WHY IS IT SO???? A FEEL GOOD STORY!!

Some horses are born to be champion racehorses and reach great heights. Take SO YOU THINK, BLACK CAVIER, NORTHERLEY etc. Some are born with just as much ability but they never reach greatness due mainly to unsoundness. This list is far bigger than the first.

Then there are those which look like they will be smart racehorses. They want to be smart racehorses. But no matter what the trainer does, the jockey does or how much the staff love them.......the reality is they just can't run quick enough. This is the longest list of them all!!

For many of these, they end up making up the numbers for season after season on outer country tracks. Others end up (as harsh as it may seem) at the knackery whilst others are given away to a good home only to be left forgotten after a few months or a few years when the new owner looses interest in them.

Then there is "MARLEY!" Or to those who don't know "MARLEY" (and there isn't many) there is VIRTUAL BEL. Unfortunately for his lovely group of owners, VIRTUAL BEL was one of the slow ones. No matter what anyone did or tried, the boy just couldn't make it. He was slow. Very slow!

This did not stop him from being the most loved horse in the stables and the most pampered of all horses. What he lacked in ability, he made up for in character and kindness. From the time he came to the stables as a yearling, my head girl Sarah fell in love with him. No matter how slow he proved to be her love for him was unending. Look in the dictionary under the word DEVOTION and you will probably see a picture of Sarah and MARLEY! She even carved both their names in the freshly laid concrete outside his yard. How soppy is that???

Well the time comes when slow horses have to be moved on and we prepared a heap of buckets to collect the tears. Sarah can be a big softy! She had already declared that if the horse was to be sold to race on the outer country tracks, she would buy him herself and keep him in her back yard but she didn't need to worry. "MARLEY" was not sold he has been taken over by the grand daughter of the part owners and will be spoilt rotten for the rest of his life down south.

The new owner is happy. "MARLEY" is happy. Sarah has stopped crying and she is very happy especially since she will receive regular updates on his progress and has visiting rights for life.

See I told you it was a feel good story!!!