Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Race horse retraining programs in the UK

In fall of 2007 I vacationed for two weeks in both France and England, my first trip back there in almost ten years. I've traveled to Europe many times before (my father was  British, and a quintessential horseperson) and throughout the flight I always feel incredibly excited about returning to another part of what "home" means to me: Re-visiting the expansive and pervasive British horse culture ( I enjoy Chantilly in France and the Lippizans in Vienna too...But London has the Queens' Royal Mews !). The Changing of the Guard would be unimaginable without horses. Tourists are well-warned to stand back as "horses may kick or bite" :-) :-):-)!!! 
It was a bit hard to come back to the U.S. this time. Admittedly, I am becoming increasingly bi-continental and I suspect there is no cure. While the UK is geographically smallish, it's almost impossible to not find something equine related going on daily, weather notwithstanding. 
Many 501C-3 organizations throughout the U.S. are working individually and , sometimes, collectively to these ends as well. 
But, I do wonder what a more centralized system of Racing Authority support could mean for American Thoroughbreds.


Melodee, http://www.chezchevaux.org