Yo,
Shout for Schoolcraft & Middlebelt.

Cut my teeth at DRC also. Catalano for VBerg/Shinrone... Pete and OC Maxwell. I also remember Steve Cauthen Day at Hazel.... 30,000+ there.

Derby Bar across M-Belt from DRC.... many tough beats drowned away there.

Honu (and everyone else), thanks for the advice on the exercise riding. My ass is WAY out of shape still and I have a lot more work to do before I can even get to that point, I'm thinking... :eek:

sha sha sha make ya money maka....o.e.y..lol

LMAO Hooves... you got that right. :D

Oh, so you jacked the irons way up. I thought you meant you stood up out of the saddle.
I use to do that with my English saddle, then I realize I was going to ruin it by putting the rub marks on it (too expensive to be treating like an exercise saddle) so I went ahead and purchased an exercise saddle.

I was Tracy Hebert's coke dealer.

I'm using a piece of crap schooling saddle to do that with. No way would I use my nice Pessoa saddle...

I'm going to buy an exercise saddle when I get around to it...but I just do it for fun. I don't know what I'm going to do for a career...Oh well, I'll figure it out.

Ummmm..... when I galloped, I galloped in a cross. When you have a tough pulling horse, a full cross really comes in handy. Good luck to anyone that can ride a direct rein on a tough pulling horse. BTW, exercise riders better know how to "throw" a cross (especially) if they are going to be working horses. So yes, exercise riders DO throw and ride in crosses.
I take it you just went straight to riding races? Never was an exercise rider?

Sometimes I run across old exercise saddles. I will keep you in mind if I do.;) I have a friend that works on tack (from the track) and I can check with him too.

Is that how you got into racing?:D

Cool.:) I'd appreciate it. Let me know if you come across a used quality one. I'd be really interested in it...

OK, will do.

Hehe actually I got into racing because I heard there were alot of hot chicks at the track. Unfortunately for me my first experience at the track was at Laurel. :(

Worked there or just gambled there?

Gambled. If I had to choose between working at Laurel and having my feet submerged in boiling water I think i'd choose the latter.

You said that throwing a cross was the most important thing , jockeys and work riders throw crosses when cuing the horse to go fast or change leads or whatever.
You TAKE a cross when galloping , adjusting it thru your fingers as needed, wether its a full or half cross, in the 20 plus years I have been riding race horses I have never seen a person galloping a horse THROW a cross.

Ok, rookie question, but what is taking/thowing a cross? I've never heard of it...

And yes, I know what a direct rein is and all of that stuff....

Re-read my post, I did not state MOST important. "Take", "Throw" I have heard be used as the same. "Throw a cross and take a hold" - never heard that term be used?? I have. You've never seen an exercise rider "throw" a cross???? Throwing crosses isn't just for rousing a horse to run faster. BTW, you're a jock, when do you ever stick around and watch horses gallop. You are only out there working them in the AM, not galloping them... unless you're riding at a cheap track....

One day I went to see my Grand Dad about him loaning me some money for a week or two. He was mowing the lawn, so he made me finish and gave me 50 bucks. I told him I really needed $200. Grand Dad said that the best he could do was for me to get to Santa Anita and put what was left from the $50 on Denilai Ridge. I did, I won and I been looking for winners ever since. Thanks Grand Dad.

Hey you ever heard of a horse called The Tin Man , I ride him , I work in SoCali for a Hall of fame trainer, whom I have also been an assistant for.
I started breaking horses on my familys farm when I was 13 ( that would be 1983) then when I was 15 I started galloping horses at the track in PA. and when I turned 16 I started riding races. In 1997 I made the national standings for female jockeys races won, I retired from race riding in 1999 and went to work for Richard Mandella. I have galloped , worked and been around World Champions and Breeders Cup winners and stakes winners and the like.
I was also lucky enough to get the chance to train a string of 2 year olds , which included Halfbridled's little sister and a horse named One Union.
So there are my credentials , tell me about yours.