KenH
Well-Known Member
“Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.” - Proverbs 12:10 ESV
I have been following this story since it broke 18 months ago. I was so saddened by the evil that created this horrific situation for over three dozen horses and also thrilled over how the horse community came together, by the grace of God, to help.
“On July 2 they made the short drive to a tidy farm owned by Dr. Christopher Lyons, an orthopedic surgeon who competes in fox hunting and usually has eight or 10 ex-racehorses stabled on his property. The doctor led the Plancks to a plucky bay with a splotchy white star atop a meandering white blaze that looked like an upside-down exclamation point.
Dr. Lyons disclosed that the gelding had been rescued from dire circumstances in Kentucky the previous year but had rebounded tremendously. He would have liked to keep that Thoroughbred to ride himself, but the 8-year-old was a little too small for him, so the doctor had promised the gelding’s initial racing owner he’d try to find someone who might be a better fit size-wise and in terms of compatibility.
“It was just all the stars aligning,” Tracy Planck explained in a phone interview just prior to Thanksgiving. “We went up on a Sunday morning. My daughter’s trainer rode him, then my daughter rode him. And she wasn’t even off of his back yet when she said, ‘Mom, go home and get the trailer.’ It was really just love at first sight.”
Lily had been saving up to pay the adoption fee for a Thoroughbred, but Dr. Lyons wouldn’t take any money for the gelding, who was named Z Camelot (Smart Strike). He did, however, hand over a letter from the owner who had first raced the horse, which explained that if whoever adopted Z Camelot could not care for him for any reason, he wanted to know and would take the Thoroughbred back, no questions asked. The signature on that letter belonged to Ahmed Zayat.
“We did not know the horse’s history when we went to see him,” Planck explained. “We knew that he was a rescue. But it wasn’t until after I Googled his name that we were just shocked. We just didn’t know how horrifically neglected that he was.””
» When ‘Thanks’ and ‘Giving’ Resonate as One
I have been following this story since it broke 18 months ago. I was so saddened by the evil that created this horrific situation for over three dozen horses and also thrilled over how the horse community came together, by the grace of God, to help.
“On July 2 they made the short drive to a tidy farm owned by Dr. Christopher Lyons, an orthopedic surgeon who competes in fox hunting and usually has eight or 10 ex-racehorses stabled on his property. The doctor led the Plancks to a plucky bay with a splotchy white star atop a meandering white blaze that looked like an upside-down exclamation point.
Dr. Lyons disclosed that the gelding had been rescued from dire circumstances in Kentucky the previous year but had rebounded tremendously. He would have liked to keep that Thoroughbred to ride himself, but the 8-year-old was a little too small for him, so the doctor had promised the gelding’s initial racing owner he’d try to find someone who might be a better fit size-wise and in terms of compatibility.
“It was just all the stars aligning,” Tracy Planck explained in a phone interview just prior to Thanksgiving. “We went up on a Sunday morning. My daughter’s trainer rode him, then my daughter rode him. And she wasn’t even off of his back yet when she said, ‘Mom, go home and get the trailer.’ It was really just love at first sight.”
Lily had been saving up to pay the adoption fee for a Thoroughbred, but Dr. Lyons wouldn’t take any money for the gelding, who was named Z Camelot (Smart Strike). He did, however, hand over a letter from the owner who had first raced the horse, which explained that if whoever adopted Z Camelot could not care for him for any reason, he wanted to know and would take the Thoroughbred back, no questions asked. The signature on that letter belonged to Ahmed Zayat.
“We did not know the horse’s history when we went to see him,” Planck explained. “We knew that he was a rescue. But it wasn’t until after I Googled his name that we were just shocked. We just didn’t know how horrifically neglected that he was.””
» When ‘Thanks’ and ‘Giving’ Resonate as One