Retired Racehorse Project Kicks Off

The Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, the largest and most lucrative competition for non-racing Thoroughbreds in North America, kicked off today at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Presented by the Thoroughbred Charities of America, the competition boasts $100,000 in prize money and is open to Thoroughbreds whose post-race retraining began no earlier than January 1, 2016.

The retraining competition drew entries from top professional, amateur and junior rider/trainers in 45 states, as well as Canada and England. Trainers could enter their horses into up to two of the following disciplines: Barrel Racing, Competitive Trail, Dressage, Eventing, Field Hunters, Freestyle, Polo, Show Hunters, Show Jumping, and Working Ranch.

Divisional competition began yesterday for the nearly 300 horses entered and will continue tomorrow.

Saturday's top three finishers from each division will be invited back for the semi-finals, then all 10 divisional winners will perform for a panel of judges, who will collectively decide which trainer has demonstrated the most impressive retraining of their off-track Thoroughbred over the past ten months for their chosen discipline.

Last year's winner, Lindsey Partridge from Ontario, Canada, is back again this year with two new Thoroughbreds, Pentland and Trivia Time, both participating in the Competitive Trail. Pentland will also compete in the Field Hunter division and Trivia Time will contest the Freestyle division. Last year, Partridge took top honors with Soar, a Canadian-bred daughter of Trajectory, with whom she navigated a course of jumps and other obstacles, first with traditional tack and then bridleless.

Thanks in large part to the notoriety she received after winning last year's Makeover, Partridge was tabbed earlier this year to serve as the head trainer for the upcoming feature film, Unbridled. Her horse, Soar, will also be featured in the film.

To view a complete list of competitors and see if you recognize any horses entered in this week's Thoroughbred Makeover, go to https://www.retiredracehorseproject.org/viewhorse.