I had never read the Paulick Report before yesterday when this story appeared was in my box.
Click to go to the site.
I read the entire report and it really struck me…
Not for the obvious reason that a well known breeding family dumped 10 of their broodmares… but because one man, John R. Murrell, came to their rescue and arranged for their welfare and safe keeping.
I was also impressed that Murrell did this right before he needed to be in Austin testifying before a Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee meeting considering a recommendation to reverse the Texas ban on horse slaughter.
Lastly, I had never heard of the Rescue group who took the mares: Donna Keen’s Remember Me Rescue.
I need to look into them and do a story about the continued lifestories of these mares!
Click image to go to the website.
HERE IS THE FULL STORY originally posted in the Paulick Report
Click image to read the original story
Phone messages left at the Asmussen Horse Center on Monday and Tuesday were not returned.
Nine of the horses were rescued from likely slaughter by John R. Murrell, a Dallas businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner who previously served on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Murrell was alerted of the horses’ plight by Deborah Jones, a Southern Californian with a network of volunteers and sources throughout the United States who keep tabs on horses arriving at auctions frequented by kill buyers.
Murrell authorized Jones to purchase the horses on his behalf, and Jones told the Paulick Report she outbid kill buyers for seven of the mares, then bought two others privately for $100 more than the kill buyers bid. The 10th mare was believed to be in safe hands after being purchased by an individual not affiliated with the slaughter industry. Murrell paid $4,480 for the nine horses.
The rescued horses are now under the care of Donna Keen’s Remember Me Rescue, a 501(c)3 charity. Some of the former owners or breeders of the mares have stepped up with financial support to help provide for them.
The 10 mares are:
—20-year-old Valid Obsession, a full sister to sires Valid Expectations and Littleexpectations. She is reported to have a 2012 foal by Intimidator and was bred back to Asmussen Horse Center stallion Intimidator.
—17-year-old Luxury of Time, a daughter of Seattle Slew bred by Eclipse Award-winning Golden Eagle Stable. She was bred in 2012 to Intimidator.
—15-year-old Adios La Cucaracha, a daughter of Storm Cat with a 2012 foal by Intimidator and bred back to Intimidator.
—7-year-old Rhododendron, a daughter of Mutakddim bred by multiple Eclipse Award-winning breeder Nelson Bunker Hunt. She has 2012 foal by Seneca and was bred to Intimidator.
—12-year-old Our Revival, a daughter of Ide with a 2012 foal by Heckle and bred to Asmussen Horse Center stallion Primal Storm.
—20-year-old Endless Storm, a daughter of Storm Bird with a 2012 foal by Intimidator and bred to Intimidator.
—13-year-old Ethel Is Best, a daughter of Woodman bred in 2012 to Intimidator.
—14-year-old Karitsas Punch, a daughter of Two Punch bred to Asmussen Horse Center stallion Littleexpectations.
—15-year-old Fans Galore, a daughter of Lear Fan bred to Primal Storm.
—8-year-old Empress Jones, a daughter of Seneca Jones with a 2012 foal by Heckle and bred to Intimidator.
The Asmussens purchased most of the mares at breeding stock sales in Kentucky and Texas for prices ranging from $60,000 for Endless Storm to $2,500 for Karitsas Punch.
It was a busy week for Murrell. Three days after rescuing the Asmussen horses at the Round Mountain auction, he was at the state capitol in Austin testifying before a Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee meeting considering a recommendation to reverse the Texas ban on horse slaughter. New to the Paulick Report? Click here to sign up for our daily email newsletter to keep up on this and other stories happening in the Thoroughbred industry
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
Click to read about July’s Bucket Fund mare: Spirit!
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Remember Me cooperated some months ago with Sabine Parish Humane Society in a rescue of quite a few neglected horses in Many, LA. One of our Equi-Army teammates also has an OTT who boarded there. She had high praise for them.
Also, it is my understanding that K, Asmussen is supposedly on the board ot=f the Texas Thoroughbred Association. If so, this is troubling to say the least.
Remember Me was involved along with Sabine Parish Humane Society in Louisiana when quite a few horses were rescued in Many, LA some months ago. One of our Equi-Army teammates has a rescues OTT who boarded there for a while.
Mr. Murrell also gave some money to The Golden Carrot when I took in Laddie in emergency circumstances. He really seems to have the welfare of race horses in his heart! Thanks John!
I am little confused, when the discriptions said with a 2012 foal by …… did they buy the mare and foal? or was that just for information?
I’ve known Donna Keen for several years- the work RMR does is amazing. RMR was one of the rescues that was called in for the Many, La horses that were your bucket fund recipient during the winter. Read the story of how RMR came to be (i.e. Lights On Broadway). I’m proud to support Remember Me and proud to say I have fostered and adopted through them and will continue to do so.