Since Rolex Kentucky last year, my dear friend Thomas, otherwise known as Ying Yang Yo, has been under the care and training of his part owner Eliza Woolf. Eliza, her mother Faye and myself all agreed after Rolex last year that it would be in Thomas' best interest to chill out and reduce his work load. Unfortunately the last time I ever sat on him I ended up very wet in the 'Head of the Lake' in Lexington....(see video). However, we were in a perfect situation with Eliza, whom was in need of a horse to gain experience on at the novice/training level.
The great thing is that Thomas is still only a 12-year-old and he has plenty of good years ahead of him, especially as well as he gets taken care of! Thomas lives at Holly Hepp's barn in Durham, N.C., and gets treated like royalty. Its great to see that my old mate has landed on his feet. Special feed additives, magnetic blankets, massages and copious amounts of treats are the norm now for the ex-dud-race horse from outback Australia.
Eliza and Thomas went cross country schooling on the weekend, and by the look of th
e pictures he has not forgotten a trick. Eliza's coach, Holly Hepp, has got the pair of them jumping all sorts of fences up to the preliminary level. Eliza gives Thomas a great ride and leaves him plenty of rein for him to do his job. Eliza and Thomas will hopefully make their novice debut shortly, this spring. I am very emotionally attached to Thomas as he is the reason I came to America and I am just so happy that he is also living the American dream!!!-Boyd
