Jon Holling riding Ragtime Rebel for the first time. Photo via Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center.
Last month the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center (MMSC) announced the creation of the MMSC All-Star Program, an initiative conceived by eventing legend Dorothy Crowell. The All-Star Program aims to “re-establish the Thoroughbred horse as the premier international level competitor in equestrian sport” and plans to do so pairing promising ex-racehorses with some of the top equestrians in the country.
Dorothy reached out to Jonathan Holling, who was intrigued by her idea and ventured to MMSC in Kentucky to try a few horses. Jon picked out Ragtime Rebel, a 2014 16.2-hand Kentucky-bred gelding, adopted him and has set up the Rebel Restart Syndicate. We’re looking forward to following Rebel’s journey and seeing what these two achieve together.
Interested in creating an All-Star Team? Direct inquiries to [email protected]. While the All-Program is geared towards noted industry professionals, you don’t have to be a big-name rider to adopt a horse from MMSC to be your very own all-star. Here are three great prospects available now:
Tiger’s Tip. Photo via Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center.
Tiger’s Tip (CONGRATS – BERBATIM, BY BERNSTEIN): 2015 15.3-hand Kentucky-bred gelding
Don’t let the western tack fool you — Tiger’s Tip definitely has the making of a sport horse prospect and MMSC has videos of him lunging over jumps and schooling in English gear to prove it! Tiger has a very short and unsuccessful race career, earning a measly $43 in a grand total of three races, but he sure seems be taking to being a riding horse rather nicely. His nice uphill build and the boldness he shows in lunging over logs and coops appear to lend him nicely for an event horse career.
View Tiger’s Tip on Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center.
War of Ideas. Photo via Maker’s Mark Secretariat
War of Ideas (WAR FRONT – HIGHTAP, BY TAPIT): 2013 16.0-hand Kentucky-bred gelding
War of Ideas goes by the name “Warrior” around the barn and it’s a fitting name after all this handsome gelding has been through. He was retired after four starts and almost $57,000 in earnings after a knee injury and a guttural pouch infection. His owners didn’t want to incur the expense of treating him, but Dr. Liz Barrett of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute saw something in him and offered to pay for his veterinary expenses if MMSC would take him on. Since then the infection has cleared, his knee has stabilized, and he has begun retraining. We’ve featured Warrior in a previous edition of OTTB Wishlist and since then he’s been started over fences and looks to be having a grand time!
Located in Lexington, Kentucky.
View War of Ideas on Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center.
Kid From New York. Photo via Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center.
Kid From New York (DIALED IN – LOOK WHO’S RITZY, BY FIRST SAMURAI): 2014 16.2-hand Kentucky-bred gelding
Kid From New York is a serious head-turner and he’s perpetually dressed to impress with that shiny black coat. Kid is turning into an elegant athlete and has a great attitude to go along with his good work ethic. He’s the kind of horse who’s up for a challenge and tackles everything with a sense of humor. Kid’s flatwork is coming along nicely and he’s keen to the jumps as well.
