“Beyond the Homestretch: What I’ve Learned from Saving Racehorses” is not only a fun and inspiring read but one that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. It tells the story of a woman named Lynn Reardon, who in 2002, quit her Washington DC area job and moved to a ranch outside of Austin, TX to open the racehorse adoption ranch LOPE (Lonestar Out-reach to Place Ex-Racers.) The very first chapter tells the humorous yet honest account of her first “real” horse emergency on the ranch with one of her rescues named Spider who had suffered a deadly rattlesnake bite right between his nostrils. Here is an excerpt from this chapter where Lynn ponders how her life took this dramatic turn, but also how fulfilling this new life will be.
“This was not the way I had planned to spend my forty-fourth birthday. Aren’t people this age supposed to be confident and settled and at the very least not covered in horse mucus? Haven’t they mastered their careers, gently settling into that “I’m watching the 401(K) plan grow” phase of life? I pondered my previous life as an accountant. Had it really been so awful? I didn’t remember any rattlesnakes or crushing sense of responsibility in that career. The offices were so clean and cool in August, not like this round pen in Texas, which still radiated heat at 3:15 A.M. The glamour of it all, I though to myself. Spider nicely punctuated this thought by trying to rub his swollen head on me.”
From the very first page, this book will suck you in to a world that many of us horse lovers have longed of. A world where dreams become reality, and hard work becomes the mainstay. Lynn truly is an inspirational woman who followed her heart and has since helped transition more than 725 thoroughbreds into new homes through her non-profit organization LOPE. I urge you to pick up a copy as soon as you! You will not be disappointed. Also, a significant portion of the royalties of this book will go to LOPE Texas’s efforts to rescue and find homes for former racehorses. To learn more, visit www.lopetx.org or click: Texas Ex-Racehorse Adoption – LOPE Texas, Lone Star Outreach to Place Ex-Racers.
