My Summer Working With A Belmont Stakes Winning Trainer
By Starboard07
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16th Jan 2013 •
3,010 views
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3 comments
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This summer I got the opportunity of a lifetime, and I not only owe it to the person who gave it to me, but also to my father, who pushed me to write the letter.
May 6, 2012 – I had skipped Crew practice to run a 5K at my church, which I came in 3rd for my age group. On my way home with my dad we were talking about the Derby that would happen later that day. I mentioned how I found out there were some really good trainers not too far from our house, over at Fair Hill Training Center. He raised an eyebrow when I mentioned the name Matz, and said I should write him and ask if he’d allow me to be an intern or apprentice this summer. I laughed and thought “there is no way in heck that a winning Thoroughbred trainer, Individual Silver Olympic Medalist, would want a 16 year old girl walking around his barn all summer”. Yet, there I was the next day, after watching his latest hot shot horse, Union Rags, come in 7th in the Derby, writing a letter to Mr. Michael Matz.
June 1, 2012 – I’d finally perfected my hand written letter, and gotten the guts to send it. I wasn’t expecting a reply, though I’d asked him to at the end of my letter, “no matter what your decision, please respond as it would mean so much to me to hear from you”. I crossed my fingers and shut the mailbox.
June 9, 2012 – Union Rags won the Belmont Stakes. I was smiling ear to ear, but by now, I was positive that there was no way he would respond to my letter. He was back on top, to me at least, and why would he want to deal with a distraction?
June 19, 2012 – I had just gotten home from working on my science fair project with my friends from school, and I was telling my mom about it in the kitchen while she checked for any missed calls. As she flipped through the caller I.D., she was asking me a question, but stopped mid-sentence. I raised an eyebrow and looked at her for a reason and she turned to me and said, “Michael Matz?” and that was it. Within two seconds I was bawling my eyes out, in the middle of my kitchen, just from knowing that he called me. My mom had to replay the voicemail because we couldn’t hear it over my sobs. He said that he had received my letter and asked me to call him back when I got this. I went up to my room and cried into my pillow before calling one of my best friends who lived up the street.
“He called me back!” I cried into the phone. She was silent for a few moments, trying to figure out who I was talking about.
“Michael Matz. He called me.” I said and now she was screaming congratulations into the phone. “I have to tell my dad.” I said and then hung up as my mom brought the house phone into my room. I dialed his number and told him what had happened, and the first thing he said to me was, “Stop crying and call the man back.” So I said goodbye, waited until I was calm enough to get a sentence out, and dialed his number.
When he answered, there were lots of voices around him and he seemed to be having a hard time hearing me. “Kerry, can you call back tomorrow morning, around 11?” He asked me, and I said, “Of course!” So I waited until the next morning to call him.
June 20, 2012 – I waited until 11:00 AM to call him back, and when the hand struck 11, I pressed call. This time I got his voicemail, but he called me back two minutes later. After asking if I was still interested in a job, and me saying, “YES YES YES!” he then asked me the real question, “You do know how early we start?” and boy did I know. “Yes sir, 5 AM, is my best guess.” He agreed, but said that these days, they were starting at 4:30 because of the heat. “Do you have a way to get out here?” He asked me. “Well, I guess I’ll have to see who in my family loves me the most.” I laughed, and he laughed in return. “Alright, figure out the ride and give me a call back.” So I begged my parents and we decided that my dad loved me the most. We called him back to discuss who would be watching me and where I would be throughout the morning, as well as when we would end. 4:30 to 10 or 11. Pretty long day, but I was excited.
Vintage Farm Saddle Pads on Sawhorse
June 22, 2012 – My first day at Vintage Farm. I walked in, shook hands with Mr. Matz, met Peter Brette, his assistant trainer, and said goodbye to my Dad. Peter led me down to the lower barn, where I met the barn manager, Benjamin, and was assigned my first horse to walk, Late Cuddles. Some of the horses are walked around before they are tacked up for their workouts in the morning, just to get them stretched and keep them from getting nervous in the stalls. I learned how to weave the lead shank through the halter, and put on the blanket that they wore when it wasn’t too hot, and what to say as I was coming out of a stall, stopping, or entering the barn.
Unbelievable U munching on grass
Everyone I met was nice and welcoming, always willing to teach me new things, and easy to talk to. At the end of the day when my dad came to pick me up, Mr. Matz agreed to show us Union Rags, who was in the upper barn with his own two personal security cameras above his stall. The big horse was dozing off as Mr. Matz went in to pet him and talk to us about him. He was gorgeous in every way that a horse could be. I snapped a quick picture of both he and Mr. Matz, and then one more of just him before we said goodbye.
Union Rags and Mr. Matz
This routine went on throughout the summer, and on July 27, 2012, my dad and I were in the car en route to Saratoga Springs, NY, to go see the Jim Dandy, which Teeth Of The Dog would be running in, as well as to walk some horses the next morning. I got to stand on the rail at the training track, video tape some loose horses and exercise riders as they worked in the morning. I also walked a few of our horses. On Saturday, Mr. Matz got my dad and I box seats to watch the races, including the Jim Dandy and another race where one of our mares ran wire to wire for her first race and win in a while. It was a great experience up there, and I was glad to have it.
Saratoga Racecourse
Teeth Of The Dog in his stall
August 24, 2012 – My last day at the barn. I’d had such an amazing summer, learning all about the racing world, making friends with the other hot walkers, exercise riders, grooms, farriers, vets, and trainers. The horses, though stubborn and mean at times (see photo of where First Track bit my arm below), were great and very entertaining. I couldn’t thank my father enough for pushing me to go after my dreams, nor could I ever repay Mr. Matz for taking a chance on me and giving me the opportunity to do so.
I hope to return to Vintage Farm this summer and have another amazing time, but right now I'm waiting to hear back from one of Graham Motion’s exercise riders who told my mom that she’d try to get me a paid job hot walking for him. If he says yes, I have a feeling I’ll have to go work for him, since I need a paying job, but if he doesn’t agree, I get to go back to Mr. Matz and my favorite horses.
If I have one thing to say about all of this, it would be to never assume anything when it comes to what you love. Chase your dreams, put yourself out there, and one day, it will all pay off.
Collage of all photos from summer 2012 |
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Valkyrie
MOD
I absolutely love this article! It reminds me of how lucky I am to be working where I am :) I had something similar happen. My dad knew the brother of a guy who worked at one of NZ's leading Thoroughbred studs. Dad made me call the guy and I arranged for a tour of the stud, and then put my name down for a job.
I've now nearly finished my second season of working as a summer groom with the yearlings. We go to the national sales on Saturday. I've learnt so much and have gotten to rub elbows with some of my favourite racing lines. I completely agree with what you said about some horses being total dogs, though XD although most of the yearlings are pretty sweet when they're in their boxes, a lot of them act up something terrible when they're parading.
I'm so glad you got to have that opportunity, it sounds like a great time! And guys, she's totally right. Ask away because you never know what might come out of it! A lot of people in the racing industry are happy to take on newcomers,
I absolutely love this article! It reminds me of how lucky I am to be working where I am :) I had something similar happen. My dad knew the brother of a guy who worked at one of NZ's leading Thoroughbred studs. Dad made me call the guy and I arranged for a tour of the stud, and then put my name down for a job.
I've now nearly finished my second season of working as a summer groom with the yearlings. We go to the national sales on Saturday. I've learnt so much and have gotten to rub elbows with some of my favourite racing lines. I completely agree with what you said about some horses being total dogs, though XD although most of the yearlings are pretty sweet when they're in their boxes, a lot of them act up something terrible when they're parading.
I'm so glad you got to have that opportunity, it sounds like a great time! And guys, she's totally right. Ask away because you never know what might come out of it! A lot of people in the racing industry are happy to take on newcomers, even just for mucking out and grooming purposes. You can learn a lot about horses and horsemanship and have fun whilst doing so. The worst they can say is no :)
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Jan 17, 2013
• 3,184 views
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PonyBox
MOD
Great article! I'm sure you will remember this opportunity for the rest of your life.
Great article! I'm sure you will remember this opportunity for the rest of your life.
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Jan 20, 2013
• 3,283 views
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Prarie Rose
Wow, that is so cool! Sounds like it was a ton of fun.
Wow, that is so cool! Sounds like it was a ton of fun.
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55 days ago
• 3,717 views
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