanted to go into the corners and stand- there was something about the quality of his movement and his overall demeanor that was extremely appealing. So instead of waiting like I was supposed to, I bought another horse, submitted an entry for the Thoroughbred Makeover on the last day late applications were accepted, and picked him up on the way back from a show on June 28th.

The first month was spent putting the basics on: steering, brakes, understanding my aids. Al was my first

Thoroughbred off the track, so there was a lot of learning involved, and I was glad to have Madeline as a resource since she has extensive experience with the breed after working in various roles at the track for 25 years and having restarted dozens of ex-racehorses for many different sports. There were a fair few struggles in the first few weeks, but Madeline assured me that Al was coming along remarkably fast. He never really took to the jumping, with an unfortunate tendency to just bonk his legs on the jumps instead of picking up his feet, but the dressage he was really starting to understand. So with the Makeover only a few short months away in October, we decided to focus on that for the show, since we felt he could excel in the discipline since he is a fancy mover and carries himself naturally in a nice contact. His way of going is much better suited for a sporthorse than it was for a racehorse, though he was quite successful, making over $90,000 over 17 starts despite only running at lower-money tracks in Ohio. Even at four, he was remarkably mature in his mind and willing to try to do what was asked. He went on his first outing as a non-compete horse at the Kentucky Horse Park to a horse trial in early September where Madeline was showing her two horses, and he was good for everything except the farrier who had to put back on the shoe he lost.

On the way back Al and I were dropped off at Dancing Horse Farm in Lebanon, where we would be staying

so that I could continue to train regularly while I was back in Cincinnati for classes. This was the base for dressage trainer Jen Truett, who would be very helpful in advancing Al and I's education as we continued to prepare for the Makeover. Jen is an accomplished Grand Prix-level rider who did training rides on Al as well as giving me lessons on him. I learned a lot from her, and Al did great, quickly becoming a barn favorite. When October rolled around, I felt like we had done everything I could have to get ready.

The Thoroughbred Makeover was the first show that I have ever been to where I had to show alone. Al's

owner from the track very generously hauled him to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington for me and was able to watch him show, but I've always had someone else for support with horse care and getting prepped for showing, so this was a new experience. I was shocked at how well Al handled the atmosphere of the Horse Park - it was chaotic with hundreds of green Thoroughbreds, and we showed in the massive, famous Rolex Arena. I couldn't have asked Al to have done better in his test, which was Training Level 2, or in his demonstration ride, and we got incredibly positive comments from both judges. We ended up placing ninth, third place as an amateur, out of 104, with scores of 72.1% on the test and 44.5 out of 60 on the demonstration.

I learned so much about myself, horses, and other people through this experience. I was able to connect

with a community that was incredibly supportive. I had to rely on many different people for guidance, which did not feel intimidating like it might have for me in the past, because I had to recognize my own shortcomings and see that others could help me overcome them. Above all, I was able to provide a soft landing and an excellent start to a new career for an incredibly talented and kind horse who gave me everything that he could. It is rare in life to have experiences that are as rewarding as that. I hope to be able to do it all again someday in the not-too-distant future.