“It's so hard to pick a horse. I have been blessed with so many over the last 20 years or so.
But when I think about Columbia King, aka Fred, I always smile. A gritty racehorse with a big heart, Fred changed me so much.
Despite being a colt (standing a whopping 17 hands), he was always a true gentleman.
In 1995, I started grooming him and although it feels like a lifetime ago, I still remember all our fun times. I had only been working at the track for two years since moving out west to Hastings Park. Coming from back east, I was a little overwhelmed. Fred was patient with me. He had a heart of gold.
Fred didn't race until he was four. That year, he was sprinter of the year. He was my first big horse, a stakes winner. We made the paper after we won the first British Columbia Sprint Championship Stakes. It was so exciting. The crowd clapped and Fred bucked the whole way off the track. He had lots of personality.
We use to stand outside the barn by the road and I scratched his back with a cheap back scratcher. Fred loved it and we would stand there for 30 minutes or more, his lip all the way out, loving life. Anything could pass us and he didn't care. That is until the boss called me back in the barn.
Sometimes the simple things make the best memories. When I use to go visit him at the farm on his down time, it was nice to see him turned out and just being a horse. I brought along his favourite treats and of course remembered to bring the back scratcher with me.
Fred was a special kind of horse and although I lost him a long time ago, he still holds a piece of me. He made me realize my love for horses. How they try for you and give you so much. Sometimes more than they know. Sometimes they save us and don't even know it.”
By Melissa Williams, for Ontario Horse Racing
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