A place for racehorses to slow down

Stillpond Farm in Moorestown is a getaway and a boot camp, a place where retired racehorses bred for speed learn to love the slow lane.

The equine retraining and resettlement program is operated on Stillpond's 40 acres of postcard perfection by a group called South Jersey Thoroughbred Rescue and Adoption.

The all-volunteer organization carefully matches thoroughbreds with new owners, and helps prepare the animals for new careers in less-challenging equestrian events, such as show-jumping and dressage.

"They have so much to give," says Erin Hurley, 51, a longtime horsewoman and Moorestown mother of three who founded SJTRA eight years ago.

In 2013, the nonprofit found new digs, gigs, or both, for 79 thoroughbreds who had aged out of or otherwise ended their racing days. Horses as young as 3 or 4 may retire; many thoroughbreds live into their 20s and beyond. Unwanted or unhealthy horses may be euthanized.

"They've worked so hard," says Kathy Miller, a retired teacher from Stratford who volunteers at the farm three mornings a week. "They're magnificent animals. They deserve a good life."

The organization has about a dozen volunteers and depends on fees, donations, and grants, as well as the generosity of Stillpond owners Thomas and Debbie Whitesell, of the construction and real estate development firm.

To raise money, SJTR&A will hold its first golf outing Sept. 30 at Little Mill Country Club in Evesham (sjtbadoption.org).

"This is Bojak," Hurley says, as my tour of the handsome and surprisingly tidy barn pauses at a stall occupied by a frisky, friendly Bay.

Bojak gives me an appraising look. He's 5 and "needs a little rehab time" to recover from a minor fracture in his left ankle, Hurley says.

"A big, handsome gelding that can do anything is a very easy placement," Hurley notes. "It's harder to place the ones who aren't able to do that much. We're pretty selective about who we bring in."

Peter's Legend is the name of one recent arrival. He's a chestnut gelding, 5 years old, and most recently trained by Cynthia Reese of Robbinsville, Mercer County.

During his three-year career, mostly at the Parx and Penn National racetracks, he earned $106,401 for owner Richard Aboia.

"Now he's ready for a second career," says Jane Gilbert, whose Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement supplies horses to Hurley's group. Second Call has a cooperative arrangement with Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport. N.J.

"We all work very hard, on very little money," says Gilbert, who lives in Titusville, Mercer County. She notes that boarding costs start around $20 a day. And that doesn't include monthly farrier (blacksmith) services or veterinary bills.

"People who adopt them really have to have the finances to do so," she adds.

New Jersey thoroughbred racing involves about 4,000 animals, according to a Rutgers Equine Science Center study.

"It's wonderful that . . . organizations are giving former racehorses a second career," center director Karyn Malinowski says. "Horses are happiest when they have a job."

Volunteers at Stillpond also are involved in a labor of love. Why else would someone clean feed buckets, scrub stalls, dispose of manure, and sweep the barn - by hand?

"I've always loved horses," explains Karen Randall, 64, of Mount Laurel.

Nevertheless, she didn't start riding until her retirement three years ago from a long career in health-care administration.

Randall started taking lessons, as well as volunteering at Stillpond. Which is where she met a certain retired thoroughbred named Baystar.

This handsome fellow, now 8, had been rescued from what the volunteers euphemistically call a "bad situation." He had been neglected and was underweight.

"I'm a nurturer. I took care of him," says Randall, who adopted Baystar last year. "I slipped and fell in love."