More than a Dozen Saddles Stolen from Tennessee Barn

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A group of horse enthusiasts is offering a reward to anyone who finds more than a dozen saddles that were reportedly stolen overnight Friday from Cooper Creek Barn.

Nicole Foster, one of the horse owners who had two saddles stolen, said someone took the saddles in the early morning hours Saturday or late Friday night from the barn.

Foster’s saddles were locked up and the alleged thief cut the cable and lock they were attached to and also took the lock.

Foster’s saddles alone were valued at about $2,000 and between 13 and 15 saddles were taken.

I'm not sure why you'd even have a $2,000 saddle in a tack room, but okay. Hope they find them all!

The winner of 2010 Belmont IS...

DROSSELMEYER!

Belmont Contenders

Twelve horses will go to the post tonight. Let's take a look at who they are.

1. Dave in Dixie
Trained by John Sadler. By Dixie Union out of Risk. He hasn't won a race since his maiden last fall. He was second in the G2 Robert B. Lewis, sixth in the G2 San Felipe, and fifth in the G3 Illinois Derby.

2. Spangled Star
Trained by Rick Dutrow. By Distorted Humor out of Spangled. Third in the G3 Withers last out.

3. Uptowncharlybrown
Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. By Limehouse out of La Iluminada. Third in the G3 Sam F. Davis and G2 Coolmore Lexington Stakes last out.

4. Make Music for Me
Trained by Alexis Barba. By Bernstein out of Miss Cheers. Fourth in the Kentucky Derby last out. Won the Pasadena Stakes and sixth in the G1 Bluegrass Stakes earlier this year.

5. Fly Down
Trained by Nick Zito. By Mineshaft out of Queen Randi. Finished ninth in the G2 Louisiana Derby. Impressive last-to-first Dwyer winner last out.

6. Ice Box
Trained by Nick Zito. By Pulpit out of Spice Island. Finished a fast-closing second in the Kentucky Derby last out. Finished fifth in the G2 Fountain of Youth and won the G1 Florida Derby.

7. Drosselmeyer
Trained by William Mott. By Distorted Humor out of Golden Ballet. Fourth in the G2 Risen Star, third in the G2 Louisiana Derby, and second in the G2 Dwyer.

8. Game on Dude
Trained by Bob Baffert. By Awesome Again out of Worldly Pleasure. Won G3 Lone Star Derby last out. Seventh in the G1 Florida Derby and fifth in the G3 Derby Trial.

9. Stately Victor
Trained by Mike Maker. By Ghostzapper out Collect the Cash. Finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby last out. Impressive upset winner in the G1 Blue Grass Stakes. Has never won over the dirt.

10. Stay Put
Trained by Steve Margolis. By Broken Vow out of O. K. Mom. Won an optional claiming allowance at Churchill Downs on Derby day last out. Fifth in the G2 Risen Star and G2 Louisiana Derby.

11. First Dude
Trained by Dale Romans. By Stephen Got Even out of Run Sarah Run. Second in the Preakness last out. Fifth in the G1 Florida Derby and third in the G1 Blue Grass.

12. Interactif
Trained by Todd Pletcher. By Broken vow out of Broad Pennant. Fourth in the G1 Blue Grass last out. Hasn't raced on dirt since first two starts last July when he broke his maiden and finished eighth in the G2 Sanford.

And that's the field! Going to be a very interesting race, I think. =D Especially since the solid majority of the field are closers. Curious to find out who's going to be on the front end this time. Someone's going to have to step up and be just off the pace. I have theories, only time will tell if I'm going to be right.

Hoskins Asks for Return of Horses

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Beth Lynne Hoskins, the Aurora horse farm owner facing 10 counts of animal cruelty in connection with 130 total animals seized in March by the SPCA Serving Erie County, maintained her innocence Wednesday.

Hoskins stood before Aurora Town Justice Douglas W. Marky as her attorney, George V.C. Muscato, entered a not-guilty plea to all 10 misdemeanor counts under the state Agriculture & Markets Law.

Her attorneys are seeking to have the civil case dismissed and most of the 73 horses returned to Hoskins. The 10 counts stem from evidence gathered on seven of the horses and three cats.

Um...how about...NO.

Outside the courtroom, Hoskins spoke about the significance of the 73 Morgan horses that were taken from her Eden Farms on Emery Road. When the search warrant was executed, 53 cats and four dogs also were seized.

"Besides God and my daughter, those horses are my life," Hoskins said. "I never, in my wildest imagination, could imagine this happening to me."

They always say that! If they're your life, prove it and take care of them.

Her attorneys described her as a phenomenal Morgan horse breeder, trainer and rider with 35 years of experience. The horses are valued at $1.6 million to $2 million, said her other attorney, Barry Covert.

Valued by who exactly? Is this taking their current condition and the economy into account? Because I'm hard-pressed to imagine any horse that doesn't race being worth $2 million. Big-name show winners maybe. Also hoarder does not equal breeder.

But SPCA officials have a different version of the story, insisting that it goes far beyond alleged neglect and care of the horses.

SPCA Executive Director Barbara Carr says it wasn't just unacceptable conditions in two horse barns, but also involved an outdoor shed housing 53 cats, and also Hoskins' home.

Carr said that East Aurora police had to contact Child Protective Services because of the condition of the home, and it had to be cleaned up before Hoskins and her daughter were allowed to return.

Four dogs, one house cat and an outdoor barn cat have since been returned to Hoskins. Carr said Hoskins signed over 43 cats to the agency.

"[The defense] did not ask for the cats back, just the 66 horses," Carr said. "They don't give a whit about those poor, tortured cats."

Cats aren't worth much to a lot of people. I can say from experience you can easily go from one cat to thirty in a year.

Meanwhile, SPCA officials said they have been contacted by 10 people from around the country, claiming they own some of the horses that Hoskins had at her farm. Some third parties are saying their horses were on loan to Hoskins to breed, and now ownership has to be verified, the agency said.

"We have ample evidence about the condition of the horses seized and the condition of the property," said SPCA attorney Alan Donatelli, who is handling the civil part of the case.

He pointed to serious hoof problems, dehydration and malnourishment of the horses, with no evidence of any farrier care for months, severe skin problems, antisocial behavior and horses standing in 2- to 3-foot piles of manure. Hoskins' home also was condemned at the time, he said.

"It was a terrible over-reaction on behalf of the SPCA. They should have left the horses there," said Muscato. "What they did with this case is unconscionable. They're our horses, so give them back to us."

It's a terrible under-reaction on your part. Those horses were not being cared for. If I found a child locked up in a room full of muck, would you expect me to just leave them there? If she really cared for them, where's the proof? Farrier bills, vet bills, feed bills, bedding bills, proof that they've actually been properly cared for. Words are easy. Right now I could argue that my house is spotless. Doesn't make it true.

The criminal part of the case is expected to remain in Aurora, while the civil case will likely be heard in State Supreme Court. The next Aurora court date was tentatively set for 4 p.m. June 14.

Florida Horse Protection Bill Signing

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The Florida Horse Protection Bill, Chapter 2010-87 of Florida Statutes becomes effective July 1, 2010 increasing penalties from a misdemeanor to a felony and now criminalizing the butchering of horses for commercial and personal uses.

The minimum sentence will be one year in prison and a $3500 fine for each offense.

The bill has been a legislative priority this year after more than 22 horses were found mutilated in the Miami-Dade area of South Florida. Representative Luis Garcia sponsored the measure, and the bill has come to be known as the Ivonne Rodriquez Horse Protection Act.

" My horse had been tied to a palm tree and slaughtered. This is something that has to be stopped," wrote Rodriquez in 2009 about the slaughter of her personal horse Geronimo.

Representative Maria Sachs ( D-Delray Beach) spoke in favor of the bill and told about breaking the hearts of children when their ponies were butchered. Miami Republican Senator Alex Villalobo sadly told the story of a friend who found her beloved horse chopped to pieces in a nearby forest.

The new bill will also protect polo ponies as a result of the deaths of 21 horses belonging to the Lechuza Caracas team from Venezuela that died from overdoses of an incorrectly mixed vitamin supplement. The new law requires substances used to be administered by a qualified equine veterinarian.

*celebrates* Now we'll just have to wait and see if they actually enforce it or not.

Three Horses, One Jockey Inducted into Hall of Fame

Azeri, Best Pal, and Point Given, plus jockey, Randy Romero, were voted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. There were ten finalists on this year's ballot: mares Open Mind, Safely Kept, and Sky Beauty; jockey Alex Solis; and trainers Gary Jones and Robert Wheeler.

Azeri was foaled May 6, 1998 by Jade Hunter, out of Zodiac Miss. She won 17 of her 24 starts including 10 Grade I. Her racing career kicked off November 1, 2001 when she won a six-furlong maiden.

At four in 2002, Azeri dominated. She won the G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff, G1 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap, G1 Apple Blossom Handicap for the first time, G1 Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap, G1 Vanity Handicap, G2 Clement L. Hirsch Handicap, G2 Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap, and finished second in the G2 La Canada Stakes. She received Horse of the Year and Champion Older Mare honors for her four-year-old season. She was the first mare to receive Horse of the Year honors without facing down the colts.

At five, Azeri returned to take the G1 Apple Blossom Handicap for the second time, G1 Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap, G1 Vanity Handicap, G2 Clement L. Hirsch Handicap, and finish second in the G2 Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap. She received Champion Older Mare honors for the second time that year. Going for her win in the Lady's Secret at Santa Anita, she suffered a tendon injury and continued to run on for a second place finish. It was believed that she would not race again. She was laid off with the hope that she would return the next year.

And return she did. Six months after her injury, Azeri romped to her third consecutive Apple Blossom Handicap win, a feat no other filly had ever accomplished. She went on to lose her next three races, including the Met Mile where she took on the colts for the first time, and once again her racing career was in question. But she went on to the Go for Wand Handicap where she faced multiple grade I winner, Sightseek. They came to the top of the stretch together, but when they hit the wire, Azeri was two lengths in front. She was the early favorite for the 2004 Breeders' Cup Distaff, but instead went to the Classic and ran fifth.

She retired from racing in December 2004 after her Classic loss. She was barren after her first attempted breeding to Storm Cat in 2005, but delivered a chestnut cold by A.P. Indy in 2007. That colt, a very rare foal by two Horse of the Year winners, is Take Control who won his first race, a maiden, in December 2009.

She delivered a Giant's Causeway foal in 2008 and a Ghostzapper (who ironically enough was the horse that beat her in the Classic) in 2009. She was sold to Japan ownership in fall 2009.

Point Given is a now twelve-year-old stallion by Thunder Gulch out of Turkos Turn. At two, he won the G3 Kentucky Cup Juvenile and G1 CashCall Futurity. He finished second to AP Valentine in the G1 Champagne and Macho Uno in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

At three, he lost only one race, probably the most important of his career. He began his Triple Crown campaign with wins in the G2 San Felipe and G1 Santa Anita Derby. The Kentucky Derby was the one mark on an otherwise spotless career. Point Given was sixth early on, staying four or five wide and out of trouble throughout the race while Songandaprayer made Derby history by setting record fractions for the half and three-quarter mile. The chestnut colt moved up as they went around the final turn and tried to rally between horses with Congaree but was overtaken by the rush of closers and faded to fifth. Point Given came away from his Derby loss with a vengeance, winning his next four races. He redeemed himself in the Preakness where he broke last from the far outside post and stayed on the outside going three and four wide throughout the race. He was near the back of the pack early on and picked off horses one by one through the backstretch. He surged up entering the final turn to move up to the third. Coming into the backstretch, Point Given took the lead, dueled briefly with Congaree and drew away to win by almost two. He then went on to absolutely dominate in the Belmont. He broke from hsi customary outside post and went up to settle in third throughout. He made his move heading for the far turn, claimed a two-length lead going into the turn, and then drew away in the homestretch to an eleven length victory. He closed out his racing career with wins in the G1 Haskell Invitational and G1 Travers Stakes. One week after his Travers victory, he was discovered to have a strained tendon that ended his racing career.

He stands at stud at Three Chimneys Farm.

Bullying Suspected in West Virginia Horse Death

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Monongalia County authorities are investigating the death of a horse after classmates of its owner had threatened to kill the animal.

Monongalia County Sheriff Al Kisner says an autopsy is set to determine how the horse died, but a veterinarian indicated it appears the animal had been shot.

Beth Hartley is the mother of a student at Clay-Battelle High School and says school bullies have tormented her daughter for months and threatened to kill her horse and cat.

Hartley says her daughter had to miss more than a week of classes in the past few months because of the bullying but is currently attending school.

The county school district also is investigating.

I could go on and on and on about this for several hours so I'll try to keep it short. Once again we prove that our school system is immensely screwed up. Let's see if I can figure out how this'll go.

1. They'll find out that it was, in fact, a classmate of the poor girl.

2. The classmate will somehow manage to get off with what amounts to a slap on the wrist, grow up, and never change.

All right, who's going to step up, take responsibility and change this crap? Because I'll tell you one thing right now: it's not going to be the teachers. Because even if they did want to do something, they don't have the power anymore.