10/07/2025
Today is one of those bittersweet days - the last day all the yearlings will run together in the field as tomorrow we head to PEI for the Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale.
I wish I could tell you this was a bittersweet time of year. But, I’m not going to sugar coat it, there aren’t too many sweet moments about it. For us, at least.
We spend our days questioning what we are doing and why we are doing it. Why do we bring these babies into the world and attach ourselves to them as if they are our children just to sell them as yearlings? How can we send them off into the world away from everything they’ve ever known?
Most days we can’t really give you an answer. All we can do is hope. Hope that the early work we have put in pays off and produces a champion, one that goes on to live a great life until the end of time.
What we can tell you is that overall the sweet does outweigh the bitter, by a lot. We love being the first faces that greet these babies in their debut at life. Seeing their first steps and their first meal. Being able to spoil them the way they deserve to be spoiled. Donning their first halter. Being on the recieving end of those sweet, innocent whinnies. Being the ones who give them those basic fundamental skills they need to be a champion. Those skills and manners that set the tone for their relationship with their new owner and trainer. A good start goes a long way. All you breeders out there, don’t ever underestimate the role you play in your babies’ careers.
There will be some sleepless nights ahead and a few tears shed but as my good friend and fellow breeder once said to me, they are heading off to do what they were born to do.
So that’s how we have to look at it. We have done all we can do to give them the best start at their career. Now we have to sit back and watch, with hope. It’s hard for us to let go of that control but all we can do is hope.
To all my fellow maritime breeders- good luck in the upcoming Atlantic Classic Sale. May we all sit back, with hope, and watch the babies we brought into this world go on to be champions.
