Barbaro Updates: 33
updates are now here.
Update 367: For my third interview I wanted to talk to Jose Caraballo, who rode Barbaro in his first two races. I know Jose a little bit, he is one of the leading jockeys at Delaware Park. He also comes over to Fair Hill from time to time to breeze horses. Last winter he spent more time at Fair Hill as his wife was stabled here. I freelanced out of the barn in which they were stabled. He was always very nice and easy going.
I went over to Delaware Park earlier this week for the Mike Rea Relief Fund raffle (good to note Mike is progressing) hoping to catch up with Jose for this interview. I was then reminded Jose was off for a few days with an injury. Anyway, I acquired his cell phone number and called him today. He was very willing to share his Barbaro story, and here it is:
Jose Caraballo: I had not ridden Barbaro before I rode him in his first start. Peter Brette had done all his work. I did ride his older half brother, Holy Ground, and he was a good horse. I also watched Barbaro work one morning at Fair Hill, I loved the way he worked. Obviously I wanted to ride him.
The first race I rode him he was pretty unbelievable. He did everything right, although he was a little slow away. I knew immediately I had a hell of a horse underneath me. While he was a little green, he never stopped running. He showed he was a nice horse and I was very impressed.
I hoped I would get a chance to ride him back, and I did, in the Laurel Futurity. In 22 years of riding races I have never been on a horse like the one I was on that day. I have ridden over 2,000 winners. That day he went by the other horses like they were ponies. It was as if they were 2yos and Barbaro was a 5yo. He had so much power, he really impressed me that day.
Watching the Kentucky Derby, at Fair Hill with all the other Barbaro fans, I was very happy. I was proud to be a part of the Barbaro team. He was so impressive winning the Derby I felt sure he could win the triple crown. I was honoured to be a part of that history. I could say I rode him, if only twice. I was obviously very sad when I watched the Preakness. It is very hard to describe my initial feelings, but it was kind of like shock. I felt connected in someway to the horse. I only hope now he can recover. He is doing well I know, but it will be a long road ahead. I look forward to seeing him one day, carefree. I continue to ride for Michael, he has been very good to me, you can only wish the best for Barbaro and all those connected to him.
Update 366: Some more lovely poetry (I apologise in advance to poems that I miss):
Wm & CL at August 3, 2006 12:59 PM (below):
Two hundred thousand plus travel page views-
as Tim Woolley Racing keeps spreading good news!
Barbaro's Recovery Road may be long-
with adoring fans keeping Barbaro strong.
Beyond the prayers must our pensmanship speak-
Help make our horse athletes safer every week!
Thousands can make all the difference today-
Sign the petiton while Barbaro munches top hay!
He thanks you with nods, bows, and a wink-
For making his day while all of you think!
What if I had to travel recovery's road too?
How would I make things better for you?
Remember Michael's Miracle as all of us pray-
Keep lighting those candles each night and day!
Whispering Barbaro to heal better than ever!
Reminding Team Barbaro 'Never Say Never.'
Listen, there's whispers 'Don't You Quit!'
Not on our watch while all of us sit!
Watch Miracles happen on Recovery's Road
Let Mike Rea's and Barbaro's stories be told!
Lightens our spirits, we breathe easier now-
while GOOD NEWS spreads like wildfire, WOW!
Raise up your voices and sing us a song-
as Barbaro's & Mike's Recovery Road is long!
Send your GOOD WISHES and special gifts today-
While Barbaro eats special Lael grass and hay!
More than prayer, we now must all think-
Save our horse racing athletes from the brink!
Of broken down horses, we will talk no more-
as it's time for "Bobby" to snooze and snore!
YOU CAN MAKE the greatest difference for him-
Sign that petition Online helps Barbaro win!
A new kind of race so pick up your pace-
Come in and visit and show us your face!
Stop "Oh No's" and "Uh Oh's" before they begin-
Barbaro's campaign travels where noone has been!
Small step for horses, one giant step for men-
Start today with a click of a key instead of when?
Change Recovery's Road name to Better Road soon-
Time is of essence as this day approaches noon!
Takes but a moment, a flashback in time-
Moments keep passing, hearing Barbaro's chime!
Go if you must, but remember these words-
Make Racing Tracks safer for thoroughbred herds!
Todays Hopes are Tomorrow's Can Dos-
Jockeys and Horses need to hear the good news!
America cares, how much will that be?
Putting words into action for citizens to see-
Campaign for Barbaro until we make a difference!
Recovery Road is our Better Road with reverence!
Go to www.petitiononline.com/cares/petition.html
and
From Debbie Jurasus at August 3, 2006 02:48 PM (below)
The Mighty Barbaro
Sired by a strapping spit fire
and a Dam who is as elegant and dainty in opposition,
Your entrance in this world was one of sheer determination and will-
You made your presence be known early on that you are no ordinary colt-
For you are the mighty Barbaro- who is to be cherished, loved and adored!
With Speeds of lighting, others are in awe, to witness such grace and beauty, and to see you be adored.
People flock to be in your presence and feel your aura fill their hearts with joy and excitement.
You have given so much and ask for so little return- for we who love you yearn for more...
So we come to you to give back a little of what you have given- your determination and will to strive and win.
For you are our CHAMPION- no one can contend.
The battle may be long, but we are in it together for the win-
A finish line of green pastures and fields to roam, for all to see your
beauty shining from within...
You are the mighty Barbaro- who is cherished and adored- a true miracle in every sense of the word!
and
From Tamara in Los Angeles at August 3, 2006 05:23 PM (below)
"Special One"
Oh, magnificent creature, brave and strong, you did everything right, yet something went wrong. Running into the wind so fearless that day, catastrophe struck - and took our breath away.
As fear gripped our hearts and the world cried out "WHY?" like the champion you are, you held your head high. The weeks that ensued brought elation and pain, yet we all know your plight has not been in vain.
You've inspired your caretakers to give all they can give, because you've made it quite clear you have a strong will to live! You've touched so many lives and you don't even know, please continue to heal; we love you, Barbaro!
May angels surround you, bringing comfort and peace, until God takes you home in years, months or weeks ... where in heaven you'll run free with no pain, that I know. Yes, our Lord loves you MOST, Special One, Barbaro.
This is a good time to remind us of all the good content on the fan media page. It seems that early on in this "journey" fan creativity was focused on imagery / video etc. and now the focus has shifted to words.
Finally, lets not forget we have a vigil planned for saturday, 7 pm (east coast time). Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, spare some time for Barbaro. While things are going well, we cannot lose focus, he has a long road ahead we hope.
Update 365: Sabina Louise Pierce spent last saturday at Fair Hill taking some pictures. She has included a few of these shots in her horses gallery. Very nice. This comment was left in updates 32 10:10 PM about the Barbaro Fund:
Well, to my biggest surprise yesterday, when I picked up my mail, there was an envelope addressed to me with a return address of: Penn Veterinary Medicine - The Barbaro Fund. I hurriedly opened it up to find a "Thank You" card. The front of the card has that great great photo of Bobby winning the Derby with Edgar up blazing across the finish line with his mane, tail flying in the wind; this is the photo taken by Bill Franken/Sports Illustrated.
When I opened the card I read the following:
Thank you for your generous contribution to the Barbaro Fund. This fund has been designed to support the George D. Widener Hospital at New Bolton Center and will be used for treating animals like Barbaro and countless others in their time of need.
I was soooooooooooo deelighted to receive this that I immediately ran out to buy a frame for this 5x7 gorgeous photo. And so I did! A lovely all wooden frame the color of Bobby ... that deep rich chestnut.
When I got home, I wanted to keep the original intact so I made an exact 'copy' of the front of the card with my own printer/copier/scanner and it came out Purrrrr-fect! I framed it and hung it on my wall right next to another 8x10 of Bobby I had printed out a couple of weeks ago and framed, and Bobby is 'hanging' right next to all my beautiful framed photos of "Big Red". So I was then able to take the original card and put it back in its envelope and tuck it away in a file folder labeled "Barbaro."
The following article attributes Bobby's influence to canceling racing yesterday: Canceling card was right move at Saratoga, the article concludes:
In the post-Barbaro era, the humans who make decisions that affect the lives of horses are beginning to consider the interests of preserving the animal or at least, whenever possible, reducing risk.
There is no Eclipse Award for this, but perhaps there should be.
For my next interview, I am going to try to interview Bobby's first jockey, Jose Caraballo.
Update 364: New Bolton's press release today: Barbaro continues to improve:
Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro's left hind hoof is slowly showing evidence of regrowth after surgery last month to treat laminitis. Laminitis occurs when laminae, the strong connecting tis sues that attach the pedal bone and the inner hoof wall, are inflamed. "The coronary band (the portion of the hoof that is responsible for continued downward growth of the hoof) is beginning to re-establish itself," said Dean Richardson, Chief of Surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital.
Barbaro's right hind leg continues to be protected in a cast. "The original fractures have apparently healed well, but the cast is necessary to protect the pastern fusion," Dr. Richardson said. "This protection is required because he must bear most of his weight on the right hind limb due to the laminitis in the left hind leg."
Barbaro remains in the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Pennsylvania's George D. Widener Hospital.
The next update will be posted on Tuesday, August 8, unless there is a significant change in Barbaro's condition.
Update 363: Another comfortable night for Barbaro (wednesday night). Saw Michael Matz as I was coming back from the track on my second set. He had just heard from Dr. Richardson. I also expressed my condolences to Michael about the passing of Mr. Dixon.
Updated Thursday 7:05am
Update 362: The Philadephia Inquirer article about this site was picked up by a couple of other news media the next day, with a new title: Barbaro's fans hold Web vigil. Oddly, while the Lexington Herald Leader seemed to be first to pick it up, others (ContraCostaTimes and MiamiHerald) did so using the Lexington Heralds "title tag", so they must have simply used the same "code" as the Lexington Herald ? I assume Lexington Herald got the story from MercuryNews.
Some content from the comments from update 32.
First an uplifting, if not amusing story (Nancy in CT: 11:59 pm):
LINNIE RE YOUR BARBARO HAT (and anyone else who cares to wade through this message) - forgot to tell you my funny story: I held off buying a hat until I saw that they were donating "a portion" of the proceeds to the Barbaro Fund, so it just arrived a few days ago. It's hot as the fires of hell here in CT, and I'm very heat-sensitive, so I wore it walking to the bus stop after work on Monday. A man approached me and said, "Are you one of those maniacs?" My initial reaction (who me, sensitive?) was, If he says something idiotic like "it's JUST a horse" I could be prone to violence...especially in 95 degree heat! Over the space of just a few seconds I saw myself being arrested for assault in defense of "just a horse named Barbaro" and what's really funny is that I would have been arrested by one of the members of our mounted unit - all pals of mine! But wisdom prevailed, I counted to ten and replied, "What do you mean?" HERE'S THE GREAT PART - he said that he'd stumbled on this site while looking for info, saw that it appeared to be all women, felt uncomfortable...and left, but NOT before seeing references to BARBAROMANIACS and that's why he wondered if I was "one of those maniacs"! After I stopped laughing, I begged him to come back here - don't think he will - he just seemed interested rather than obsessed/addicted like the rest of us. He wanted to know about sending a gift and I mentioned the florist and also that I was ordering some all-natural treats online AND HE ACTUALLY PRESSED $5. UPON ME TO FEEL PART OF SENDING GOODIES TO BARBARO! There was absolutely no convincing him to take his money back (and I was moved to tears, to be honest) and when I asked him how he knew I wouldn't take his money and go to Burger King or something like that, he said, "BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T BE WEARING THAT SILLY HAT WITH YOUR BUSINESS CLOTHES IF YOU WEREN'T THE REAL DEAL!!"
A poem (Anna 11:16 pm):
On wings unseen
you surely fly
by pure design
no cause to lie
loved for your beauty
your heart, your fire
you run for joy;
innate desire
you heal our sorrows
and trust our hands
giving unselfishly,
with no demand
we take credit
surely not due
only One above
created you
be you statuesque stud
or humble plow
we owe you much
and repay…how?
and a poem (Jo 10:59 pm):
Ruler Of The Wind...
The wind knows you..
The wind loves you..
The wind has kissed you..
and you..dark wonder horse.. have danced with the wind..
The wind misses you...
The wind sings to you each day
Breathing life ..healing and health so softly..whispering...
That she longs to dance with you again..
Yet at this time, when that dance has
become a cherished memory in your mind..
It still.. is... with ... you...
It caresses your body gently where you sleep..
and.. heal...and dream ..
She lulls you to peaceful rest..
Whistles softly...sweetly..
She will always be with you..
and you with her..
Sweet Barbaro.. ruler of the wind..
I love the story...I can understand being easily led to violence due to the heat! I have lived in Las Vegas my whole life and have not figured out how to get used to the heat yet.
This site has been so uplifting in so many ways...especially since I seem to be loosing all of my non-Barbaromaniac friends, st least this way it never gets lonely.
Love and peace to all and especially my dear Bobby,
Cindy
Posted by: Cindy Campbell at August 3, 2006 9:16 AM