CHAPTER 1
The Birth of a Champion
The dark blue and purple clouds rolled slowly over the hills and valleys, as lightning displayed its entertaining and deadly dance in the sky. The strong winds broke mature tree branches and easily bent the young saplings, making the birds and animals scramble for shelter. Flashing intermittingly across the ominous sky, amazing display's of bright irregular bolts of lightning and loud thundering crashes shook the souls of everyone and startled the meek, making the horses in the pasture run for cover. The big house on the hill was outlined by clouds that mourned for light. Although it was the middle of day, the darkness of the storm made it feel like night. My mom was standing alone in the meadow at the time, and it was under these conditions I was born.
Race horses are born every day, but my birth was a highly expected event. I was sired by a National Champion and my birth was looked forward to with great anticipation. Although I was pelted by a seasonal storm when I first came into this world, the lightning dancing around me made me experience fear for the first time. My mom was the first thing I saw when I first opened my eyes, and my legs trembled underneath me as I stood up. She towered over me and gently nuzzled me while I tried to catch my balance, and then lovingly looked me in the eye while licking off the fluids from my birth, which were covered with rain. While other horses were running in fear from the lightning, she was very kind, duly nurturing and protecting me, making me feel more secure. As the warm and noisy storm slowly passed, the hot southern sun gradually shone on me with a brilliance that reflected in my mother's big black eyes. She looked down on me with a love that was genuine and hard to describe.
The rolling hills' of Kentucky are a wonderful place to live, especially if you are a race horse. The gentle hills are alive with luscious Kentucky Blue Grass and statuesque oak and magnolia trees with slight winds, so that when they blow, can stir the senses and make a horse's nostrils flare. This was horse country, and the farms were breeding grounds for the best in the world.
Roberta Windsor, the owner of Chestnut Mountain Farms, was a very nice woman and she soon rushed down to visit me with the farm's veterinarian. When she saw my beautiful red coat glistening in the sultry rain, she quickly named me Summer Storm. My first impression of her was of a very caring woman with a big heart. She and the farm's veterinarian examined me closely and said I looked healthy and that I was beautiful and had great confirmation. Roberta lived on the farm in a stately manor. It was a big brick, two-story colonial house with four white columns outlining a large porch that had a grandiose ceiling painted the right shade of blue, the colors of the farm. It sat prestigiously on a large meticulously landscaped knoll overlooking her realm. I heard people say the house was more than 150 years old, nestled in tall stately trees, with dogwoods and azaleas beautifully placed in the shadows. It looked like a beautiful European castle peering out when the fog would settle in and around the pastures below it. The house and area was rich in history, being built long before the Civil War.
Our farm was huge and consisted of about ten square miles with a tall white split-rail fence that surrounded and crisscrossed it every so often, separating one pasture from the other, one grazing area from the next. It had a racing facility too, with a full time contingent of jockeys, trainers and veterinarians on staff. It was one of the most famous horse farms in the world, having bred many champions. The long and winding asphalt driveway that led up the hill to her house was over a half a mile long and was lined with beautiful, tall cherry blossom trees that were beautiful and fragrant every spring. She would frequently walk over to my mom's paddock and admiringly say; "She is going to be a good one; look at how tall she is for her age." But even though everyone who saw me admired me, I never knew what she meant.
My mom nursed me and I would stay by her side all the time, whether in her stall or out in the meadow. I was too young to eat grass yet, so I would follow her everywhere and lay next to her when we slept. As I would grow, Mom would take care of me very well, always guiding and teaching me what I should know and what I should be aware of about life on the big farm that we lived on. Her name was Sultans Bride and she was a retired race horse, having been bred to my dad, Bold Czar, who was one of the greatest stallions that ever set foot on a race track. Dad lived on the farm too and was a champion chestnut Thoroughbred, standing an impressive seventeen hands tall. Mom was a white Arabian, with great confirmation. I got my long legs and my glowing, reddish color from Dad, and my white socks, upright tail and head, and my long mane from Mom. Some say I inherited my endurance and looks from my Arabian mom, while I got my speed, size, and heart from my dad. Regardless, everyone said I was the most beautiful filly they had ever seen.
As I got older, I would roam the large green pastures that surrounded our barn and always enjoyed running and playing with the other colts and fillies that lived here. I was always the fastest one, even outrunning the colts, some of which were older than me. Everyone said I was all legs, as I grew faster than the others and looked quite gangly when I was young. The long, wooden, white fence that corralled and outlined the farm seemed to meander for miles through the woods and green rolling hills, and we would run and play in them every day, exploring and visiting each part of our pasture. It was a fun time in my life; everyday brought out something new to do and new to see. Every day was exciting and stimulating to my senses, which seemed to get more refined on a daily basis.
Lauren, Roberta's daughter, was pretty too; she looked just like her mother. They both had blue eyes and long blonde hair. She was a petite seventeen years old, stood 5'2", and weighed about 100 pounds. She was still in high school and had a lot of friends, some of which played a big part in her life. My first impression of Lauren was a young woman with a soft voice. She had a big heart like her mother and was very kind and caring. She used to spend time with me every day when she got home from school, talking to me and combing and brushing me. She was taller than me then, but that didn't last very long, as I was growing fast. I always looked forward to her visits and would always give her my complete attention, as I could tell she really liked me and she liked spending time with me as much as I liked spending time with her. Of course, the treats she gave me were nice too.
When I was three months old, Lauren took me down to the tack room in the main barn and fitted me for a bit and bridle. The tack room was huge with large wooden beams exposed on the tall raised ceiling and the walls were lined with knotty cedar. We had to enter from the side of the building, because in the entry, the floor was comprised of tile with famous horses of the farm engraved in them, etched with the dates they had won important races. It was the late 70's now and the sport of horse racing was at its pinnacle. My dad was the most famous horse on the farm and one of the most famous horses in the world, and they honored him too. You might say he was the straw that stirred the drink here. When you entered the tack room, there was a big diamond shaped marble inlaid tile at the entry, larger than the rest, that bore his resemblance and the words that said; "Home of Bold Czar, Triple Crown Winner." The shelves were filled with saddles of all types, and sizes and bits and bridles for every size horse. The farm's colors of blue and white seemed to monopolize the room, with all blankets being those colors. There was a full time employee running the tack room, mainly because there were over eighty horses on the farm that needed attention. After fitting me, Lauren then put the equipment on me, which I fought to no end, and then started to walk me. Lauren was the first one to walk me, and after a while she wouldn't let anyone else walk me. She said I was hers. I would always follow her through the stables and paddocks that lined the pasture and she would always give me a treat of tasty carrots or oats when we finished. And little by little, always following her, we'd go for much longer walks, often visiting her girlfriends on the other horse farms that adjoined our property.
Lexington, Kentucky, was horse country, and the green rolling hills consisted of many farms that raised the best race horses in the world. They were all adjacent to each other and the white fences that bordered them stretched on for miles. I always enjoyed our quiet walks together and I felt very special, mainly because Lauren didn't spend any time with any of the other horses and no other horse was allowed off the farm for a walk but me.
Time seemed to go by fast, and when I was about eight months old she put a small saddle on me for the first time and at first would lead me and walk me with it. I really hated when she cinched up the straps around my belly and put the bit in my mouth, fighting it when I could, but I gradually got used to it, because she never hurt me. She always talked and explained everything to me in a soft voice, comforting me in the process; and because of that, I learned to trust her completely. It wasn't long and Lauren was training me and riding me around the farm, much to the disgust of Angelo, the farm's trainer. Angelo was in control of every horse on the farm, but me, and this angered him to no end. Unfortunately, I would soon find out this would only be the beginning of Angelo's anger.
The older I got, the more I saw of Roberta. Roberta was forty five years old but looked much younger. She was a pretty woman who stood about 5'3", with long blonde hair and a pretty smile, who always dressed in pretty clothes and smelled nice. People said she crashed the "Good Old Boys Club" years ago when she inherited the farm and business upon her father's death. When she began this new career more than fifteen years ago, it was unheard of for a woman to breach the all-male world of horse racing, yet be as dominant in the sport as she was. When she would look back on her and her family's time in the business, she was always proud of an unblemished record in an arena where various forms of corruption had landed others in prison, or perhaps even worse, brought down their family and their farm. She was smart enough to know that it took generations to build a reputation and vast family fortune, and she also knew that it only took one mistake to bring it all down. She blames simple greed and compromising professional ethics for the corruption that took over the industry and not only felt a watchdog agency should have been put in place years ago, but she lobbied for it as often as she could. She was a feminist in every sense of the word and surrounded herself with women who were smart and independent. Consequently, the most important positions on the farm were filled by women with the exception of her trainer, whom she inherited with the farm. Angelo had worked here for years and she felt morally obligated to keep him on, even though his soiled reputation was voiced to her by her father before his death.
She has barreled through one gender barrier after another, but never lost her femininity. Today she stands in front of me clad in white casual slacks, a tight powder blue cashmere sweater, a white silk scarf, and a pair of white Gucci pumps. Her long hair has a stylish coiffure with finger nails that are always manicured and her figure was one that a twenty year old would have envied. She is unapologetically feminine, but yet determined and quite sure of herself. Roberta was the only child of John and Cheryl Windsor and had attended Vanderbilt University in nearby Tennessee when she was young, majoring in Business. She was a shrewd businesswoman and had a prior history of working in the banking business and subsequently made a fortune in the stock market, chasing IPO's, as she had connections on Wall Street and the business world. Later on, she became the Vice-President of the Federal Depository in Atlanta, before she inherited the farm, which was an appointed job from the then current administration in Washington. These positions of prominence came along because of her father's influence in the political world; (he was the Governor of Kentucky for eight years when she was a child.) Because of that, she associated with big-wigs from every facet of business and had many friends in high places. She used to tell Lauren that racing was a business too, not a hobby, and that she shouldn't get too attached to "that horse." You see, Lauren told me Roberta was raised on the farm as a young child with beef and horses. She said her dad would always tell her, "Don't ever get attached to something you might have to sell or eat." So when Roberta used to call me "that horse," I didn't really know what she meant. I actually thought Lauren and I were friends and we were just having fun every day, kind of growing up together. I knew Lauren simply loved spending time with me and beating everybody, like I did, when I ran. I also knew in my heart that my relationship with Lauren was more than business, no matter what Roberta said; we were friends. In conversation, Roberta was terse but eloquent. She was raised "old school." If she looked you in the eye and shook your hand, it was as good as a contract.
Her secretary, Pam, was always at her side, always taking notes, always recording my progress and the other horses on the farm's progress too; she was a walking computer before computers were invented. Pam was taller than Roberta, standing around five foot eleven with brown eyes, long straight brownish-blond hair, and very classy looking. She, too, was always dressed up nice and was soft spoken. She was of Italian and Irish heritage and was also very business-oriented. When Roberta would be out of town on business, Pam would take over the operations of the farm and have Lauren run me and exercise me. When we were done, she'd stop at my stall and give me some carrots too; I really loved those carrots, they were so sweet and tasty. Pam, though classy as she was, drove a beat up and noisy gold colored 66' Mustang that had sentimental value to her; she said her dad gave it to her before he died. You always knew it was her when she'd drive up. It had a hole in the muffler and the exhaust would bellow out blue and smelly smoke. When people would tell her to restore it, she would frown and say she wanted to leave it the way her father gave it to her. She too had values.
Lauren was very popular and had a lot of girl friends. On many a weekend, they would come over and have a sleep-over in my stall. Gina and Tawnee lived next door on a huge horse farm, while Andrea and Jennine lived on a large horse farm across the street. Brittany was younger than the rest of them and lived on another farm a few miles down the road. They all had a lot in common; they were all raised on a horse farm and had gone through 4-H together, as well as elementary school and high school. To say they were privileged would be an understatement, as all their parents were well off. The girls would play the radio, eat s'mores and laugh and talk girl talk all night. They would put their sleeping bags on the cedar chips that covered the floor of my stall and depending on how many girls stayed over, sometimes the stall would be completely full. That was saying a lot, because I had a large stall. When they got tired of talking and listening to music, the girls, their horses and I, would all go for a long walk under the bright moonlight, just walking and talking. Because all of her friends lived close by and each one owned their own horse, they all rode their horse over for the sleep-over, and would board them in the large barn next to mine. Even at night the farm was beautiful, with the bright moonlight glowing off of the white stately fences that framed the dark blue grass and stately magnolias and oaks, looking much like a framed picture. We'd slowly walk the paths of the shadowed woods in a long line, while the girls talked and digested the quiet and peacefulness the forest bestowed. I was Lauren's prize possession and she spent a lot of time with me, even when she had company.
On my first birthday, Lauren surprised me with an adorable baby goat to keep me company, which she named Winnie. Winnie had soft white curly fur and was full of energy. Winnie used to talk to me all the time, bleating and bleating; though I didn't understand her, it was great having a real companion in my stall, because I used to hate being alone at night. The night had never been my friend, it brought out an eerie loneliness that for some reason haunted me. Winnie always enjoyed the sleep-over when we had them too. The girls always pampered her and brought her treats of fresh produce that she really enjoyed. A pretty black tuxedo cat named Princess stayed in my stall during the day light hours too, but she would always be gone hunting at night, so Winnie's company was a blessing. And even though there were 47 other horses in my barn, some of which were my mother and three brothers and one sister, I felt much more relaxed and happy with Winnie in my stall. We enjoyed each other's closeness, often lying against each other when we slept. Winnie's name was supposed to be short for winning. With Lauren still in high school, my little friend made it more comfortable for me on a daily basis too. Not only would she sleep next to me at night, we would always eat together too; she was a great companion. When I would walk out to my paddock in the morning, she would always follow me. I think she thought I was her mother, because she was so young when Lauren bought her and gave her to me. Because of that, we connected and bonded very early.
