Keane Stud Visit
The awesome part about keeping a blog that people actually read– a true rarity, especially on Tumblr– is feeling even more encouraged than ever to do new things. On Saturday I made my first-ever Thoroughbred stud farm visit to Keane Stud in Amenia, New York. It was snowing cotton balls intermittently, and a truck began spinning out while we were both trying to make it up the hilly road to the farm, but after conquering Winter Storm Nemo last year on bald tires, I was well-prepared for the wintery conditions.
While I’ll let the photos and video I took do most of the talking, it was a nice little winter day in New York. They weren’t able to show off the stallions quite as much due to the snowfall, but they did bring out the handsome boys to show off to the breeders that came by:
First out was the new guy, The Lumber Guy, who was super calm for a stallion who is just getting used to farm life. He was still in fighting trim when they led him out, but stood there as cool as the new snow. He is light-bodied for a horse who was a pure sprinter at heart, and seemed way more interested in the yearlings playing in a far-off pasture than the crowd that came to see him.
Second out was Frost Giant, who got a bit jealous of Lumber when he went out first. I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s the boss of the stallion barn, and why not at a $10,000 stud fee? He’s probably my favorite of the bunch that I saw, very fresh attitude and loved the spotlight. He even let me take a selfie with him for my Facebook profile and denied to pose for anybody else mwahahahaha!
Third and last out was Dublin. If I wanted a serious racehorse, I would put a big circle and multiple asterisks by him. Huge huge horse with some major guns to his anatomy. Sometimes, on the outside looking in, I think we’ve all questioned why certain horses who retired before their prime are such a hit with breeders… and now I kind of know why. I’ve been to stud farms in the past– not Thoroughbred ones though– and the impression an excellent specimen has on you in the flesh can allow you to look past some things. Dublin is from an excellent family of racehorses anyway, with Afleet Alex as his sire and his female family hailing from Triple Tiara winner Dark Mirage. I snuck him a candy when he was in his stall… at first I wasn’t sure if he would know what it was or liked them, but he was right up against the bars begging for it when I began unwrapping it then suction-cupped it out of my hand. Dublin likes his starlight peppermints!
Disco Rico was also on display, but wasn’t led out. I don’t know why, he had a ton of people interested in him. He was too busy munching on hay to pose for me.
I have some other upcoming stud farm visits down on my calendar for next weekend, so do stay tuned.
