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Secretariat Festival 2014

After getting my Secretariat quilt done earlier this year, I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if I could get it signed by Penny Chenery and Ron Turcotte?" If you don't know, Ms. Chenery owned Secretariat and Mr. Turcotte was the jockey who rode Secretariat in all three triple crown races and more.  So, I emailed Secretariat.com asking if it would be possible and I was told the best chances of getting the quilt signed was to attend the Secretariat Festial in Paris, Kentucky at the end of September. Who knew there was a Secretariat Festival?  Apparently, most people in Kentucky no doubt but since I live in Ohio, I had no idea.


The opening of the festival was Friday, September 19 and it was in full swing on Saturday, September 20th. There was some horse exhibitions, bourbon barrel painting (it is in Bourbon County after all), auction and memorabilia signing by several jockeys such as Ron Turcotte,  Jean Cruguet, Pat Day and Steve Cauthen and others.

This was our first trip to the festival and Kentucky for me and my husband and we didn't know what to expect but I was mainly there to get my quilt signed. Unfortunately, Ms. Chenery was ill and had to cancel which was a huge disappointment for me, I have to admit.

We arrived just after 9 a.m. and although there were a few people already there, most of the vendors were still setting up their booths.  Quilt in hand or in bag I should say, I went into the small building where the silent auction was being held and purchased a festival poster and one signature for Mr. Turcotte. There is a charge for signatures but this money goes to the Secretariat Foundation and to the Injured and Disabled Jockey Fund so its money well spent.


Around 9:45 there appeared to be a line forming for the signing area. There was a bit of confusion this year which was a little annoying simply because no one seemed to know how it worked or what we were doing. This resulted in me receiving a number and being pushed back from where I was in line.  There were a few ladies next to me and we chatted during our wait about horses, horse farm tours and of course my quilt.

I received a lot of compliments on my quilt and some disbelief and several people took pictures. When it was my turn to get my quilt signed, it took me a minute to maneuver the stupid thing and Mr. Turcotte was kind of enough to compliment my quilt as well.  I believe he called it "beautiful."  


When I left the signing area, I received some more compliments on my quilt and headed out to find my husband. I had mentioned getting a Secretariat stuffed animal on my way out but my husband beat me to it. Glad he did too, because I forgot about it. I just love the little blue and white checkered mask and the embroidered saddle blanket. 



Its amazing to me how an animal, in this case a horse, can inspire so many people. I was just 3 months old when Secretariat ran in the Belmont Stakes in 1973 and I admit I find his story fascinating. He was a horse who liked to run but he did it in such a way that defies what we know of horse racing. No horse had ever run the Belmont race like he did. No horse had ever run each 1/4 mile faster than the previous one. No horse had ever ran the Belmont like it was nothing before. The Belmont chews horses up not the other way around. He set a track record at the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and the The Belmont that still stands today after 40 years. I watch the Belmont race on YouTube which I've seen a hundred times and I always think before the race starts that all the people there have no idea what they are about to witness. They will witness what we consider to be an impossible feat or perhaps just a perfect moment. A moment people will still talk about for years and decades to come. People may not have known what was about to happen on that day in June in 1973 but what a privilege it must have been.



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