Racing Results

The results are in for the September MHFC races.
All highlighted horses are Long Road Home horses.

The Quarters

Race 1
Conditions: Wet-fast to Fast
Winner: Night Cometh
Place: Lightning Flashfire
Show: WS Lassie Boon
Also ran: Te Bird Skip, Kiss Upon a Star, WS Nu Imperial Jewel, Smart Star, On Watch, Magic Quest, The Big Event

Race 3
Conditions: Fast
Winner: Mister Hawke
Place: WS Doctor Pep
Show: Soft As Smoke
Also ran: Noble Whiskey Solano, Bold One, Dragonsblood, Hey Mister, Texas Boy, Familiar Destiny, WS Brandy's Best

Paints 

Race 2 
Conditions: Fast  
Winner: Maximum Wattage
Place: Dash Splash Cash
Show: Justoneofthosedays
Also ran: Rising Wind, Zippin At Midnight, Raggedy's Eclipse, WS Ima Cool Outrageous Dandy, WS Zippin It Shut, WS Zip Mac Hustler, Smooth Criminal

Thoroughbreds

Race 2
Conditions: Good to Firm
Winner: Dareful Task
Place: Hello Operator
Show: Vision Cry
Also ran: Mrs. B, A Bid For Courage, Gerschwin, Parliament, Econimic Brigade, GOS Sheza Mighty Star, Uninvited

Race 5
Conditions: Firm
Winner: WS Count Me In
Place: Stella Artois
Show: GOS Dressed For Success
Also ran: Enniskillen, Chasing Liberty, Firewind, Storm Chattering Bird, The Hawkes Belle, Paddy Riley, GOS Ima Smarty Pants

Long Road Home's Official Statements

Overall, we're pretty pleased with our first race outing. A win and a show for six maiden races isn't bad. I know some people might ask why we didn't enter our horses in the maiden races, instead of putting them against horses with a few races of experience. Really, I don't think putting my horses against other maidens would do them any favors. Putting them up against experienced horses lets them learn by copying. I think they learn quicker running with the experienced horses.

Mister Hawke, and Hello Operator did well for us. I'm surprised they liked the faster track. Track conditions at the Long Road Home have been sloppy to muddy on the dirt, and yielding on the turf.

I think Biggie (The Big Event) and Hey Mister would be a lot happier on a softer track.

It looks like Smoothie (Smooth Criminal) needs some rubber plates in his racing shoes for fast ground. He's a heavier horse than most of the racing Paints out there. The jockey thinks the ground was pretty punishing for him... Smoothie felt tentative, like it was hurting his feet. I will have that jockey back Smoothie next time, I think Smoothie likes that jockey, there wasn't any fidgeting or playing up on the way to the gate like we expected.

Belle (The Hawkes Belle) shipped in from Britain, where she was used to deeper turf. Transitioning her to the shallower turf over here might be tricky, she needs to learn not to hammer her hooves down like that. Maybe she'd like some rubber shoes too?

Points Summary

LRH The Big Event: 1
Mister Hawke: 10
Hey Mister: 4
Smooth Criminal: 1
Hello Operator: 9
The Hawkes Belle: 3

First Show Results and New Additions

Well, the August show results are in, so here's how I did.

LRH Heza Custom Blend

Novice OF: Paint: 5th Place out of 5 entrants
Novice OF: Minimal White Pinto: 9th place out of 9 entrants
Total points: 8

LRH Rum Runner

Novice OF: Young Stallion (3-8): 9th place out of 25 entrants
Novice OF: Other Pure Breed: 1st place out of 4 entrants
Novice OF: Bay/Brown: 3rd place out of 13 entrants
Total points: 20

Novice Custom/Resin/China was unjudged in August, so I don't have any results for LRH Nighthawke or LRH Xiwang. LRH Astor likewise has no points to report.

I think I need to try and get new pictures of some of my horses, because they're atrocious and not helping me at all. I actually really like LRH Rum Runner's picture, so I'm going to set up the same shot for some of my other horses if I can. At this point, I don't have a good enough camera to take good pictures of the minis, so I'm giving up on them until I have a nicer camera. I'll keep entering shows with what I have, since LRH Heza Custom Blend was still earning points.

In other news, I picked up three more horses today, for a grand total of three dollars. These I intend to keep. As crazy as it sounds, they're the cheapo Walmart toys. I actually see some potential in one of them as a mule, even in OF. Another one, with some customization, mostly just narrowing his chest, looks like a Mongolian pony. The last one needs his legs lengthened and his nose straightened, and I think he looks a bit like a Tennessee Walker. I'll get pictures in the morning.

I actually was looking for animals, and only one animal stood out, a toy rat. I think if I cut off his molded whiskers and hair him all over with kanekelon, he'll look really convincing. I didn't pick him up because I didn't have the supplies on hand to customize him yet. I'll get one next time I'm at Walmart. I honestly see show-winning potential with the rat with about thirty hours of hairing work. Even better, he's kind of gushy, so he'll feel nice in my hands when I take him out for pictures :)