8/12/10

Beyond the Homestretch: What I've Learned from Saving Racehorses

Lynn Reardon

Show Description:
1-2 pm PST

Lynn Reardon shares an unlikely story. In 2002, she quit her Washington DC–area office job and moved to Texas to open the racehorse placement program LOPE (LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers). Though now the director of this high-profile organization that has helped transition more than 725 ex-racehorses into new homes, Reardon didn’t learn to ride until she was an adult.

At the LOPE adoption ranch, Reardon encountered dozens of unruly racehorses, all with special needs, unusual histories and vivid personalities. As she fumbled to help them make the shift to new careers, they returned the favor — by becoming her most memorable mentors in horsemanship and life philosophy. The horses themselves are a central focus of the book, with their fascinating racing careers, spirited natures and gripping veterinary needs. Reardon’s own story, that of a stressed-out office worker turned capable ranch hand, is told through her experiences with the horses.

Horses like Tawakoni, the son of a Kentucky Derby winner, and Endofthestorm, the speedy bay who required an emergency tracheotomy, give Reardon — and readers — an apprenticeship in facing fear and finding a new life. As a narrator, her journey of seeing life through the eyes of an equine athlete has taught her more than she ever expected (or really wanted to know sometimes). In Beyond The Homestretch, Reardon takes readers along for the ride, one filled with fiery racehorses, offbeat horse people, colorful Texas culture clashes, veterinary melodramas and surprising, Zen-like insights.

http://www.opetx.com

Guest Bio:
Lynn Reardon, Beyond the Homestretch: What I’ve Learned from Saving Racehorses | www.lopetx.org

Lynn Reardon is the founder of LOPE (LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers) and shares an unlikely story in her new book, Beyond the Homestretch. In 2002, she quit her Washington D.C. office job and moved to Texas to open a nonprofit racehorse adoption ranch. Since then, she has helped transition more than 750 thoroughbreds into new homes. Filled with vibrant horse personalities, frightening veterinary melodramas, a healthy dose of good-natured city-slicker-turned-ranch-hand humor, and tales of the colorful racetrack lifestyle, Beyond the Homestretch is an engaging and inspiring look at what happens when a woman makes a bold, adventurous career change and follows her heart.