An easy favor!

This will take 30 seconds!

Everyone, please call the Capitol switchboard, 202-224-3121 and ask for your senator’s office. Tell the aide who answers the phone to “please ask Sen (insert name) to cosponsor and support S.1915 to protect horses from slaughter”. The aide should record your name and address, to prove you are a constituent. You will want them to record this info, so that way you know your request was received (and heard). Then call back and ask for your other Senator's office, repeat! That's it!!!

Here is a list of the Senators who are current sponsors (and therefore are ones you don't need to call, unless you wish to thank them).

Sponsor: Sen Ensign, John [NV] (introduced 10/25/2005)
COSPONSORS(28), ALPHABETICAL: Sen Bayh, Evan [IN] - 12/12/2005
Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 3/8/2006
Sen Byrd, Robert C. [WV] - 10/25/2005
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] - 6/14/2006
Sen Carper, Thomas R. [DE] - 9/26/2006
Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] - 7/26/2006
Sen DeMint, Jim [SC] - 10/25/2005
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 1/25/2006
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] - 2/9/2006
Sen Graham, Lindsey [SC] - 3/29/2006
Sen Inouye, Daniel K. [HI] - 10/25/2005
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 9/25/2006
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 1/25/2006
Sen Landrieu, Mary L. [LA] - 10/25/2005
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 7/12/2006
Sen Levin, Carl [MI] - 10/25/2005
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] - 10/25/2005
Sen Lott, Trent [MS] - 10/25/2005
Sen Martinez, Mel [FL] - 9/28/2006
Sen McCain, John [AZ] - 9/20/2006
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 1/25/2006
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 9/20/2006
Sen Reed, Jack [RI] - 9/6/2006
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 9/14/2006
Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] - 3/8/2006
Sen Specter, Arlen [PA] - 10/25/2005
Sen Stabenow, Debbie [MI] - 1/25/2006
Sen Stevens, Ted [AK] - 11/1/2005

These horses need our help!

There was a terrible accident in Missouri with 44 horses in a double-decker cattle trainer (which will be illegal as of the beginning of December!). These poor souls were on their way to the slaughterhouse!! The accident did have some hidden good in that the horses that survived will NOT be going to the slaughterhouse! There is even a pregnant mare who was part of the group scheduled for slaughter!! This is TERRIBLE!! But YOU can help! Click the link above and sponsor any one of the horses profiled on the site. There is a lovely person on the Tim Woolley Racing site (link below) who will MATCH your donation!! Simply list "TWR Challenge" in the comment line of the donation form AND send a short email to Longmeadow and say "I have just donated to the TWR Challenge for the Missouri horse survivors". This way the donations for matching can be tracked. I donated to the one named "Spirit" in honor of my baby, Spirit, who I posted about below. Please give as much as you can! THANK YOU!

Snifters Spirit

Spirit is the only foal of a horse very near and dear to my heart, Snifter. My father trained Stakes-placed Snifter for her entire racing career, from age 3 to 7. We retired Snifter to make her a momma, but she died a couple of months after her only foal, a colt, was born. He was named for her, in her honor, and thus, is known as Snifters Spirit. He is a 2yo now currently in training at Louisiana Downs under Bret Calhoun. He will be a sprinter, primarily, maybe up to 7f. His sire is Captain Countdown (www.captaincountdown.com) who was a Texas Champion. Spirit is a Texas bred, and Breeders' Cup accredited thoroughbred. Here are his works, I will add more as he does them.

1st work ever.... in the slop!

Date: September 24, 2006
Track: LOUISIANA DOWNS
Distance: Three Furlongs
Time: 40:00 Breezing
Track Condition: Sloppy
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 12/14

2nd work, much better!

Date: September 28, 2006
Track: LOUISIANA DOWNS
Distance: Three Furlongs
Time: 37:40 Breezing
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 8/10

3rd work, stretching out now!

Date: October 4, 2006
Track: LOUISIANA DOWNS
Distance: Four Furlongs
Time: 48:60 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 9/13

4th work, this is SUPER fast for a 2 year old! He's gonna be a good one!! Because it was the fastest of all 12 horses that worked this distance, it's called a 'bullet work'.

Date: October 11, 2006
Track: LOUISIANA DOWNS
Distance: Four Furlongs
Time: 47:40 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 1/12

5th work... Now this is something, Spirit broke from the gate (hg, handily from the gate), meaning that even though he had the 2nd fastest work of these 3, his would be considered better because he started from a stop, vs the other ones were already running when their work started (b for breezing). This is Spirit's first gate work, and he did well!! Each 0.2 sec (1/5th sec), is equal to 1 horse length, so 5 lengths per second.

Date: October 18, 2006
Track: LOUISIANA DOWNS
Distance: Five Furlongs
Breed Type: Thoroughbred
Surface: Dirt
Track: Fast
Horse NameTimeNotesRank
HOH FLYER HOH (LA) 1:03.80 b 3/3
JAMES READY MAGIC (KY) 1:02.60 b 1/3
SNIFTERS SPIRIT (TX) 1:03.00 hg 2/3

6th work, improved by NINE lengths over his last work!! GOOD JOB SPIRIT!!

Date: October 28, 2006
Track: REMINGTON PARK
Distance: Five Furlongs
Time: 1.01:20 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 9/35

Links

These are terrific links I use daily. Enjoy!

www.campaigningforbarbaro.com Grassroots organization dedicated to the betterment of all horses!
www.timwoolleyracing.com The latest Barbaro updates!
www.vet.upenn.edu The New Bolton Center, where Barbaro is being treated.
www.bloodhorse.com Racing and breeding news.
www.fund4horses.org Promotes and safeguards the health, safety and welfare of equines worldwide, domestic and in the wild.
www.texasthoroughbred.com The Texas Thoroughbred Association, of which I am a member.
www.thoroughbredtimes.com Another racing news source.
www.equibase.com Horse racing entries, results, much more.
www.benchmarktc.com This is where my 2 year old was broke and initially trained to race.
www.DailyHandicappingContests.com This is a website where you can play in contests against other handicappers/players.
www.trackchampion.com This is a forum where there are mostly horseplayers, subjects vary.
www.shrp.com Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, TX
www.lonestarpark.com Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, TX (outside of Dallas)
www.retamapark.com Retama Park in Selma, TX (outside of San Antonio)

Welcome!

I am very excited to be the Campaigning for Barbaro Washington State Ambassador! A little background about me... I am the daughter of a successful Thoroughbred trainer, and am a nationally recognized Handicapper in my own right. I love horse racing, but hate to see our beautiful athletes live less than stellar lives after putting it all out on the racetrack. Also, I would like to see horse slaughter be a thing of the past in this country.

I hope we'll learn from each other in this blog, to laugh and cry together, to celebrate and congratulate one another.

Check out my links, and pictures, too. This is a living work in progress!

Cheers!
Lyn