Betsy Kelleher

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That Winning Feeling!

09.28.2019 by betsykelleher //

Reading Time: 5 minutes
horse competition  ACTHA trail ride event. Photo of two ladies on horseback ready to compete.

When I wrote this column for the Illinois Horse Network in 2011 (under the heading, Sometimes God Uses Horses), I borrowed Jane Savoie’s book title, because that’s exactly how I felt after finishing my first ACTHA ride. That ride meant a lot to me because of what happened to Lady, my headstrong Tennessee walker mare. 

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Categories // Horses Tags // ACTHA, competitive trail, dragging obstacle, horse obstacle, horse thinking side, noodle obstacle, reactive horse, trail riding, training benefits

Zenyatta – A Mare’s Heart to Win

08.28.2019 by betsykelleher //

Reading Time: 3 minutes
Photo of Zenyatta after her one defeat. Close up and tells the story.

Zenyatta is one of the great mares in racing history. Her owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, planned to retire the six-year-old after the Breeder’s Cup Classic in Louisville, Kentucky on November 7, 2010. Instead of retiring with an outstanding record of twenty wins, which would have been the best of any American horse in the history of Thoroughbred racing, she lost her last important race by a head to a horse named “Blame.”

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Categories // Horses Tags // famous race horse, heart of a horse, heart of a mare, John Shirreffs, Mike Smith, zenyatta

Her Name is Ruler Runaway

07.31.2019 by betsykelleher //

Reading Time: 2 minutes
Trainer J. Keith Wilborn – Jockey Javier Diego. Photo by Jim Ansley.

My new horse interest!

My husband and I no longer own horses, but we enjoy horseracing. I was watching the post parade at Fairmount Park one Tuesday in early July—when number two in the third race totally captured my attention. “Look at that beautiful mare!” I yelled. I hardly noticed the rest.

The program gave her name as Ruler Runaway, a dark gray six-year-old mare with flowing tail tipped in white. Suddenly, I was in love.

[Read more…]

Categories // Horses Tags // horse racing, joy of life, love of horses, new passions, zenyatta

What About A Sofa? – Odd Learning Opportunities for Horses

07.31.2019 by betsykelleher //

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Ratty old sofa trashed along the road

Unplanned adventures often become memorable experiences. One morning when I went to the boarding stable to visit Lady, my black Tennessee Walking horse mare, I noticed the next door neighbor had a sofa in front of his house with the sign, “Free.”

I wasn’t interested in his sofa. When I got to the barn, a fellow boarder asked me, “What would Lady do if you rode her past that sofa next door?”

[Read more…]

Categories // Horses Tags // adventures, centered riding, column, power in asking, spooky horse, trust

ABOUT BETSY

Betsy is a Christian author and equine columnist whose passions include horses, Boston terriers, writing, photography, music, nature and a certain gray race horse.

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