I had a conversation with my coworker Amidala the other day. She and I talked about how once you are in the Thoroughbred industry, it is tough to get away from it. Sometimes even if you try.
See, I never paid any attention to the industry or noticed the equine world prior to my introduction to this industry. Now that I am in the know, it seems everywhere I go I find new people randomly that are well connected into the industry.
So it is a small world, and it is interesting to discover how my circle of friends, family and acquaintances are connected. Granted I do live in Lexington, the horse capital of the world. But sometimes meeting people connected to the industry is just so random.
This past Monday, I had a dentist appointment (return visit to fix a filling) and next door I hear the words, "So I hear you will be getting a star soon." Though my mouth was being ravaged by drills on one of my very back molars, I could still hear bits of the conversation.
The star turned out to be Big Brown. My dentist was asking the timing of when Big Brown was coming to stay. The lady on the other side of the wall said probably after the Breeders' Cup. So I can only gather she is working with Three Chimneys in some way. If I remember correctly, she had a proper accent. Maybe a she was British, but then again, maybe the drill in my ear was misleading.
Caption: Point Given
Photo:Anne M. Eberhardt
Two days earlier, I had another random encounter, but more direct. I was meeting some close friends at their house to see an old friend from Pennsylvania. Late in the night two ladies arrived, and we stayed up talking a long while about life. Along the way there were some mentions of horse related items.
One of the girls seemed to have answers that would not be common knowledge for your every day person, let alone a race fan. So eventually I flat out asked her "How do you know so much about the horse industry?"
She replied by asking her friend, "Should I tell them?" and her friend said, "Yes."
They were concerned how I would judge them for some reason, but I said definitely I would not. So it turned out she was a granddaughter or somehow related to the family that bred Man O' War and was connected to Faraway Farm. I thought that was very cool.
She then explained how she has received grief from people in the past for that historical aspect of her family.
Whether I go rock climbing, eating at Applebee's, driving back from a Florida convention, or at a bar with many friends, this industry is deeper than the high dive at Beijing, baby.
This industry sticks like fly paper you are trying to shake off. Maybe even like a piece of plastic with static built up on it. I continue to learn more and more on how far reaching and how rich the history of the Thoroughbred industry is.
Those are just two of many experiences I have had involving the Thoroughbred industry and randomness. So what is the most random experience you have had involving the horse industry?
UPDATE
There is one story from the last two weeks I left out about meeting random people with connections to the horse industry. A new friend, Aayla Secura, asked me to share our encounter. Though it is a new co-worker story, it is deemed random enough = ).
One day while working on web stuff (or maybe the Data Digest), Aayla walked into the "fish bowl" or "command central" or the "web pod" as my co-workers and I call our work space here at the BH. After talking for a long while about design, school, and various other interests like soccer...she seemed obsessed with soccer, but anyway...she started talking about an upcoming trip to Santa Anita. So after further proding, it turns out she is related to Bruce Levine.
Some of you ask who is Bruce Levine? Well, check out the horse Bustin Stones. He is a hot horse right now, and Levine is a very successful trainer. Aayla is not only related but actually his niece.
If you want to know more about who Mr. Levine is, you need to read the feature article of The Blood-Horse from July 12, 2008.
