... ‘art that makes you feel good’.

Newmarket racehorse trainer Ilka Gansera-Leveque will be adding a splash of colour to May’s Guineas weekend with an unusual art exhibition in her own Newmarket racing yard.

Ilka will be displaying work from 13 artists, including international names, alongside the thoroughbred racehorses in her Hamilton Road stables.

The ‘Art & Horse Racing’ exhibition will be open to the public free of charge at her picturesque Saint Wendred’s yard from 10am-6pm on Sunday May 7, 2023 - 1,000 Guineas Day.

It follows private viewings for racehorse owners, Vantage Point Racing Club members and invited guests during 2,000 Guineas Day on Saturday May 6, 2023.

Emily Johnson, artist in residence at Cheltenham racecourse, is one of the exhibitors and can be seen painting during the exhibition – plus she is donating a sketch for visitors / social media followers to win.

Read more: Artists Will Add Splash of Colour to Newmarket’s Guineas Weekend

By Nick Pernokas

The third grader sat on her Grannie’s daybed, reading. Her grandmother’s cottage was in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and the open window allowed in the ocean air and the sounds from an osprey nest in the tree outside. It was a Saturday and the girl and her sisters had just returned from Grannie’s weekly summer pilgrimage to the library. Now Letitia was engrossed in a world created by Walter Farley, in a book titled The Black Stallion.

“I remember thinking that I had to have horses in my life,” says Letitia Glenn, founding owner and saddle systems designer for Natural Horseman Saddles, as well as the newly christened company, Contour Saddlery.

Unfortunately, it would be many years before Letitia’s dream came true. At the age of 47, Letitia and her husband, Art Glenn, had become successful entrepreneurs. They had homes in Houston, and in Durango, Colorado. The Rocky Mountains called to them and they enjoyed the outdoor activities there, like skiing and back packing. Around 1990, they moved to Durango full time and purchased the O’Farrell Hat Company. Letitia felt that the time was right for a horse.

“I said, ‘Art, if I don’t have a horse before I die, I’m going to die!’” remembers Letitia.

Letitia had friends who were Paso Fino breeders and they gave her a well-bred two-year-old stallion. Her friends told her not to ride him until he was four. A corral was built in the backyard and Letitia began doing the groundwork on the colt. Within a year, Art became interested in horses as well and he purchased another Paso Fino for himself. When they were able to start riding the horses, the couple took them to a well-known saddletree maker to have their backs measured for custom trees.

Through Letitia’s involvement with the O’Farrell Hat Co., she met famed horse trainer Pat Parelli over the phone. Pat had called to order a custom beaver hat.

“He was absolutely lovely and didn’t request a discount, which impressed me.”

The Glenns, and hatmaker Kevin O’Farrell, soon took their hats to Germany for the Equitana trade show. Pat and Linda Parelli were also there conducting some horsemanship clinics. The couples became friends and eventually the Parellis stayed with the Glenns in Durango, while they searched for land in the area to build their first equine learning center. Letitia designed a logo for them and began to create custom clothing for the Parellis’ customers and fans. In 2000, Linda Parelli made a comment to Letitia that would alter her life.

“Linda said that saddles are all too often torture devices. “

Letitia thought to herself, “Luckily ours aren’t, because they were measured and built to fit our horses”.

Read more: Contour Saddlery: A New Way of Looking at an Old Art

by Robert Clark

Gem has become a fan favorite. For many people it was because of his long tenure at the track where I believe he became the first million dollar earner for West Point Thoroughbreds. Before his career was through he would claim his Grade 1 victory in the Hollywood Gold Cup - as portrayed in this painting of him.

Many others have become a fan of Gem when he arrived at Old Friends in Kentucky (which is just a couple miles from my house now). There, Gem greets hundreds of fans on a regular basis.

But for me - Awesome Gem was a different kind of special and that was because a very dear friend in the sport Clyde Haugen loved this horse. I think Clyde had a piece of more than 20 different horses through West Point Thoroughbreds, but GEM was the ONE that made Clyde light up every time he talked about him. Clyde was one of the most inspiring guys you'd ever meet. He was a former fighter jet pilot and had transitioned to being a business mentor to groups of people all over the world. As much as he loved horse racing, Awesome Gem was the horse that Clyde would travel the world to watch run. Clyde even had a carousel horse made of Awesome Gem!

Read more: Happy 20th Birthday - Awesome Gem

By Van Hargis

Some of the most successful people I’ve met are the Henry Fords of the world. For a particular project in college, I studied Henry Ford, who is credited with the concept of the mass production of automobiles. Now, Henry Ford was not known as a “book smart” guy. He was very brilliant in understanding mechanics, engineering, and processes, even though his only formal education was in bookkeeping. However, when Ford was releasing a new product or making corporate changes or whatever the case may be, he would hold press conferences. Snide reporters would occasionally poke fun at Mr. Ford by asking questions to which they figured he probably wouldn’t know the answers. One day he put a stop to that practice when he said to one such rude reporter, “Young man, I don’t know the answer to that question, but I have over one hundred people that work for me that do. Next question.”

In my humble opinion, this was a brilliant response from Mr. Ford. It said that he was done with responding to petty, irrelevant questions. Most importantly it said that he understood the purpose of roles. It was not his role to know everything. He trusted others in his company to know things. Mr. Ford was smart enough to know his job and allow other people to do their jobs. Together they formed a stronger team. Of course, as the leader of the company he is ultimately accountable and responsible for every employee’s actions, failures, and successes. Leaders must have great commitment while also having great trust in those around them.

The same can be applied to horsemanship. In order for me to be a good horseman, I must know I can’t do the horse’s job. I’ve only got two legs. There’s no way for me to move around nearly as well, with as much strength and athleticism, as a horse can. I could never pull a plow as well or as efficiently as a horse. I could not carry a passenger as easily as a horse. I could not cut a cow from a herd as effectively as a horse. I could not go over the jumps that horses do. I could not run the races that horses run. These things and countless others are strengths of the horse. God blessed horses with size, speed, strength, stamina, and the intelligence to be trained.

So, what strengths do we have? Among many more, one of our best strengths is the ability to think and use logic, which we do much better than the horse. I frequently say that God blessed horses with a brain the size of our fist, but God blessed humans with a brain the size of both our fists. What that tells me is maybe we can use our strengths to teach the horse to use his strengths—and together we can achieve remarkable things as a team. To do so takes trust, courage, discipline, self-confidence, and faith.

Read more: Daring Your Horse to Be Good - a book excerpt from "The Horse Is My Teacher" by Van Hargis

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