Aldebutante Pics (2/12 & 2/24)
 

Thanks, Chuck, Steve, and also a big thanks to Ken L

Great pics. of "Deb". I love the distinctive "spade" shaped blaze. Can't wait to see her in person. Thanks Dave.

good shots! thanks for posting them.

She's looking great, thanks Dave!

Awesome!!!

Looks great! Thanks for the pics.

Wow, she's looking good ... thanks for posting !!!

She's a cutie! Appears to have a very nice gait too, not that I'm an expert on that sort of thing.

Wow very nice looking thanks for the pics

one more from this morning
 

she really looks great....

she sure is one nice looking filly

thanks for the pictures

Thanks for the pictures, made me forget for a minute all of the snow and ice of winter

Great pics, thanks Dave!

I want Kenny's facility - wow, nice!

Couple more shots of the Training Center
 

Chuck,

Save money on an architect - just give your construction crew these pictures :D

If you add 6 inches of snow you wont be able to tell the difference

make that 2 inches of ice and 12 inches of MUD.

What type of surface at the training center? real dirt or the artifical stuff

100% Florida landfill

Hopefully better than N.Y. landfill.....lots of strange things in that stuff! :D

ditto -

so what was she doing? Just having someone ride her?

I have no idea

A lovely, well balanced young lady.

Mentioned this in passing, in another thread...Kenny Lejune is one of the finest developers of talent and has, as far as I'm concerned, one of the greatest facilities in Ocala (Morristown). I (and my partnership) send all of our 2yo's to him...You all have done well in choosing him and his staff to bring this grand looking filly along. Kudos to Chuck, the man knows his stuff!!

Aldebutante, and Rampillion in Texas, are being given rudimentary training to prepare them for racing. They first needed to be 'broken'.. much like you see in Westerns where horses are saddled for the first time and taught to accept weight on their back and instructions from a rider. This isn't something they automatically accept. (And Aldebutante particularly did not care to accept it.. :p )

Once broken, they are then being put through the daily paces of what it will be like to live on the racetrack. They receive daily jogs and gallops; are taught how to change leads off the turns; get light workouts in sets to develop competitive instincts and to learn where the poles and finish line are; taken to the starting gate to learn entry.. something to which Aldebutante surprisingly did not object; learn how to accept treatment from farriers, grooms, vets.. something to which Aldebutante widely objects..

All this leads to Chuck getting the 2yo's in racetrack ready condition, at which point their training is intensified for further speed and conditioning.



I am writing a piece to partners about the visit Tina and I made to Kenny's place and Aldebutante Sunday... She looks fabulous, and I should have some close-up photos later today. She is not a horse that cottons to visitors readily.. It took nearly a half hour to get her to come spend time at the stall window and accept some attention. She is highly suspicious and diffident. Not mean.. but definitely aloof.

Great stuff Steve. Thanks for the update and look forward to the pictures.

diffident?

Our daily 25 center from Steve. He has singlehandedly forced me to put dictionary.com in my favorite places on my computer.

like in the westerns? not really steve....they don't just throw a saddle and rider on and let the horse buck it out.

I was waiting to see if there were any comments on this point..:)

Don't ruin it for us Pais.

I was picturing Kenny and his gang of employees hanging around the round pen sipping whiskey, smoking cigars and laughing at each other as they each took a shot at breaking Aldebutante. After they have all had a turn, I'm sure Kenny has that one guy(or gal) that won't give up, keeps dusting himself off and getting back on until he breaks her will to run with the mustangs through the desert...

sorry, I'm sure thats how they do it these days....:)

you forgot the part about them breaking into song....'the tumbling tumbleweeds' perhaps??

I was trying to convey the concept in a readily digestible image.. ;)

See? Bigs gets it!

timid, shy, restrained or reserved in manner, conduct, etc..

which might have been relevant 30 years ago....

So Sciacca could be described as diffident?

Is that like ""slapping the bull "" ?

I was lazily trying for brevity... To elaborate then, getting started with a horse, in the modern era, as opposed to 'breaking' the will of a 'bronco', is a slow, pain-staking process that is accomplished over days, weeks and months. The horse in question is introduced slowly to headgear, bits, reins, saddle, weight, and the 'work' expected of them. These elements take as long as necessary given the aptitude of the horse and their willingness to accept the various implements and instructions. Each progressive step is predicated on their acceptance of the preceeding accomplishment.

As the indoctrination progresses, after a period of time, (and as many of you have undoubtedly seen at the racetrack), a young horse will be walked and jogged with an escort pony to gain confidence towards being ridden alone. Ultimately, the instructor will begin to put the colt or filly through the same paces unescorted and begin track work. With each level of learning accomplished, the horse is introduced to more and more elements of being a racehorse.. the paddock.. saddling.. the starting gate.. etc.

There's obviously more to it and intracacies that could be elaborated upon, but I'll leave it to Chuck and Pais if there are questions...

Better described as rotund, sonorous and bombastic..