NEWS

After months of preparation, 13 polo trainers and their young prospects prepared to set foot in the J TCA Covered Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, with hopes of winning the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) Thoroughbred Makeover Polo Division sponsored by the United States Polo Association. Hosted October 3-5, The Thoroughbred Makeover is a $100,000 competition in which hundreds of trainers acquire a recently retired racehorse and prepare it over a period not to exceed ten months for competition in one or two of 10 riding sports. Formats for competition are designed to test the quality and progress of each horse’s training.

On Thursday, October 3, all polo competitors participated in the first round of competition where agility was tested through a series of riding patterns consisting of a figure-eight with lead changes at the canter both directions, two roll-backs, two turns, two tight circles, a check and release and two complete stops and step-backs. “The flatwork is obviously important to show how the horse has been trained and how the trainer is taking care to give the horses a solid foundation,” said polo division contestant and Mid-States Circuit Governor Trey Schott. The competitors were then asked to perform a three-minute stick-and-ball session in front of judges Tony Coppola (USPA President) and Chris Stratemann (USPA Outdoor Handicap Committee Chair & Orchard Hill Polo Team Manager). Players demonstrated a nearside forehand, an offside forehand, a nearside backshot and an offside backshot. “In my mind there were three that stood out,” said judge Stratemann in regards to Thursday’s preliminary competition, “the winner [Buck Schott’s Great Reward] and the two greys [Harry Caldwell’s Silken Lady and Jim Deal’s Write Your Story]. She [Great Reward] just played like a made horse. She rode like a made horse, and looked like she had more than 10 months,” he recounted.

Once judging concluded on Thursday, the top five scoring horse and rider combinations (Buck Schott – Great Reward, Harry Caldwell – Silken Lady, Courtney Asdourian – Ouija, River Mountain Farm – Flatliner, Jim Deal – Write Your Story) advanced to the finale on Saturday, October 5, for a two-part performance. Part one consisted of individual agility work and part two involved all five horses plus a sixth volunteer competing in a seven-minute chukker. “The top seven horses were very close, head to head, it was tough to judge from the sidelines,” said Trey Schott, an avid supporter of the event.

After two days of competition, Buck Schott’s 2015 mare Great Reward (by Include out of Candy Ride by Daring Reality), was crowned the 2019 Polo Division Champion. “We got her before last winter from Blackwood, from a kid I went to grade school with, he started a horse training facility farm and they have 120 horses—it’s pretty top notch,” said Buck Schott. “He was partners on her with another guy and it wasn’t working out so we bought her. She had been turned out, and we had the chiropractor out several times because her left pelvis was out when we got her off the track. And she was really aggressive, we had to get over that, she would turn her butt to you as soon as you go to her stall,” he continued.

Despite some of the initial kinks Great Reward flourished in her new home. Speaking about his chestnut mare Buck Schott beamed, “she is pretty amazing. She was very athletic and natural from the beginning; she has always had a sensitive light feel. You can ride her in a halter or hackamore, and she is very soft no matter what.” Thinking towards the future, Buck intends to keep the mare for now. “Her potential is endless. I would like to keep her for several years and put more finishing touches on her to have a top-notch horse,” he said.

Once again, the Retired Racehorse Project has proven to be a great avenue for many polo trainers and the United States Polo Association would like to encourage participation in the competition. His first time at the event, Stratemann was impressed by the competition. “I learned a lot about other disciplines that I didn’t know before,” Stratemann said. “I would suggest that other players compete in this event. In fact, I am thinking about getting one of mine to come! At the very least, I would recommend polo players come horse shopping at this event. In the polo division there were horses that had a lot of potential and if given the right opportunity could really excel,” he continued.

Trey Schott echoed his sentiments, emphasizing that the event brings together a wide variety of horses for potential buyers. “Besides just looking at the polo horses for sale you could look at the ranch horses, competitive trail horses. You can look at 100 horses over four days and find some really nice prospects. We are helping the thoroughbred industry rehome these horses, but we are also helping our sport and helping our trainers in the sport.” Through this annual event, Trey Schott recognizes the opportunity to establish Kentucky as another location to buy and sell polo horses. “Right now, if you have a quality horse there are really only two or three places you can take the horse to sell it,” he continued. “You have to go to the northeast for August, the desert in California in December and January or you have to go to Wellington, Florida, in the winter.”

“The makeover is fun and the location in Kentucky is great,” said Buck Schott, “it’s the perfect atmosphere to give horses good careers and good lives.” Well situated on the polo calendar as well as geographically, Trey Schott hopes for more participation next year. “It’s at a central location at an ideal time of the year. In October, summer polo is coming to an end and northeast polo is over, people are shipping to Aiken, and nobody is heading to Florida yet. There is a big space when players can take the weekend off, come to Keeneland, enjoy Kentucky, see some horses and compete.”

Lifetime supporters of the cause, Trey and Buck Schott plan to enter two horses each next year and hope to see some fresh faces among the ranks of competitors. For more information, please visit retiredracehorseproject.org.

Retired Racehorse Thoroughbred Makeover Results:

Polo Division:

1^st- Great Reward - Buck Schott
2^nd- Ouija - Courtney Asdourian
3^rd- Silken Lady - Harry Caldwell
4^th- Write Your Story - Jim Deal
5^th- Flatliner - River Mountain Farm (Trey and Buck Schott)
6^th- Girl’s Dance Party - Paul Knapp
7^th- Lady Driven - Willowbrook Polo Farms (Andrea Groubert and Justin Whitesell)
8^th- Gables Girl - Kimberly Durling
9^th- Lady Violet M - Mike Groubert
10^th- Pleasant Truth - Justin Powers
11^th- Penry - Polo Power (Juliette Powers and Ethan Seikle)
12^th- Fireheart - Neil Agate
13^th- Flathead River - Frank Stubblefield

Special Awards:

Polo Best Conditioned:

• Lady Driven- Willowbrook Polo Farms (Andrea Groubert and Justin Whitesell)

Kentucky Bred Horse:

• Tied for 1^st: Great Reward - Buck Schott
• Tied for 29^th: Penry - Polo Power (Juliette Powers and Ethan Seikle)

Little Orphan Annex:

• 1^st Place: Great Reward - Buck Schott

Louisiana Bred Horse:

• Tied for 3^rd: Write Your Story - Jim Deal

Maryland Bred Horse:

• 1^st Place: Silken Lady - Harry Caldwell
• 3^rd Place: Fireheart - Neil Agate

New York Bred Horse:

• Tied for 1^st: Ouija - Courtney Asdourian
• Tied for 5^th: Flatliner - River Mountain Farm (Trey and Buch Schott)
• Tied for 8^th : Girl’s Dance Party - Paul Knapp

Turning For Home:

• 2^nd Place Gables Girl - Kimberly Durling

All photos courtesy of ©Lindsay Dolan.