McDowell Racing Stables

01/05/2025

I know I have pretty much abandoned you guys in my retirement and have just been posting all the horse related stuff on my personal page which is easy to see considering I still have my Preakness cover photo up but wanted to give you an update.

Our little baby Vi went to her first ever horse show on Friday at WEC. She shipped in the night before but it was too late to school. She hacked in the ring early Friday morning for her first time being ridden in an indoor and lunged outside for a few minutes.

First up was her first ever hacks. She did two, the first was so big they had to split the class in half for the canter. See pic 1. She finished 8th. Next was the future hunter hack and she finished 5th. So far we have pinned in both huge classes!
A little time to rest up next. See pic 2.

We entered in four over fences classes with plans on doing as many or as few as she was up for. She has literally only schooled twice in her life so actual classes were a massive ask.
First two classes went great so we decided to do the first class of the next division too and see how she feels. That was fantastic so we went ahead and did the last class.

We were already on our way back to Wellington when they finally pinned those huge classes and we found out Vi finished 2nd and 5th in her USHJA classes with 32 horses in it and WON both her Future Hunter classes which thanks to that 5th in the hack made her reserve champion for the division despite only doing half the classes because we skipped the show on Thursday.

Proud would be an understatement. We had a lot of wonderful, talented people helping us every step of the way and for that we are very grateful.

I can’t promise I will update this page any better in the New Year so feel free to check out my personal page if you want to. Thanks for sticking around all these years!

07/10/2024

A lifetime ago I was on the board of directors of the Penn National HPBA. The main reason I ran was we knew slots were coming and I wanted to advocate for guaranteed funding for retired racehorses.

One project that was just in the brainstorming phase when we moved to Maryland, that was the horseman owned Presque Isle Downs. We hoped for it to be a utopia without a money grubbing owner so we could give the horses and the horseman everything to be successful and safe when they were here while putting the excess money back into the purses.

Today we are sitting on the apron at Presque Isle. Not sure how close the horseman came to making the vision a reality but at least it actually exists. Pretty cool

04/27/2024

I don’t usually go for the chalk but Fierceness totally won me over in the Florida Derby. He ran like a man with the boys. May they all come home safely.

04/07/2024

Next up on birthday week is Violet who turns four today! Somehow Violet has managed not to grow a single inch in height in 24 months yet has grown outwards to the point that we can’t find a single saddle wide enough to fit her. Which means I am breaking the cardinal rule of not buying a custom saddle for a baby because their shape changes too often as they continue to (hopefully) grow and she is getting a custom saddle fitted today.
This pic is from the first and only time we ever attempted to free jump Vi, she was a yearling then. If we ever want to see her do this under saddle a custom saddle or is! Maybe I can buy her a growth spurt too? I just can’t wrap my head around her being done growing at 24 months but she sure isn’t in any hurry to prove that wrong.
Happy birthday Vi!

03/06/2024

I thought Juliet and I were better today than at our last show but the scores suggest otherwise. Either way Juliet was a good sport as we attempted to dance in the rain in paradise. Thank you A M Dressage for making this all possible

03/02/2024

Juliet made it clear that dressage is very hard and she wants to do some jumping too. First Florida blue ribbon in the books! Back to dressage showing on Wednesday.

02/27/2024

Trying to find an angle that doesn’t make her look fat. Considering we had to stuff food into her 24/7 last winter just to keep her looking half decent, I am very happy with the way she looks

02/19/2024

Rained like crazy yesterday and overnight so we went for a trail ride instead. You can tell Juliet was thrilled!

02/19/2024

You guys have been so helpful with my saddle woes that I thought I would share the ad particulars here too!

2013 Voltaire Adelaide with Pro Panels. 18” seat, 3A flaps. Full buffalo. Has been completely refurbished by Voltaire so is in excellent used condition. This saddle is ideal for tall, long legged riders who enjoy a long block and a narrow twist.

Panels are marked Pro B20 010. In March 2023, we had the panels replaced and changed them slightly for more shoulder relief. They’re now marked D10.
Voltaire appraised the saddle at $5400, asking $3500. Trials available. Thanks for your help!

02/18/2024

Dressage horse friends do you have any suggestions on how to sell this gorgeous saddle? It’s a 2013 Voltaire Adelaide with full buffalo but has been completely redone by Voltaire including new tree, panels, flaps etc. the only thing original is the serial number. I can’t seem to get any interest in it anywhere I post it including on eBay.
It’s ideal for a long legged rider who likes a long block and a narrow twist. Voltaire appraised it at $5400, at this point I would take just about anything because Violet needs a saddle
Edit: thanks for all the consignment suggestions, I am
hoping to avoid that and sell privately but I guess we will see how it goes over the next couple of months.

02/11/2024

Sad news from Stonestreet.

We are saddened to share that we lost Jess's Dream to laminitis. This condition came on suddenly and was unrelated to his retirement from stud duty. Despite immediate veterinary intervention his hoof condition deteriorated to a point where we were unable to keep him comfortable. He was a special part of Stonestreet and will be greatly missed.

01/27/2024

Wow this is really interesting. Love that they are developing a test to predict which horses will have DSLD. That would be a good thing to add to a PPE.

Two experts describe this degenerative suspensory ligament condition in horses and what new information researchers are learning about it.

01/25/2024

Look at Jules and Ashley go! And yes the sky has looked like this for weeks, not that any of you will feel sorry for us!

01/16/2024

Mare things

01/08/2024

All this hair and we aren’t even halfway done yet

01/07/2024

Our first Florida trail ride is in the books. I think 63 of those 65 transitions were spooks