New VocationsRacehorse Adoption Program

I am very blessed to live near the Laura headquarters for New Vocations, and to be able to volunteer around the farm however I can. When I first found New Vocations, I thought every horse that came through the program was going to be “the one!” Dot told me that I would know when the right one came through, and to be patient. It took a few months, and I saw lots of great horses come through, and one afternoon, Dot emailed me about Ace, and said “I think this is your horse!” It has been about a year and a half since I adopted Inspector Hall, known to me as Ace, and I couldn’t have asked for a better horse! In the past year, we have participated in parades, hunter paces, horse shows, breed demonstrations at the Kentucky Horse Park, learned to ride saddleseat, and been on lots of weekend trail rides! We logged over 140 hours in the saddle from May to November! My 8-year old son Austin will ride him by himself, and Ace takes wonderful care of him. He has become my “old reliable” at the young age of 4, and takes care of anyone that is on him without ever spooking or protesting! This fall, while on a trail ride at a local state park, I received a wonderful compliment from a complete stranger as I dismounted Ace on the trail and tied him to a tree so I could help another rider cross the water. She inquired about his age and his breed, and told me she “had never seen a horse show so much respect to his rider.” What a wonderful compliment! …To which I was happy to share about my wonderful Standardbred and New Vocations!

About a year later, Dot told me that Ace’s half brother was going to be returned, and that he was the same age as Ace from the same farm. When he finally arrived, I admired him and immediately started thinking of how I could keep him, considering I don’t have my own farm yet!  I offered to ride him on the trails and get some video footage for his adoption video… and after I rode him, I just knew I had to have him!  Far Away Hall, now called Falco, is wonderful and challenging and fun! He is quite different from Ace but that is the fun part! He has a wonderful single-foot gait, tons of energy, and a huge personality! He just has to see what is going on all of the time and is a blast on the trails. We rode saddleseat in a local parade only a month after I adopted him and he looked spectacular! We are working on lots of new stuff this winter to get ready for the upcoming show season and breed demonstrations, and might even have a couple tricks up our sleeve!

I can’t imagine not having these wonderful horses in my life! The temperament and athleticism of a Standardbred is truly unmatched, and I look forward of lots more adventures with both of them!