10.3.08

Re-mark your calendars...

OK, so according to the New Amsterdam fan site, apparently they switched around their episodes on us (or didn't include the pilot in their episode numbering, or added another episode). So, Teddy and Noodle and Trump will not be in tonight's episode (103), but rather in next week's episode (104) on Monday, March 17th.

Ah, well--the horses will all get their day in the spotlight... On Saint Patrick's Day!

A BRUTAL MURDER IS REMINISCENT OF
ONE FROM THE PAST ON "NEW AMSTERDAM"
MONDAY, MARCH 17, ON FOX

The brutal rape and murder of a nun and similar attack on a photographer’s assistant who escapes death leads Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to remember similar crimes he witnessed in the 1800s when he was a coachman for a wealthy landowner. Meanwhile, Amsterdam and Sara get better acquainted on the “Honor” episode of NEW AMSTERDAM airing Monday, March 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (NAM-104) (TV-14 D, L, S, V)

9.3.08

Happy 33rd, John Henry

When Louis XIV died in 1715, most of the people he ruled over had known no other sovereign. He had been King of France for 72 years. His great-grandson inherited his throne and the magnificent palace the Sun King had built at Versailles.



When the great John Henry retired from racing at the age of 9, he'd acquired 39 wins, 15 places and 9 shows in 83 starts, with an earnings total of over $6.5 million. He was (and is) the oldest horse to win Horse of the Year--and assuredly it must have felt like John had been racing forever and would always be back for another campaign. Those who raced against him may well have had offspring who were racing when John still covered the turf with that mighty 18 ft. stride.

Then, John retired to the Horse Park in 1985. The Kentucky Horse Park had only opened in 1978, and was still struggling to find its identity. John Henry quickly became its heart.

I first went to the Horse Park when we moved to Lexington in 1986. It was a strange thing to go to the park in January of 2008 without being able to see the ol' Steel Drivin' Man. Just as there were those who had never knew a king other than Louis XIV, there were those of us who had never known a Hall of Champions without John Henry. It seemed like he would live forever. But John passed peacefully on October 8, 2007.

The Kentucky Horse Park will welcome the world's equestrian royalty when it hosts the FEI World Equestrian Games in September 2010. This will be the first time the games have been held outsides of Europe. The World Equestrian Games will be the largest equine event ever held in North America, and the largest sporting event ever held in the state of Kentucky.

Louis XIV converted a hunting lodge into Versailles.

The Kentucky Horse Park, the finest equestrian venue in the world and the only park exclusively dedicated the the horse, is the house that John built.

Happy Birthday, John Henry. Have a chocolate covered Krispy Kreme in horse heaven on us.

JOHN HENRY (Ol' Bob Bowers - Once Double by Double Jay): March 9, 1975 - October 8, 2007

5.3.08

Mark your calendars...

Teddy and Noodle are going to be on TV. On FOX primetime, no less.

Yes, that's right. At long last, Teddy and Noodle (and Trump the Movie Star, of course) are going to make their debut in episode 103 of New Amsterdam on Monday night (March 10) at 9 PM. Keep an eye out for them, along with our restored Brougham carriage, carriage #8, and its stunt double, carriage #17.

I watched the pilot episode last night (101). The show's really not that bad. In fact, it's at least half good. It may even be very good. So maybe New Amsterdam will get renewed and Trump can have his hoped-for on-going appearances as a New York City carriage horse.

You can catch episode 102 on Thursday night at 9, too.

And, no, you don't need to write Fox and tell them that the scene with Teddy and Noodle is historically inaccurate, because it's set in 1816 or thereabouts, and Percherons weren't imported into this country until 1839. We did our best! Teddy and Noodle were the only ones for the job. (Buzz did not appreciate his understudy role to Trump in Manhattan.)