Our Horse of the Week is Lord Avie, at 34 he is the oldest living Eclipse winner.
His trainer still comes to see him…
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The ancient stallion spends his days grazing in a spacious paddock at an historic Virginia farm. His back is swayed, his front teeth are missing, and white hairs spread across his dark face like a spiderweb.
Whenever a van rumbles up the old farm road, his long ears pop forward and he breaks into a gallop ? in case, perchance, the van is bringing him a date. But those days have long passed.
Years ago he was a champion and the early favorite for the 1981 Kentucky Derby. Now the horse is 34 ? nearly unheard of for a Thoroughbred ? and few people even know he’s alive. He has no fan club or farm guest book in which visitors scribble reverential remembrances. A Facebook page once created for him sits dormant with two lonely “likes.”
But twice a year, as regular as the seasons, one man remembers. He drives his car up the bumpy farm road bringing a bag of peppermints. His hair is white, and his memory is sharp. He can’t say whether the horse remembers him, but he remembers.
The man is 86. For three decades he has driven miles out of his way to share a few minutes with the horse that brought him his greatest glory. Why does he come? It’s the best horse he ever trained, but it goes deeper than that.
“When I first saw him, I fell in love with him.”
To read the full Daily Racing Form story and see more of Barbara Livingston's wonderful photographs of Lord Avie click here.
To find out more about the photographer Barbara Livingston please visit her website Barbara Livingston
Update: Lord Avie died in December 2012 at the age of 34
