09/28/2026
Me update on the island life 🤣
Naturally I made my way onto the racetrack pretty quickly. There is a lot of political mess and negativity towards the track here. Rumors of abuse, killing, neglect and so on. The islanders do not support the racing or frankly, having livestock on the island. Do I think horses should be on a little island? No, i domt disagree that this is not a place for a horse. But are they here? Yes, so my curiosity took over and I told the owners and trainers I'd like to jog and gallop some horses a few days a week.
The track itself was just freshly rebuilt within the last 5 years. The barns are surprisingly well kept and very nice! All of the stalls have fans, the grooms keep the stalls clean and fluffy amd spend ample time hand walking horses each day. The horses themselves are impeccably managed. They are fat, shiny and well cared for. They are bathed after every single work out and even on their days off. The grooms bring them treats, the trainers trailer them to swim the ocean and there are outsiders to pony them on the track if they aren't being ridden. I have yet to see anything alarming happen to these horses. To these people, this is their passion and in some cases their livelihood. The type that they may be in the same pair of holy muck boots for 7 years too long so that they can pay for their horses fresh shoes, training, feed, and so on. Is there some s**t that goes on here and there? Probably, but isnt that every where?
My goal for the track adventure is to have fun, stay keen on a horse and help educate when/ where I can. I would also like to sort a program to get some of these horses off island post career, the big issue is that once they are here they never leave.. and what do we do with 75+ horses and space, funds or help. Some of these horses are high end and would thrive in a new job. We are working on a stateside equine vet to work along with the track for better horse health, medical advise and care and education. Hopefully in the future we can work on a plan to help.
On my behalf I haven't galloped on a track in probably 15 years so im quite a bit rusty and very much out of galloping shape 😅 but everyone on the track has the island vibe. They are kind, patient, helpful and respectful. My favorite horse so far is this sweet stud in the video, he is so fun to workout everyday and I appreciate the guys giving me some nice stuff to ride while I get back into it. Will keep everyone posted on the track adventures as they come.
