Does everybody know what the above photo means? It is official: Erica from America (the horse) is a winner. Yes, my equine counterpart has finally won a race. It was all very exciting. Her odds were six to one when she came in first yesterday at Calder. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm happy she's doing her namesake proud. Also, how fun is it that her jockey wears a pink satin jersey?
Anyone who's met my step-grandfather (that means Lauren and Cory) will recognize him in the winner's circle photo at the bottom. Huzzah! For those of you confused by this post, read here to learn more about who Erica from America (the horse) is and how she came to be such an incredibly famous racing horse. No sarcasm, I assure you.
This post is long overdue. A while back, Cory's sister Lindsey (who you first read about here) was kind enough to invite me on her company's retreat. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I happily said yes anyway. Little did I know what an AMAZING experience we were in for.
Welcome to Blackberry Farm. As in Knoxville. As in Tennessee. I'd never been to the land of the Smoky Mountains before, but the trip from start to end was tremendous. Blackberry Farm is a working farm-turned-chic-hotel. Guests there are treated to an outdoorsy retreat that ensures no actual "roughing it" occurs.
Here's Lindsey and I riding the party bus to the farm. We look excited, don't we? Once at BF, we checked into our room. The place is divided into small home-like buildings. Each "home" has a living room when you walk in. It looked very woodsy. The rooms were very cute. Each one is decorated differently with plenty of antiques and quaint details. Food was a major focus here. Blackberry Farms grows all their own food and everything you eat, from the cheese to the honey to the sausage, is made on site. One fun spot to eat at here is the old red barn, an Amish construction the company shipped over piece by piece. On the outside it looks like a real working barn, but the inside looks like an upscale restaurant. Over the course of the weekend we participated in lots of fun activities, including a trip to the farm's spa (that's a funny sentence) and a sunrise horse riding tour. You may remember I'm something of a novice horseback rider (read that post here) and the guide recognized this immediately. I was given the horse described as "so docile a child can ride him." Unfortunately, I was busy holding on for dear life, so there are no pics of the ride. But it was good fun.
Lindsey and I also participated in a wine tasting and a scotch tasting. Not at the same time. We discovered we like wine and don't like scotch. All very informative. It was an incredible weekend and I was so lucky that Lindsey brought me. Had she not, I may have never discovered my inner cowgirl. Here's a link to the Blackberry Farm's site for those who want more info: http://www.blackberryfarm.com/
And here are some gratuitous shots courtesy of Lindsey T:
Psst. If you keep up with the horse racing sheets, which I know you do, you know Erica from America The Horse ran last Sunday. I'm pleased to announce she came in second. This is a big improvement over her prior race, when she actually went backward for a moment. I hope that's not meant to be symbolic. Read more about her meteoric climb to fame here.
Wanted to post a quick update on Erica from America, my horse counterpart (you can read all about her here). She ran today and came in fourth! Now, this is certainly not a win, but definitely an improvement over her last performance when she came in next to last. (Read that post here.) Almost placing is a lot more exciting than almost losing. Plus, she "only missed second by a horselength." Whatever that means. I hear it's a good thing.
You can read more about today's race here (she's listed under Race 5), or check out her fan page here. Yes, Erica from America the Horse has an online fan page. From the looks of it, she doesn't have any actual fans yet, but the potential is there.
Also, you may notice I'm using the pronoun she. We do have confirmation now that the horse is a lady, not a tramp. So maybe there will be no more gender confusion from here on out. Maybe.
PS: Anyone notice the blog makeover? The old lady was looking tired, so some things got freshened up around here. Hope you like it!
I'm sure you've already heard, but Erica from America (the horse) didn't do so well at the races on Sunday. As I previously posted here, a racing horse named after this very blog made his racing debut this past weekend, and the end result was more anti-climactic than I had anticipated.
Erica from America ended up coming in second to last, and you can read the final stats here.
It seems my horse couldn't be bothered to keep up with the other guys, and was content to keep to a relaxing gallop as he took in his surroundings on the racetrack. As my stepfather told me afterward: "Maybe she was reading a book."
Yes, my stepfather said she. As you'll remember from my last post on the subject, I explained that Erica from America is a male horse with a girl's name. Which sometimes happens in horse racing. However, both my mother and stepfather now believe the horse is a girl. We have yet to come to a decisive conclusion on this. My stepfather's dad, the owner of the horse, will surely be able to sum this up, and I'll write back shortly as soon as we have final word.
My first horse experience took place in London, when I tried to understand the sport of polo and ended up flat on my back in the mud instead. Read more about that here. That was my first time on a horse, and I could have never predicted that two years later I would be so invested in the horse racing industry.
For now, I'll say I'm still content with the efforts of the androgynous Erica from America. That's a weird sentence for me to write. I'm sure he/she did his/her best, and I'm sure we'll see good things from him/her in the future. Until then, here's a video of Hal's Hope, the most successful horse to come out of my step-grandfather's stable so far. In 2000, he won the Florida Derby, and here's his moment of glory:
Can you guess what this is a picture of? No, it's not just a shot of a blurry pony (he looks in focus in real life, promise). Meet Erica from America...the racing horse, not the person or blog title. Ta da! I'm lucky enough to have family who likes to breed horses then name them after relatives.
My step-grandfather is in the horse racing business and gives his new ponies charming names related to various family members. Case in point, my sister's favorite doll growing up was named Favorite Baby. Creative, no? We all get a real kick out of hearing the macho racing announcers yell out through their microphones "Number six is gaining, he's rounding the corner now...and it's Favorite Baby for the win!"
Erica from America (the horse) is two years old now and ready to make his racing debut, this Sunday at Calder Race Track. Erica from America (the person) is very excited by this. I'm hoping there's a lustrous racing career in store for the handsome guy above. Yes, he's a male horse named Erica. Horse naming is a wonky business, but at least they didn't go with their second choice...Sue.
Lustrous career might not be too much of a stretch, by the way. One of my step-grandfather's horses, Hal's Hope, made quite a name for himself a few years back. Hal's Hope won the Florida Derby in 2000 (read more about that here) and ran in the Kentucky Derby that same year. Sadly, he didn't win the Kentucky roses, but I think this story is a good indicator that there are positive things ahead for Erica from America (both the horse and the person).
Of course he could go the way of the horse named after my sister, Emma's Hope, who always refused to leave her gate after the horn was sounded. She was quickly retired to the pasture and now lives a happy life eating hay and giving birth to ponies. Or, the horse named after my step-grandmother, Anita's Hope, who hung herself in her stable before her first race. I think the pressure got to her.
Whatever his future, it's exciting to finally see my guy's name on an official racing sheet. Check him out at the number three spot: The race is May 22 at 3:43. Apparently, horses are very time specific creatures. The race can be watched on HRTV...ten points if you guessed that it stands for Horse Racing TV. If Comcast doesn't provide the station for your viewing pleasure, you can catch it online at http://www.tvg.com/. Or, just check back here...I'll be sure to post news on how he does!
I know my family and I will be making more than a few bets on my four legged friend this weekend. Reading Erica from America's stat sheet (found here), it seems his minimum bet is fifty cents. I believe, friends, that is what they call a longshot. Which is fine by me. I'm perfectly happy for my name to be synonymous with that label. It just means when we win, we'll win big. I think there's a life lesson in there somewhere.
To tide us all over until the race, here's a video of my sister feeding Erica from America (the hor...oh, you get the point). She likes to go with her grandpa on the weekends to play with all the horses, but Emma did tell me afterward that she gave my horse "extra cookies."
PS: How exciting is it that my namesake is a dark horse? PPS: How cute is my sister? PPPS: If you look closely, you'll notice my sister is wearing an Orlando Magic hat. I love her anyway.
