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2013 PA PREFERRED
- CHOCOLATE
COOKIE, BROWNIE OR BAR BAKING CONTEST
Sunday, J uly 28, 2013
Entries Accepted 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Judging at 1:00 PM
JULY 25
thru
AUGUST 3
MORRELL VFD
JULY 21
JACKPOT
2000
IN 54#S
EB 6:15
three years before being
retired. Some mares
and studs are retired
for breeding, but many
wont find lush pastures
at the end of their racing
careers.
Since 2004, hundreds
of thousands of thor-
oughbred horses and
foals in the U.S. have
been sent to slaughter
and their meat shipped
to Europe and Asia for
human consumption, ac-
cording to the Humane
Society of the United
States (HSUS).
Even before the
rescue farm got its of-
ficial start, Vichek had
already rescued several
horses from what HSUS
calls the slaughter
pipeline.
Creating the
connection
The Thoroughbred
Connection Inc. was
formally formed in
July 2011, when Vichek
rescued Cracked Cup, a
20-year-old gelding.
A friend from Cali-
fornia followed Cracked
Cup from rescue to
rescue and called me to
take him. He was fea-
tured in a racing mag-
azine as the horse no one
wanted, said Vichek.
Cracked Cup earned
a mere $36,131 in his
racing career, far less
than Vichecks other
rescue Grafton, which
earned over $353,000.
Both are now retired
to pastures at the rescue
farm.
Among Vicheks
rescues of well known
ancestry is Chill Out,
the granddaughter of
Spectacular Bid; De-
fault Judgment, grand-
daughter of Seattle Slew;
and Plasma Beam, sired
by Smarty Jones. The
combined earnings of
the retired rescues are
more than $1 million.
Vichek receives re-
quests from racing
stables to rescue, re-
habilitate and re-home
racehorses which are
injured or past their
prime.
I take many horses
directly from trainers,
so they wont get to a
broker, which would
essentially end their
lives, said Vichek.
Rescues like The
Thoroughbred Con-
nection are serving
a greater effort for
a safety network for
horses, discarded be-
cause their earning
potential is no longer as
great.
Ultimately what
drives the sport is
money. Its one of those
things where you have
good players and bad
players, said Valerie
Pringle, equine pro-
tection specialist, HSUS.
Pringle said many
racetracks and trainers
have set up safe stalls
and different funding
mechanisms for res-
cuers like Vichek to save
the horses from demise.
There are many won-
derful rescues that are
doing the work saving
them from slaughter,
said Pringle. Thorough-
breds are wonderfully
athletic horses and can
be retrained to do almost
anything.
From track to rescue
Vichek works closely
with a training center in
Louisville, Ky., which
has horses that run at
Turfway, Churchhill
Downs, Mountaineer,
Beulah Park, Penn Na-
tional, Presque Isle and
Thistledown.
Right now there are
many more waiting to
come, said Vichek.
When horses arrive
at The Thoroughbred
Connection, Vichek im-
mediately assesses the
horses needs and has
it re-shoed and begins
the retraining and
sometimes rehabilitation
process.
A lot of these horses
have never seen the
outside world other than
a racetrack. It takes
them time to get ad-
justed to outside life,
Vichek said.
According to Pringle,
the acclimation process
for former racehorses
depends on how the
horse was handled by
previous owners, how
hard the horse was
ridden, and the level of
force used in the horses
previous training.
Vichek has discovered
for racehorses who know
little beyond trailers,
stalls and racetracks that
it takes time to get them
adjusted to a new life.
The Thoroughbred
Connection is a labor
of love for Vichek,
who gets by with just a
handful of volunteers.
The cost, however, to
care for the more than
24 horses is great. Hay,
feed and bedding costs
alone are nearly $2,000
a month, she said, and
veterinarian costs can be
staggering for the horses
if they are in any way in-
jured or require special
medical attention.
Among the items on
its wish-list, Vichek said
she is constantly in need
of items such as feed,
hay, baled shavings,
buckets, fly spray,
water-proof blankets,
fencing posts and sup-
plies, heat lamps and
volunteer assistance.
Vichek said there are
other ways to help with
information found at
www.thethoroughbred-
connection.org.
Building trust
With a bit of help from
her 6-year-old daughter,
Gaby, Vichek builds
trust with the horses
and decides whether the
horses are suitable for
adoption.
They need to get used
to the fact that youre
not going to hurt them,
she said.
Adoption and re-
homing of the horses is
done on a very selective
basis. The adoption fee
is $250, and adoptive
owners enter into a legal
agreement that horses
can never again be raced
or auctioned. The new
owner must also agree
to not sell the horse
for a certain period of
time, and if the horse is
eventually sold, the pa-
perwork from the rescue
farm must follow the
animal.
Vichek follows up with
new owners and asks
them to keep her up-
dated on the progress of
the horse.
I have success
stories of horses injured
through racing that can
now be saddled, ridden
and some can jump,
said Vichek.
To date, The
Thoroughbred Con-
nection has re-homed 38
horses.
Vichek currently
has 22 horses, six of
her own, a yearling
and a foal. Many of the
horses are available for
adoption while others,
like 23-year-old Cracked
Cup, will live out his
days in Vicheks pasture.
Sometimes they get
a taste of freedom and
they just want to be left
alone to enjoy it.
HORSES
Continued from E1
AMANDA STEEN| Herald-Standard
Vicki Vicheck stands with her horses, Cracked Cup and Grafton, at her racehorse rescue farm in Adah while her daughter, Gaby, reaches for a kiss.