By Megan M. Seckman
Years agone on the North Dakota Chippewa tribe’s reservation, Turtle Mountain, at that spot lived a delineate of piece of employment solid unit of measurement of 4 petty girls in addition to a pasture of broken-down thoroughbreds. Each day, the girls would do these horses the balance of the race manufacture no longer deemed valuable. The girls’ father, Sylvester Alex Poitra, may direct hold quietly wished for boys, but taught each immature adult woman to ride earlier they could properly walk. And that is how he made a living out of these discarded, maned athletes — in addition to how Reta Underwood was introduced to the basis of Equus caballus racing.
“Dad’s horses were ever prepare to race. Essentially, they were existence double- trained — we’d ride them all 24-hour interval inwards the dorsum field, so he’d develop them. He rarely paid for the horses he rehabbed — most of them he saved from existence euthanized — in addition to he made a delineate of piece of employment solid unit of measurement delineate of piece of employment organization out of it. That’s how I learned nigh horses,” says Reta Underwood, entrepreneur in addition to Kentucky Equus caballus trainer, of her introduction to the Equus caballus industry.
Reta’s narrative sounds similar the making of a best-selling memoir. As a immature woman, she had a determination to make: become to school, ride professionally, or function inwards the champaign of horse-training similar her father. He, ironically, helped steer her away from the life of a trainer in addition to into the path of higher education. Reta became an skilful inwards the champaign of post-acute nursing assessment in addition to founded a consulting company, Consultants for Long Term Care Inc., that kept the lights on (and horses inwards the barn). But her passion for horses would non wane.
“I had a few horses inwards training, in addition to I noticed they weren’t performing the agency I idea they could. I thought, I tin do a improve project than this, so I brushed upwardly on my skills from childhood, drove to Ellis Park in addition to stood inwards delineate alongside 3 men to direct hold the preparation exam. I was the solely 1 [albeit a middle-aged adult woman inwards a male-dominated industry] that passed that day, in addition to I fifty-fifty corrected 2 incorrect answers from the test,” Reta recalls alongside a laugh.
Since passing her Equus caballus preparation essay a decade ago, Reta has won a race at every Kentucky racetrack except Keeneland (where her Equus caballus came inwards minute on a turf race). And, akin to her father’s philosophy, she’s never spent over $5,000 on a race horse. Her highest winner thence far was Godolphin Grey, a Equus caballus she purchased for $1,500 in addition to has yielded to a greater extent than than $140,000 inwards stakes earnings.
Reta, grandmother in addition to resident of L’Esprit inwards Oldham County, continues to run her consulting fellowship alongside her married adult man inwards gild to finance her Equus caballus preparation enterprise. What separates Reta from many other local trainers is she trains all of her ain horses in addition to gives them one-on-one attention.
“I ain in addition to develop for myself; I don’t solicit. All my horses are nevertheless alongside me — I never acquire into claiming races. I know where every Equus caballus I’ve ever touched is, in addition to I know these athletes within in addition to out: I’m within their heads, mouths, in addition to hooves every day. I know them improve than most people know their ain children. It’s only what I do.”
When she’s non inwards the stables, only what is this entrepreneurial, equine-enthusiast reading, watching in addition to listening to?
Reading
Years agone on the North Dakota Chippewa tribe’s reservation, Turtle Mountain, at that spot lived a delineate of piece of employment solid unit of measurement of 4 petty girls in addition to a pasture of broken-down thoroughbreds. Each day, the girls would do these horses the balance of the race manufacture no longer deemed valuable. The girls’ father, Sylvester Alex Poitra, may direct hold quietly wished for boys, but taught each immature adult woman to ride earlier they could properly walk. And that is how he made a living out of these discarded, maned athletes — in addition to how Reta Underwood was introduced to the basis of Equus caballus racing.
“Dad’s horses were ever prepare to race. Essentially, they were existence double- trained — we’d ride them all 24-hour interval inwards the dorsum field, so he’d develop them. He rarely paid for the horses he rehabbed — most of them he saved from existence euthanized — in addition to he made a delineate of piece of employment solid unit of measurement delineate of piece of employment organization out of it. That’s how I learned nigh horses,” says Reta Underwood, entrepreneur in addition to Kentucky Equus caballus trainer, of her introduction to the Equus caballus industry.
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| Reta's goodness instincts every bit a Equus caballus trainer turned Godolphin Gray into a stakes winner. |
Reta’s narrative sounds similar the making of a best-selling memoir. As a immature woman, she had a determination to make: become to school, ride professionally, or function inwards the champaign of horse-training similar her father. He, ironically, helped steer her away from the life of a trainer in addition to into the path of higher education. Reta became an skilful inwards the champaign of post-acute nursing assessment in addition to founded a consulting company, Consultants for Long Term Care Inc., that kept the lights on (and horses inwards the barn). But her passion for horses would non wane.
“I had a few horses inwards training, in addition to I noticed they weren’t performing the agency I idea they could. I thought, I tin do a improve project than this, so I brushed upwardly on my skills from childhood, drove to Ellis Park in addition to stood inwards delineate alongside 3 men to direct hold the preparation exam. I was the solely 1 [albeit a middle-aged adult woman inwards a male-dominated industry] that passed that day, in addition to I fifty-fifty corrected 2 incorrect answers from the test,” Reta recalls alongside a laugh.
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| Despite having 2 talocrural articulation surgeries in addition to multiple human knee fractures, Pillar of Salt became a initiatory particular weight winner. "He rides similar a Lexus in addition to runs similar a deer," Reta says. Photos past times Trina Whalin |
Since passing her Equus caballus preparation essay a decade ago, Reta has won a race at every Kentucky racetrack except Keeneland (where her Equus caballus came inwards minute on a turf race). And, akin to her father’s philosophy, she’s never spent over $5,000 on a race horse. Her highest winner thence far was Godolphin Grey, a Equus caballus she purchased for $1,500 in addition to has yielded to a greater extent than than $140,000 inwards stakes earnings.
Reta, grandmother in addition to resident of L’Esprit inwards Oldham County, continues to run her consulting fellowship alongside her married adult man inwards gild to finance her Equus caballus preparation enterprise. What separates Reta from many other local trainers is she trains all of her ain horses in addition to gives them one-on-one attention.
“I ain in addition to develop for myself; I don’t solicit. All my horses are nevertheless alongside me — I never acquire into claiming races. I know where every Equus caballus I’ve ever touched is, in addition to I know these athletes within in addition to out: I’m within their heads, mouths, in addition to hooves every day. I know them improve than most people know their ain children. It’s only what I do.”
When she’s non inwards the stables, only what is this entrepreneurial, equine-enthusiast reading, watching in addition to listening to?
Reading
- Reform of Requirements for Long Term Care every bit rewritten past times the Department of Health in addition to Human Services 11/2016
- Tricky Twenty-Two past times Janet Evanovich in addition to along alongside the Final Rule
- Code Black, a CBS medical drama nigh an ER struggling to maintain upwardly alongside the needs of the droves of patients parading through the doors.
- Criminal Minds on CBS; FBI agents investigating the country’s most-twisted perpetrators.
- Chris Stapleton – Traveller
- Fleetwood Mac – Greatest Hits