After the Finish Line Steps Up for Indiana and California Breds in 2016
Sometimes, we just need a little help from our friends. This year, two Friends of Ferdinand horses were lucky to have found friends with the supporters, donors and Board of Directors at After the Finish Line.
Lake Royal is an Indiana bred and raced gelding that exemplifies why Friends of Ferdinand takes the match between horse and rider very seriously. Roy, who last raced in 2013 spent the majority of his time as an OTTB owned by a young teenager who found that she did not have the means to meet his needs or the knowledgeable support system to help and advise her. Ultimately, Roy who was unable to perform for his owner because his hooves were deteriorating was at an impasse. If someone did not intervene for Roy, his chances for quality of life, a pain-free and productive job and a secure future were slipping away. Friends of Ferdinand said yes, Darrin Griffith, Cjf said yes, the foster home said yes and early in 2016, After the Finish Line signaled their support for Roy with a grant to offset some of his veterinarian and farrier expenses. Here we are almost 8 months later and Roy is getting ready to leave his rehab foster home, move to our retraining facility and begin looking for his next person. We will make sure that Roy's next person is a good match for him, understands the needs and expenses of an OTTB and that they are both well positioned for successful partnership. We thank Amanda, Roy's former owner for recognizing that he needed more than she could give, and we thank After the Finish Line for enabling us to change Roy's end-story.
Icee's Rocket also benefited from the generosity of After the Finish Line. Rocket is a 2005 California bred gelding that was retired to Friends of Ferdinand in 2009 and subsequently adopted in 2010. Circumstances changed and his adopter reached out to us this summer wanting to bring Rocket back to us. While every horse adopted from Friends of Ferdinand always has a place with us, for whatever reason, Rocket's return made our budgets tight. Because Rocket was bred in California, we were very lucky that he qualified for a grant from After the Finish Line, specifically for CA-bred thoroughbreds. After the Finish Line's support allowed us to keep our promise to Rocket and his adopter while also continuing to bring additional horses into the Friends of Ferdinand program. Rocket is currently available for adoption.
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