Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm

We are on our way back to a Memorial Day family gathering in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, after having visited Crater of Diamonds State Park and Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, and paddling and fishing our way through various lakes and estuaries in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

This stop in Georgetown, Kentucky is along the way.  As we were planning the itinerary for 2022 in May 2021, we watched an episode on CBS's "Sunday Morning" about Old Friends and realized that it sits right along the path we wanted to follow this season in our RV vagabonding.  So we made a campground reservation nearby, and, before we arrived, reserved a spot on a tour of the farm today, Sunday, May 22, 2022.

Old Friends is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) equine retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky. The organization started with one leased paddock and two horses, but now owns 136 acres, Dreamchase Farm, with additional leased pasturage. It is the only Thoroughbred retirement facility in the United States that accepts stallions on a regular basis. Old Friends is currently home to over 150 retired Thoroughbred athletes.  The facility was created in 2003 by former The Boston Globe movie critic Michael Blowen, spurred by the death of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand in 2002. The presence of high-profile horses helps raise money, allowing after-care for more low profile horses.  

The farm decided to open its doors to the public, inviting fans to visit their turf heroes. As a result, Old Friends is now the “living-history museum” of horse racing. Annually, its horses attract nearly 20,000 visitors, who come to get up-close-and-personal with racing’s superstars, and also meet a few who never saw the inside of a winner’s circle.

When we were arrived, we were greeted by a volunteer who passed us off to Steve, also a volunteer, who served as our tour guide.  Let us just say that Steve is voluble and fun to listen to and chat with.  He knows all things horse racing and Old Friends!

 

 

Our tour was a walking tour.  We headed down the farm's central road, through the front paddocks, toward the main stable:

 

 

Steve introduced us to the first two horses, winning thoroughbreds in their time, who eagerly trotted over, knowing that they would get carrot treats from these new visitors:

Kathy was eager to accommodate, offering carrot pieces from a bag full of them that the farm offered to touring visitors:

 

 

We already knew that every horse has a unique personality, but this was evident front-and-center as we introduced ourselves to each of the thoroughbreds we met:

 

 

Steve introduced us to Little Silver Charm, who has lived at Old Friends since it opened in 2003.  He is in his early thirties -- older than any of the more famous thoroughbreds who reside at Old Friends. He came to the farm when his original owner died, leaving Little Silver Charm and some other farm residents destitute.  He hasn't left since and continues to charm visitors:

 

 

Leaving Little Silver Charm, we reached the crest of a hill where we could look out over many of the paddocks housing the Old Friends.  It was a very impressive view:

 

 

The horse barn is modern and clean.  Steve explained to us that each horse has its own stall (with the horse's name on it -- eat your heart out, business executives!) where it can shelter from inclement weather.  But, bad weather aside, every horse gets to spend lots of time outside.  The horses that don't get along well with others (generally, the stallions) have their own paddocks, and the more sociable horses (usually the geldings and mares) run around together in huge field enclosures.

 

 

Everyone had plenty of opportunity to feed carrot treats to horses and make new friends and influence equines:

 

 

Each horse has its own quirks, including this one, who loves sticking his tongue out when he is begging treats:

 

 

Staff at the farm attend to each of the horses.  Here is one new arrival who has been quarantined to protect against possible disease, being walked back to the barn for brushing and a little lunch by a doting attendant:

 

 

We had a chance to meet Silver Charm, who was just beat out from becoming a 1997 Triple Crown winner when Touch Gold barely outraced him in the Belmont Stakes that year.  To show you how important Old Friends is in racing circles, Touch Gold is also a resident at the farm.

 

 

It is the hope of the owner and staff at Old Friends that each of the thoroughbreds who reside there live out their lives and pass away naturally at Old Friends.  At the end of our tour, we had a chance to view the cemetery where each horse (after being cremated) is buried and is honored by a stone marker:

 

 

You ask us who our favorite horse was.  That would be impossible to answer.  But the award for Biggest Clown has to go to Stubbins who, when offered a carrot with the request, "Show us your tattoo!" will curl his upper lip and show off the tattoo that marks him uniquely with his thoroughbred identity.  Sometimes he will even offer the tattoo unsolicited just to see if a random carrot or two will fall his way:

Most of the horses we met were already waiting along the fence as we approached.  In some cases, however, the famous residents were busy with other horsely matters (we know not what).  In these cases, Steve would call to them, or rattle the carrot treat bag -- or, in extremis when necessary, shake the food trough hanging on the fence.  When Steve called, any old friends who didn't realize carrots were on offer would come ambling over for a treat. 

Kathy will tell you that she has a soft spot for horses, and carries proudly the emotional scars of having a horse steal a corncob out of her back pocket as she went to pet it when we hiked around farms in Chester County, oh, way back perhaps in 1993 or so.  Imagine her delight at being able to make so many new friends without having to have her pockets picked.