All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

LaQua713 — Sat, 08 May 2010 00:50:04 GMT

Writing ability definitely passed down to you Mandy...I am jealous! Beautiful article, kudos to you!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Shelby's Best Pal — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:35:41 GMT

I love this story.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Laura P — Fri, 07 May 2010 07:04:50 GMT

Lovely, Mandy. Thanks for sharing your memories, and I hope you keep on writing, if that's your calling. Frost referred to a "goal in life" of "unit[ing] my vocation with my avocation, as my two eyes make one in sight." Your father has surely met that goal and my hunch and hope is that you will too. ~ Kind regards, Laura

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Kim R — Fri, 07 May 2010 05:39:41 GMT

Elegantly stated Mandy.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

sentinel — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:05:43 GMT

Mandy's article brought me to tears, both because of her feelings about the wonderful horses and because it was obviouse her dad's genius has been passed on to her. Both her parents must be so proud.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Judy G ~ California — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:42:15 GMT

Steve~

Your daughter inherited your superior writing skills!

Bless YOU for sharing your experiences by taking her to meet these wonderful horses, even though she was young at the time. Her pictures are "priceless"!

Tell Mandy not to be so hard on herself - I didn't meet JOHN HENRY until 2005. I could kick myself around the block for not enjoying him in his prime!! Please also tell her she is a lucky, lucky girl to have you as her father! But, I'm sure she already knows that :-)

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Susan — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:47:57 GMT

To Mandy and Steve,

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. How many of us had dads that introduced their horse crazy daughters to thoroughbred horse racing and breeding? The very first memory I have was seeing Citation at Calumet Farm.He was quite old, but I could tell, through my dad's eyes I was witnessing something very special. Not to mention just being at Calumet! that felt magical in itself.

Good subject, good writing, Mandy, keep up the good work!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Linda in Texas — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:30:06 GMT

Mandy, sweet Mandy, "apples do not roll far from the tree" and you are truly a shining example of that age old saying.

Mandy, quit your day job and take up in your father's footsteps under the ever watchful eye of your loving mother, Joan.

There is a unique relationship that goes without speaking when it comes to a father with his daughter and vice versa. I was lucky enough to have the same. My dad taught me to hunt,(i never pulled a trigger) fish,(never caught one,i would drop a line and the fish would scatter even at a trout farm) bought me 5 horses, which began my love of them, and he as a doctor showed me how to care for people who needed help,and to always look for the heart of everything i encountered and for their reason for being.

You have learned well my dear, and may you never lose the sweet heart that you have that comes out so well in your article. You do indeed get it!

Thank you for a precious article, you truly are "A chip off the ol'

block" and it serves you well and is most becoming.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

david in arkansas — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:32:17 GMT

Maryglynn, that's a great story in itself!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Donna — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:11:13 GMT

Mandy, Great writing, just like your Father! Don't have regret. The fact that you were there, that you touched them, saw them.. saw their greatness... that's all that matters.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

maryglynn — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:42:33 GMT

Bravo!! Enjoyed your writing as i have been enjoying your dad's. I am a 48 year old horse nut,to have been with such notable horses well

you know some folks are star struck George Clooney Julia roberts ect well I have always been star struck by Horses. The Racehorses the notable stallions the racemares, It isn't just the racehorses either it's for me the ponies of childhood, Annie dreamgirl My childhood friend General and my Love my mare Her name was Sweet Lou Cody. She was a 14.2 AQHA mare but for a girl that had the challenges that i had Childhood cerebal palsy just being a teenager was hard enough but i had that sweet palomino to take me away, I was never as good a rider as she deserved but we raised 3 babies off of her and 2 of them are state champions in barrel racing. She is buried here in my pasture it is funny but all the years can not diminish the feel of her under my hand . So While i may never meet the Great Zenyatta I can read such lovely words as that of Mandy and Steve Haskins and my spirit can travel. Thanks for letting me tag along for the ride.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Slew — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:51:02 GMT

Mandy and Steve, you both have the gift of a soul in the most poetic prose. Thank you for sharing your talents and your stories. It's a beautiful, thoughtful, well written journey. I sincerely admire your craftsmanship. It's a lovely reverie.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

LouAnn Cingel — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:45:33 GMT

Beautifully written-absolutely beautiful. How lucky and fortunate some are and of course we don't realise it until our later yrs.

Horses gracing gracing our lives is such a gift from God-so magical!

LouAnn of Union, Missouri

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Catherine — Thu, 06 May 2010 04:47:40 GMT

Mr. Haskin, I dare say your daughter has inherited your impeccable knowledge of the English language, which few can boast these days.

I must say that I am almost envious. You were able to give your daughter an opportunity that I can only wish my parents had been able to give me. She was, and is, very fortunate to have a father like yourself.

Best of luck - and several more pretty horses - to you both.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Gary Lynn — Thu, 06 May 2010 04:22:28 GMT

Beautiful, introspective piece Ms. Haskin. I once saw the great Bobby Orr skate in Philadelphia, but came away remembering best a super goal scored by journeyman, "Pieface" McKenzie. How I'd love to have that day ( a solar eclipse darkened the entrance tunnels) back. But I realize I witnessed greatness. Sometimes we're just a little too young! Best wishes!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

John T — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:51:09 GMT

Good article Mandy,you sound like a chip of the old bloc and i,m glad

your Dad showed you from a young age what a majestic animal the thoroughbred really is.And I can see as you got older you started to

appreciate the great horses you got

to meet as you were growing up.Northern Dancer is one of my favourite horses because quite simply ''He Was The Little Horse Who Could And Did''.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

bree — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:22:06 GMT

Mandy, you are a gifted writer! Your childhood memories are precious and regarless of whether or not you think that you appreciated them then, you do now. What a treasure to look back on and yet look forward because that is what is most important. And wow what you have to look forward to with your connections! I look forward to hearing more!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

RGGC — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:50:32 GMT

Lovely! My father, although a factory worker,also had a lot to do with my love of horseracing. Thank you Mandy for sharing your experiences with us and I hope we will see more from you in the future.Like father, like daughter! Steve Haskin; the Mr.Prospector of equine literature!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

dustywhipp — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:41:24 GMT

Wonderful bit of writing!

While I haven't seen quite the amount of champions you have... I have seen a few, including Indian Charlie, Stevie Wonderboy, and Cigar. I hope to one day add the great Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra to that list.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

txhorsefan — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:34:33 GMT

Beautiful, Mandy and Steve and well worth waiting for! Proud Mom and Steve, you have so much to be grateful for in having such a beautiful and talented daughter who is able to evoke such emotion with her words - y'all really did good!! Thank you for sharing with us the link to the Stride site and for allowing us to be part of some of Mandy's first steps into horse racing journalism - I loved reading the part about more articles to come! I wish I was more capable of expressing what a joy it is for me to read these articles and see the pictures of Mandy's childhood with the greats, but part of me has to be wishing I'd had some of those opportunities as a kid, too - lol! The main thing I can learn from that is to make sure I do make the effort to share my love of the sport, of the horses with my grandkids. My children already know I'm a horse crazy nut who never outgrew it like she was supposed to. Thank you!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Karen in Indiana — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:29:38 GMT

Mandy, I just read the rest of the article in Stride magazine. You have the same talent for writing as your father, but with a wonderful imagination added. Look forward to reading more from you!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

shuttleworth — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:35:32 GMT

Mandy, that's powerfully poignant... A friend of mine died unexpectedly Saturday night (Derby night), and a mutual friend posted an old photo of us on Facebook... this reminds me why all this stuff is important... your dad gave you a great gift indeed... I bet it's quite surreal when you think about it - being photographed with all those legends...

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Paula Higgins — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:05:08 GMT

Very nice article Mandy! Yes, you have clearly inherited you Dad's talent.

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

Zookeeper — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:03:13 GMT

Mr. Haskin,

Since you kindly provided a link to the E-Magazine, I've spent a good part of the afternoon perusing through it. I had no idea, there was such a treasure, right there at my fingertips, free of charge and chuckful of great articles and fantastic pictures. A horseracing lover's delight!

So, besides introducing us to the writing talent of your beautiful daughter, you have also opened the door to a new (to me) source of reading material for my insatiable appetite. Thank you so much!!!

re: All the Pretty Horses - By Mandy Haskin

sodapopkid — Wed, 05 May 2010 23:54:29 GMT

Steve, I checked out the articles, My gosh, absolutly fantastic, Mandy sure is a beautiful girl all grown up and a doll when she was child. And to see her and you with some of the equine greats that have gone on before us. Great job, can't wait for part 2, I will have to go and get some Kleenex first.

Brings a tear to a grown man's eyes.