RETIRED
RACEHORSE INDY MAKES FRIENDS AT THE LIBRARY
MANALAPAN,
NJ – June 18, 2013 – Dozens of youngsters entering the Monmouth County Library
in Manalapan, NJ on Monday, June 17, 2013 to check out a book also could check
out a retired standardbred racehorse named Independent Act – aka Indy.
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Retired standardbred Indy and his owner,
Suzanne D’Ambrose, drew a crowd of children and adults at the Monmouth County
Library Headquarters in Manalapan, NJ on Monday, June 17, 2013. Carol Hodes Photo
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A
mellow 12-year-old trotter by Conway Hall, Indy was happy to gently suck up
carrots from hands large and small, pose for dozens of photos and barely turned
a hair during a thunderstorm.
Indy
and his owner, Suzanne D’Ambrose, spent nearly two hours at the library on
Symmes Drive to help celebrate New Jersey’s Month of the Horse. The
1,100-pound horse stood patiently under an overhang at the library entrance
when it rained. Otherwise, he happily munched on clover on the library’s
front lawn.
Coloring
books provided by the United States Trotting Association were also a big hit.
Indy’s
appearance as a Goodwill Ambassador for harness racing was held in conjunction
with a panel discussion on the Standardbred in Monmouth County, hosted by the
library.
Tom
Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of
New Jersey, was on the panel along with Harriet Honigfeld, administrator of the
Farmland Preservation Program, Monmouth County Planning Board;
owner-breeder-attorney Sam Landy, president of the Open Space Pace & Festival,
and Dr. Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers
University. Moderating the panel was Dr. William Sciarappa of Rutgers
University, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.
Other
speakers included Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry and Millstone
Township Mayor Nancy Grbelja.
Much
of the discussion focused on the economic and environmental impact of the
decline of the equine industry in New Jersey. Without a healthy race
horse industry in the state, not only will significant parcels of farmland be
paved and developed but industries that support horses – feed suppliers,
veterinarians, farriers and others -- will depart the state.
“The
state worries about attracting businesses that will employ a few hundred people
but what about the 13,000 jobs in the equine industry?” Luchento noted.
“These are people who work with their hands. They are not likely to find
other jobs. They will go from being individuals with benefits and
pensions to those who will need to be supported by the state. It makes no
sense. We are not asking the state to give us something other than the
opportunity to be on an equal footing with the other states in our region.”
Dr.
Malinowski reminded the audience that all sectors of the equine industry
represent an economic impact of $1.1 billion, making it one of the top sectors
in the state’s economy. Of the 800,000 acres in the state that is still
in agriculture, more than 25 percent supports horses.
Indy,
a 12-year-old trotter who retired from racing six years ago with eight wins and
16 in-the-money finishes, has earned many awards for hunter, pace, western
showmanship as well as appeared in parades and made personal appearances.
-Submitted by Carol Hodes for SBOANJ
