Happy Birthday Pins!
34 years ago I could never have pictured my life as it is now. Yes, I’d always loved horses but growing up with few opportunities to ride, the thought of owing a horse was not on my radar. But still I never give up The Dream – I never sold the saddle I’d bought while taking riding lessons during college.
I can’t remember exactly what I was doing on Saturday Feb 4* 1989, but being a Saturday, with two little kids (2 & 3), I’m sure I was busy. As I went about my day I had no way of knowing that a little bay filly, just being born that day, would become my Forever Horse.
It took 10 years but she was worth the wait.
Playing off her family tree they named her ‘Pins.’ Her mother was ‘Florida Needles,’ grandmother ‘Needlette’ and her great grandfather was the famous ‘Needles,’ one win shy of the 1956 Triple Crown with 2 wins and a second place.
Pins, being well-bred, won races for a few years, but for most equines, being a ‘Race Horse’ is not such a great career. She was one of the fortunate ones, figuring out how to get herself out of the racing life. She’d noticed horses who didn’t win didn’t stay at the track for long…she knew her way out and was off the track at age 5. After being introduced to ‘normal life’ she dabbled in showing, served as a brood mare for a time (she loved taking care of babies) and spent a year as a ‘backyard’ riding horse.
We found each other on a cold, windy March night and the rest, as they say, is history. We’ve been together for an amazing 24 years.
Happy Birthday Pins,
Thoroughbred Extraordinaire!
*Of course the OFFICIAL birth date for ALL Thoroughbreds in the Northern Hemisphere is January 1 (August 1 in the Southern Hemisphere). This system was devised for convenience: when every horse born in a given year has the same birthdate they are easily identified as they enter various age restricted races.
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