Dallas Roses to Ribbons

The Paddock Foundation held our third Roses to Ribbons Old Fashioned Horse Fair at Lone Star Park on July 15.  As I am the coordinator of the event, I explained to Silk and Eliot they would both be getting some time off so I could help their friends at the race track.  As Silk has turned into Eliot's chew toy, the timing of this vacation for them couldn't have been better.  Silk is sporting several bites, courtesy of Eliot all in the saddle area.

The Dallas Roses to Ribbons is generally the largest of the three events and we were hoping for a good turnout for this year's Lone Star horse fair.  The success is largely dependent on good weather.  I watched the forecast with an anxious eye.  Rain appeared to be on the way.

I arrived early at the track and did a quick walk through the barns answering last minute questions from the trainers. Everything seemed on go.  I had two volunteers to check horses in and assign hip numbers in the stable area and an additional volunteers to keep track of the horses as they left the paddock to keep track of who sold and who didn't.

The vendors arrived for the event and started unpacking in the saddling paddock.  The more unpacking that happened the thicker the clouds became.  We decided to move all the vendors under a covered area just in case the rain came.

The rain did come, just as the horses came into the paddock area.  Fortunately, it wasn't too heavy and we had a good number of prospective buyers come despite the wet weather.

I have personally purchased two horses now through Roses to Ribbons.  As I currently have one empty stall left at home, it was with some difficulty that I restrained myself from picking up one more.  As we all know, an empty stall needs to be filled.

By the end of the day, half the horses presented had found new homes and new careers.  Twelve sales that day were completed and there was one more pending.  Roses to Ribbons has now lead to the re-homing of nearly 100 thoroughbred race horses.  Those are the kind of numbers that make the volunteer hours all worthwhile.