Spring Is In the Air

So let me start off by saying.....

ONLY 32 DAYS UNTIL SPRING!!!!!!! 

Or depending on when this gets published, it may be between 32, 31, 30, 29, 28 days…you get the point. Either way, ladies and gentlemen, Spring is a’comin! 

And we all know what that means, more time for those silly OTTB’s that we love so much!!!

New Beginnings has had a pretty decent winter here in NJ. We're lucky that the weather has been fairly mild minus Snowmageddon 2016 and the deep freeze last week. 

Light Weight made it out for a couple of quiet rides, even one off property, and did fabulous! She’s such a beautiful and smart mare, we’re so excited to see how she turns out as the weather gets better and we move into summer. Check out the link below to see a video of this wonderful girl! 

Light Weight Ride

Our lovely and sweet boy Cosmo has had a little more down time so far this winter and we’re excited to get him working. We’ve had a couple of rides on him but he’s living in the lap of luxury  right now…and honestly, who wants to spoil that for a guy who’s worked so hard?! Sorry, Cos, you’ll be next to get back into work. Hate to break the news to you, buddy, but you’ve got some learning to do! Cosmo got to enjoy the blizzard here and was even completely unamused by the prospect of a friendly snowball fight! 

Snowball? What snowball? Do you have cookies?

And here’s where even more excitement comes in!!!!!!!

First and foremost we were very excited in early February (and still are pretty darn excited!) to welcome Daryl Kinney onto the NBOTTB Board Of Directors! 

We look forward to working with Daryl and know she will be an amazing asset as we continue to build our organization and find loving adoptive homes for off the track thoroughbreds. Welcome Daryl!

Daryl Kinney has been competing in eventing and dressage since she was a teenager. She recently completed her first advanced event on her OTTB, Union Station (JC name Little Squirt). She is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Equine Business Management. After graduating, Daryl started working for Denny Emerson as his barn manager and assistant trainer. She is currently competing several of his horses, including the OTTB mare, Rosie's Girl.

If you’re curious to learn more about Daryl, and want to see some photos of her demonstrating her incredible riding abilities, look her up on Facebook at Daryl Kinney Eventing !

And onto the NEXT exciting thing!!!! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT. Sorry, just can’t contain myself. 

Nicole and Michelle, our co executive Directors, have both been accepted into the 2016 RRP Thoroughbred Makeover in Kentucky!!!!!

Last year’s makeover was such an exciting opportunity for us and our horses, Bos’N Alwyne (Adopted in November of 2015, shortly after returning from the Makeover, by Andrew Philbrick of Princeton Show Jumping and Hunter Farms) and our own Cattail Creek. They both proved to be superstars last year in Kentucky and we can’t wait to see what this year will bring for us! 

Nicole and Michelle with Boss and Norm in Kentucky for the 2015 RRP Makeover!

*Deep breath* 

And more news! 

Our 2016 Wine Tasting fundraiser at Cream Ridge Winery in Cream Ridge, NJ will be held this year on Saturday April 2nd. Last year was a huge success and tons of fun at this small, rustic, family owned winery and we’re very happy to be able to host yet another tasting to benefit our horses here at New Beginnings. Tickets into the event include a delicious tasting of Cream Ridge Winery’s spectacular wines, one additional glass of wine and tasty, tasty appetizers! So if you’re in the area, please join us for a great night full of good food, good wine (I repeat…GOOD WINE), and tons of fun!

Head over to www.nbottb.org or our Facebook Event page at 

https://www.facebook.com/events/555735284587631/  to get more information and purchase your tickets!

Am I done? No, of course not! I’ll never be done! So many exciting things to announce for 2016, but all in due time my friends. It’s only February, and there’s so much time left for us to do fun and wonderful things with our OTTB’s! Stay tuned!! 

Light Weight can't wait for more fun news! We think.....

And as always :)

New Beginnings Thoroughbreds, Inc. is a 501c3 non profit organization.  Our founding members have spent years retraining off the track thoroughbreds for second careers, and we absolutely love our OTTBs!  New Beginnings Thoroughbreds, Inc is a 501c3 non profit organization and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. 

 Our team is all volunteer and unpaid.

Please consider a donation today!

Happy 2016!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Cheers to a new year, everyone! Here at New Beginnings we’re super excited for all of the awesome things to come. 

2016 is starting off well for us with the exciting arrival of two new horses! 

Cosmo Storm, “Cosmo”, is a 2012 Gelding who last raced on November 17, 2015. He had 13 starts in his career with 2 Firsts, 0 Seconds and 1 Third. Along with his devastating good looks (if we do say so ourselves) he’s also sweet as pie. So far we’ve determined that being groomed and cuddling are amongst his favorite activities. We’re so excited to bring this boy along and see what he has to offer! 

Fancy Schmancy boy. 

*drool*

Along with Cosmo came Light Weight, lovingly given the barn name “Lilly”. Lilly is a 16.1hh 2010 mare who last raced on June 15, 2015. She had 16 starts on the track with 1 First, 1 Second and 0 Thirds. This beautiful girl is just the sweetest and has a serious affinity for treats! 

No, really. She loves cookies. 

      

Someone discovered the joys of jumping. WOW! 

For tons more photos of these two magnificent animals check out our Facebook for their photoshoots!

These two lovely creatures are very exciting prospects for us and we’ve already started some work with them. Both horses began evaluations for re training shortly after Christmas and both proved to be beautiful movers!  

So here we are, January 1st! It’s finally turning into winter here in NJ, which means cold wind and short days. But we got through December with some pretty nice weather, so we’re hoping our luck continues. As it is we’ll slowly begin training with these two wonderful horses and bringing them back to work. We have some exciting ideas to start the New Year and we can’t wait for 2016 to play out all the wonderful plans we have! 

So from us at New Beginnings Thoroughbreds to you, Happy New Year! We and our horses wish you and yours good health and plentiful happiness this year! Stay tuned for the fun to come. 

New Beginnings Thoroughbreds, Inc. is a 501c3 non profit organization.  Our founding members have spent years retraining off the track thoroughbreds for second careers, and we absolutely love our OTTBs!  New Beginnings Thoroughbreds, Inc is a 501c3 non profit organization and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. 

Everyone at New Beginnings volunteer their time and are not paid for their positions within the organization. All donations received go directly to the daily care, health and well being of the horses in our program. Thanks to generous donors we are able to continue to provide this amazing opportunity for OTTB’s to have a second career. Please consider donating today. Donating is easy, you can visit our website at www.nbottb.org for more information, or simply click the PayPal button on the top right of this page.  Every single penny makes a difference! 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us achieve a successful 2015. We look forward to another wonderful year. 

Check us out on FB at www.facebook.com/nbottb and Instagram @nbottb

And also our Newsletter to keep up with all of our OTTB shenanigans!

Cosmo says, "See you later!" He has more important things to do, like cuddling with the farm girls! 

Welcome To New Beginnings Thoroughbreds!

Hello OTTB fans and welcome to the first installment of the New Beginnings Thoroughbreds blog. Should you be interested in reading about New Beginnings origins, mission statement, and any other tidbits, feel free to head over to our website:

www.nbottb.org   or our Facebook   www.facebook.com/nbottb/  

Today we’re here to share one of our success stories with our very first horse that came into the program. Cattail Creek is a 2009 Gelding who had 23 starts on the track. He accomplished 3 first place finishes, 4 seconds and 2 thirds. Luckily for us, those aren’t the most impressive racing stats by racetrack standards, and in 2015 Cattail Creek came to us as our first adoptable horse!

Cattail Creek, lovingly given the barn name “Norm” (because who doesn’t love a horse with a human name, right?!) came to NBOTTB in March of 2015. After a nice period to settle in and get used to his surroundings, he began his re training for his new career. 

Look at that trot!!!

                                                                                   

In the months following his arrival, Norm quickly became a favorite on the farm for his calm demeanor under saddle (*cough*lazy*cough*) as well as his quirky personality on the ground. He traveled to the All Thoroughbred Horse show at Pimlico racetrack in Maryland, HITS Saugerties, and to Kentucky for the 2015 Retired Racehorse Project with his fellow New Beginnings team mate, Boss (also a 2009 gelding who was with us for just a few weeks before his adoption to Princeton Show Jumping’s and Hunter Farm’s Andrew Philbrick!)

Norm also made appearances at a few local shows over the summer, and even more impressively, performed in his farm’s 4H Team’s drill performance at Princeton Show Jumping with his 13 year old rider!  (Dressed as a zebra, of course!) 

Zebra or OTTB? Who cares?! It's adorable!

Norm showing off his new skills in Kentucky at the 2015 RRP

After his RRP teammate, Bos’N Alwyne was adopted from the program post-RRP adventure (You can view photos of Boss and see more of his story on our Facebook page as well as website!) it was decided that Norm was just too good to pass up and he was enthusiastically adopted by his trainer, the owner of NBOTTB’s host farm, as well as one of the starting founders of the program! 

(I believe the correct term is “Foster Failure" in the animal adoption world) 

          So here we are in December of 2015, and this past weekend Norm and his 13 year old rider, Katie, made their show debut in the Beginner Rider Equitation ring at Baymar Farms representing not only New Beginnings but also their team at Serenity At Last farm! Norm and Katie put in beautiful rounds receiving a 2nd place in their Walk/Trot class, a 7th place in their first O/F class and a 3rd in their final O/F class!!!!

Norm and 13 year old Katie showing off their ribbons!

        Cattail Creek (Norm), has not only demonstrated the OTTB’s versatility and grace, but also their ability to become that once in a lifetime horse for riders young, old, amateur and professional alike!

        While we understand that the OTTB may not be everybody’s cup of tea, they’re certainly ours. And we’ll take all the tea we can get!!! Thank you for taking the time to check out New Beginnings Thoroughbreds! Stay tuned for more blogs updating you on our news and antics! We've just brought two new horses into the program, so look for updates coming soon. 

       

Don't forget to follow us on Instagram @nbottb !!

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year from the people and horses of New Beginnings Thoroughbreds!

                    Now if you'll excuse us, Norm has some cookies to beg for!