in good economic times, it’s a difficult hobby to sustain for the average horse owner. During a recession, it can be impossible. Melanie Kemery, 21, of Blackwood,
N.J., owns five horses, paying more than $1,000 a month to board four of them. When she was working as a waitress and as a full-time veterinary technician, she could afford to keep them and compete at horse shows regularly. But the restaurant where she worked closed and the vet clinic cut her hours by more than half. She’s now looking for homes for three of her horses, including a 12-year-old thoroughbred she rescued three years ago. “When I got her, she was skin and
bones,” Kemery said. “She was afraid of everything. … She trusts me now. The idea of loading her onto a trailer, giving her a pat, and that’ll be the end of it … keeps me up some nights.”
The Day afTer PIloT WaS PuT down, roach called me. “I don’t know if it’s too soon to tell you this,” she said, “but I picked up a horse this weekend, and he’s yours if you want him.” he was another off-the-track thoroughbred, a 4-year-old named Been Patient. he had run his last race just six weeks before. his owner retired him after he suffered a stress fracture to his cannon bone. “This one is free,” roach told me.
I’M galloPINg My Thorough- bred through the hills. We’re at a horse show in Virginia, on the backside of a cross-country course, far from the other horses and trucks and loudspeakers. Now, it’s just the two of us. a large log lies across the field in front of us — our next jump. I sit in the saddle, squeeze my legs and shorten the reins to bal- ance him and tell him that a jump is coming. But he already knows. his ears prick forward, and he rocks his weight back onto his hind legs, pushing off the ground. for a moment, we are flying. Then we turn and run headlong toward the finish line, toward home.
Laura Ann Mullane is a freelance writer based in Northern Virginia. She can be reached at wpmagazine@
washpost.com.
A new state-of-the-art continuing care retirement community is taking shape in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The Village at Orchard Ridge, a not-for-profit community for adults age 60 and better, plans to offer the beauty of the Valley with convenient access to the Metro area. Find out how you can lock in lowest pre-construction pricing and selection before the June 1, 2010, price increase. Call or visit our Information Center in Winchester to find out more!
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www.OrchardRidgeVA.org
FINAL OPPORTUNITY FOR BEST PRICING AND SELECTION!
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