Our “Hats Off to the Horses: The Road to the Derby” fundraiser sponsored by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® for Old Friends in KY features a very special hat to honor Patch this month. Patch is the one-eyed bay Kentucky-bred son of Union Rags who captured the hearts of racing fans the world over in the 2017 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).
My name is Sally Faith Steinmann, the owner of MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® custom millinery for women and sponsor of “Hats Off”. Because I live on Cape Cod and Old Friends is in Kentucky, it takes a whole lot of careful planning and team work to make these auctions run smoothly. And one of the people I lean on to pull off this long-distance fundraiser… is Rick Capone.
Rick, a native of Pennsylvania, is a gentleman who has worn many hats in his life – author, photographer, Old Friends volunteer. In addition to a 25-year writing career which included writing computer manuals for IBM and journalism, Rick has also written two books about Old Friends (The History of Old Friends, Celebrating Old Friends) to spread the word about Dream Chase Farm and raise funds for the horses. Simply put, Rick is one of the truest friends that Old Friends could ever hope to have.
Photo courtesy of Old Friends.
I recently got the chance to interview Rick about his devotion to the retired racehorses of Old Friends as well as his lifelong career as a writer.
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Sally: Rick, welcome to my Hats and Horses blog! For those who are meeting you here for the first time, where were you born and where did you grow up? What is your earliest memory of a horse? Did you ride when you were little?
Rick: I was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Havertown, which is just outside of West Philly. It was a nice, typical suburban neighborhood. Lots of good memories. We moved from there to South Florida in 1976. It took a while to figure out what I wanted to do, but I graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in computer science in 1984. As to my earliest memory of a horse – it was riding a pony down at the seashore in Wildwood Crest, N.J. You know, where you sit on the pony and they walk you around the ring. That’s about it for riding a horse until I moved to Lexington in 2006. I did take a few lessons in Lexington, but my balance was poor, so I gave it up. As for horse racing – my dad and uncle took our families to Standardbred races at Brandywine once. My dad and uncle would study the form to make their picks. My mom and I would go – “oh, look at the pretty gray horse.” That’s how mom and I made our picks. In the final race that night, mom and I won $80 on a horse that had never been in the same zip code as the other horses. That was fun. Later, in high school, I enjoyed watching the horses each spring at the Devon Horse Show, in Devon, Pa., which was close to where we lived. I also remember a few trips to Lexington on summer vacations with my dad after my mom died and we would drive around the countryside and look at the horses on the farms. Then, when we moved to Florida, I went to the horse races on my own for fun, no heavy betting. I got to see Hialeah Park when it was still going fairly strong, Calder and Gulfstream Park. Hialeah was beautiful, but Gulfstream Park was my favorite. This was in the day when they had the big grandstand and it was wide open. A lot different than it is now.
Sally: When did you first start taking photographs, and when did you realize that you wanted to be a photographer? Was there anyone who especially inspired or helped you along the way?
Rick: I started taking photos when I was very young and got my first Kodak Instamatic. But, I couldn’t really take a lot of photos because getting them developed was too expensive for us at the time. Then, I got the Kodak Pocket Instamatic camera (110-size film) before a summer road trip and, on our stop in Lexington, took a photo of a horse grazing on a farm and I really loved the way it came out. My dad said, “This is good. You could become a photographer one day.” I did take some photography classes in college and had fun with the projects and learned how to develop my own film. Still, it was expensive. Then, when we moved to Lexington in 2006 and I saw the horses again, my interest in photographing them grew once more. By then it was the digital age and I bought a Nikon and just started driving around and taking photos. When I discovered the Kentucky Horse Park, and then Old Friends, things just grew from there. I really enjoy photographing horses for sure.
Sally: What do/have you done for a living in the past/present?
Rick: I am retired now. I used to be a technical writer and ended up with IBM for 10 years. Then, I left and tried to get back into journalism, my first “hoped-for” career. I was into sports and edited a few sports websites (that no longer exist). At the time, my first sports love was volleyball, and I ended up editing a volleyball website and working for a pro-beach volleyball tour in San Diego. My biggest volleyball job was editing Coaching Volleyball for the American Volleyball Coaches Association, which had just moved to Lexington – and that’s how I also ended up in Lexington. After that job, I landed a position as the sports editor of The Woodford Sun, a weekly newspaper in Versailles, Ky., where I live now. That job lasted almost eight years and it is also where I improved by sports photography and my writing. Today, while retired, I still do some freelance writing, and I’m currently writing my third book. My first two books were about Old Friends – The History of Old Friends and Celebrating Old Friends, both by the History Press. This third one is about a horse that was a fan-favorite. But, for now, the subject is a secret. I don’t want anyone to beat me “to the punch,” as they say and come out with the story before me.
Sally: I am curious how you came to know Michael, and then become a volunteer at Old Friends?
Rick: About a year or so after I moved to Lexington, I took a tour of Old Friends and really enjoyed it. Coincidentally, I had also just finished reading a book – The Horses of Proud Spirit – by Melanie Sue Bowles. She runs the Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary, currently located in Georgia. In her book, she told the stories of the horses at her sanctuary. As I walked around Old Friends on my tour that day, I thought to myself that the stories of the horses at Old Friends would make a good book. So, I wrote up a short proposal and brought it to the Old Friends office one day. I walked in and there’s a guy sitting at the front desk. He’s typing and never looked up. I introduced myself and said I’d like to meet the owner and give him my proposal for a book about his farm and his horses. He stopped typing, stood up, smiled, and said, “Hi. My name is Michael Blowen. I’m the owner and I’d be happy to read your proposal.” A couple weeks later, he called, said he loved the idea, and we began the project. We’ve been friends ever since.
Sally: I know that you have written a couple books and some articles about Old Friends. Can you tell me a bit more about how that came to be and what it means to you? How the horses inspired you perhaps?
Rick: I always dreamed of writing and publishing a book one day, so writing the two books about Old Friends fulfilled that goal of mine. Those two books told the story about the history of the farm and the stories of some of its horses. It also accomplished another goal of mine, which was to help raise money for the farm. Getting to tell the horse’s stories definitely inspired me to not only write the books, but also many articles about Old Friends and other horse racing topics as well. It has been quite a rewarding experience.
Rick: Here is an image of my first book signing. Most people end up with their first signing at a local book store. Don’t ask me how it happened – it was a blur – but my first signing was at the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga with Michael, Rosie Napravnik, and Acacia Courtney, then Miss Connecticut and now a TV horse racing personality. What a fun morning that was.
Sally: Rick, you are also a volunteer at Old Friends, and a while back you made me realize that each of us… is part of the team. That each one of us plays different parts, offers different gifts for the good of these horses.”
Rick: That is what Michael always says about each and every volunteer. All of us are all the parts that make Old Friends work. And, he’s so right. We each have a role and that’s what makes it all work.
Sally: What would be your absolutely perfect day at Old Friends? Are there any horses that you would really love to photograph at Old Friends and why?
Rick: When I lived in South Florida, my favorite way of relaxing was sitting at the beach very early in the morning and just watching the waves roll in and out. Walking around Old Friends helps me relax in the same way. Especially, out on the back 40, where it is so quiet. I can just stand there and lean against a fence, and listen to the sounds of the wind and watch the horses grazing for hours.
Rick: As for what a perfect day at Old Friends would be – it is early mornings or late afternoons, which is usually the best lighting for shooting photos, too. It’s quiet and just me and the horses. I used to love walking around the whole farm and visiting and photographing them at those times. However, with the neuropathy I now have in my legs these days, I can’t walk around like I used to do, but riding around the farm in a golf cart is just as good. I really enjoy doing that.
Sally: Please tell me about Miss Hooligan – how the two of you met, some things about your relationship, what made her so special to you…. And if there are any horses since who have stolen your heart.
Rick: The story of Miss Hooligan is a funny one, and one of those times being in the right place at the right time paid off. (Shameless plug… The long version of this story is in the appendix in my first book, The History of Old Friends.) The short version… On my second interview with Michael, we were interrupted by a phone call. He stepped aside to take the call and, while I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose, I heard snippets of the conversation. It was about a horse … need one more partner … then we’ll go get her. I tapped him on the shoulder, apologized for interrupting, and asked – you need a partner to save a horse. He said, yes and told me the price. I said, you mean I pay that much, I don’t have to pay anything else, and I can be part owner of a horse? He said, yes. Well, at the time I was making good money, so I said, “I’m in!” The next day we drove up to River Downs (now Belterra), met our third partner, Tim Ford, another Old Friends volunteer, made the payment, and then went to the barn and saw her. Oh, wow, was she was beautiful. A few weeks later she was moved to one of the Old Friends annex farms in Kentucky, and I visited her every weekend. That’s how my love affair with Miss Hooligan began – and still goes strong today.
Sally: You seem to have a real affection for the cats of Old Friends. Have you always been a cat person, had kitties in your own life?
Rick: Yes, I love cats. I love dogs, too. But, cats are easier to keep than dogs. It’s not that I’m too lazy to take care of a dog. But, it ties you down, which with my full time jobs and freelance work, would mean I’d have to board a dog a lot. That would not be fair to the dog. A cat, on the other hand, is okay with leaving him alone for a few days if I had to take a trip. So, that’s how I ended up being a cat person. I love the companionship of having a cat around – and I’ve been lucky with to have some really great cats. The first was a sickly little kitten my friend found on the side of the road. I named him Yoda, because he had these ginormous ears. Then came Casey, who I had for 13 years. Next was Rascal, who I had for 12 years. And, now I have Jillie, who belonged to Bea, a long time Old Friends volunteer who passed away a couple years ago.
At the time, Rascal had just died, and they asked if I’d be interested in giving Jillie a home, and I did. As to the cats at Old Friends, they are all great. The first ones I met were, Buddy, the office cat, Timmy, the garage cat, and Baldwin and Seamus, the two main barn cats. Then came my favorite, Sandy, and soon after, Bebe. There are so many more cats there today, but those are, and were, still my favorites.
Sally: In your lifetime you have photographed some pretty special racehorses. Do you have any favorites, or particular races that will always have a special place in your heart?
Rick: There are a few great racehorses I’ve had the privilege to photograph. Monarchos, who I used to visit a lot when he was alive at Nuckols Farm in Midway…
Rick: Zenyatta, on the eve of her running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill…
Rick: Wise Dan, who came to Old Friends for a visit two years ago…
Rick: Also Da Hoss, who I go to see at the Kentucky Horse Park whenever I can. As to photographing races, I never really did that. I just like to watch them run when I’m at the track.
Sally: Our current hat up on the block for the upcoming auction is the “Patch” chapeau. In your travels had you ever met or photographed any of the horses in our auctions this year before they arrived at Old Friends?
Rick: I never got to see any of the the horses prior to their arrivals at Old Friends. To date, I have only photographed Patch. He’s a fun horse to be around. Because he only has one eye, for some reason, when he looks at you, he does so with his head tilted a little. It’s very cute.
Sally: Do you think of yourself as a “hat person”? If so, in what way? (and this can include baseball caps, fedoras, cowboy hats, sombreros, berets, top hats, whatever you might like to wear!)
Rick: Except for when I lived in South Florida, where it was just too hot to wear one with my long hair at the time, I’ve always been a hat person. When I was younger, I liked those bucket hats. I always had one on in high school and college. Then, I moved onto to baseball caps, which is what I wear these days, and they are always horse related – Rolex 3-day, Keeneland, Old Friends, or with the name of a horse from Old Friends.
Sally: I am sure that people are going to be inspired by your support of Old Friends. Can you tell them why it’s important to support these retired Thoroughbred athletes?
Rick: Thoroughbreds are the most beautiful animals I have ever had the privilege of being around. They have so much muscle and power in their bodies, yet they can be as graceful as a butterfly floating along in the wind. I can just watch them for hours.
Rick: Thoroughbreds are also the life-blood of horse racing. As Michael says, without the horses, you’d just have little people running around the tracks chasing each other. When I started to learn what happens to some of them when their racing and breeding careers were over, it just made me sick. It seems so unfair and cruel that these horses – these athletes – try so hard and give everything they have, every time they step out onto the race track, for their owners and trainers and the fans in the stands, and yet when their careers are over, sometimes they would just be tossed aside – or worse. That is not right. These majestic animals deserve so much more from us for all they did in their lives for our enjoyment. At Old Friends, and other places like it, these horses get to enjoy a happy, peaceful, dignified retirement.
Rick: They’ve worked so hard for the Sport of Kings, they deserve to enjoy the remaining years of their lives as the kings and queens that they are. Sadly, as many know, that is not always the case. But, thanks to people like Michael, as well as other leaders in Thoroughbred Aftercare, things are slowly changing and these horses are getting taken care of more and more after their racing and breeding careers are over. What folks like Michael are doing is to be commended. It is making a difference and I completely support it. Ultimately, my hope is that more and more people will support it as well.
Thank you, Rick, for sharing your story with us today at Hats and Horses!
Sally
About the “Patch” Hat Auction:
The “Patch” auction hat is currently up for bid at this eBay address. Bidding ends March 11th at 8 PM EST.
To learn more about the Patch auction, please visit the Patch hat webpage.
Note about Photography: All images that are shown here without credits have been provided with permission from Rick Capone.
Hats and Horses 