“It all started with a little bay mare aptly named Mood Swings. Originally, I looked at her with the hope of retraining her as a riding horse. After making the long trek to see her, I was disappointed. She was much smaller than advertised, very underweight. She was plain and she was miserable. I could see an inquisitive personality in there though - she wouldn't stop playing with the zipper on my jacket when I'd pet her. I bought her, not as a retraining prospect, but instead as my first thoroughbred broodmare.
Turns out, the small, plain mare was a full sister to undefeated stakes winner Highland Mood. With Mood Swings ('Moody'), I began my love affair with thoroughbreds. In time, she gained weight, her coat glistened and her personality changed from cranky to kind. Her first foal was a winner and just like that I was hooked. The next several years Moody and I were plagued with bad luck. She aborted every other year, her two-year-old broke down in training and her weanling succumbed to Lawsonia. The year her weanling died, she also aborted, so I decided she was not meant to be a broodmare and I retired her to a leisurely life.
After the heartbreak, I decided I would go to the Keeneland January sale in 2008 with the hopes of purchasing another mare. There I bought She Ain't Much ('Sam'). I hadn't necessarily intended to buy her when I bid. I was just practicing. She was a pretty mare and her price was within my budget so I raised my hand so that I would know what it felt like. It was a rush! Especially when I realized that practice session just bought a mare!
Sam was carrying a very special foal by Omega Code. After I sold him, he was named 'Quick Code' and he would become my first stakes winner as a breeder. If I thought I was hooked before, I had no idea! Quick Code provided me with one of the best years of my life. He was such a special horse I bought him back from his trainer in Florida. He is now a spoiled riding horse.
In 2009, another tragedy struck, I lost a mare and foal due to foaling complications. I had a choice to make, after several years of dashed hopes and heartbreak - do I try again?
Stormin Wife, whose own foal had just died after foaling was available for sale. I thought she was beautiful and just like that I bought her. Stormin Wife has rewarded me with my biggest thrills to date as a breeder. After selling her Sligo Bay filly as a yearling, Paladin Bay would go on to become an incredible athlete, among her multiple stakes victories the Grade 3 Selene.
As a result of her success, I have formed new and lasting friendships, gained credibility and been afforded the opportunity to breed to better quality stallions.
It's interesting to look back at all of the horses that have helped to shape me into the person I am today. Some good, some even better and a few who are great. All of the experiences, good and bad, have educated me and led me to new horses and some of the greatest moments in my life.”
By Ericka Rusnak, for Ontario Horse Racing
(C) Ontario Horse Racing 2016. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without permission.
More For The Love of Racing