A Message to our Fellow Horsemen –
Graham and I believe in the sport of horse racing. Like all of you, our commitment to the sport is grounded in our love for the horses at the heart of the game. Both of us along with our team at Herringswell Stables are actively involved in a number of aftercare initiatives focused on retraining and rehoming our equine athletes when their racing careers have ended.
Today, we want to invite you to join us in supporting another important piece of the aftercare system – the work of sanctuary, as provided so impactfully by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) through their unique and incredibly powerful TRF Second Chances Program. The TRF defines sanctuary as the lifelong promise they make to care for those retired racehorses whose age or injury leaves them unsuited to pursue a second, or third, athletic career. The TRF takes those horses who are pasture sound, who have decades of healthy, happy life ahead of them provided their basic needs are met. The TRF places these noble animals in the care of inmates in correctional facilities, where the horses act as teachers – giving the men and women practical skills in horse care, while imparting the lessons of patience, empathy, trust and responsibility that we have all learned through our lives with horses. They give both the horses and the humans a second, meaningful, chance at a better life.
A call to action: Graham and I would ask all of our fellow horsemen, who share our commitment to the welfare of the animals upon whom our livelihoods rely, to make a donation through the TRF’s Sanctuary Guardian program. This program enables you to set an annual donation amount, and monthly installments will be debited from your credit card. You will receive a monthly thank you from the TRF and provide the organization with the critical lifeblood of steady and predictable income to cover the monthly costs of care for the 650 aging Thoroughbreds who live in their herd across 18 farms, in 9 states and 7 prison programs.
We started our pledge to the TRF Sanctuary Guardian program in January, and would challenge all of our colleagues to join us before the winter months arrive. Click here to learn more and give: https://www.trfinc.org/sanctuary/
