Diamond Bachelor competes. (New Vocations Photo)
New Vocations Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.— In its 21st year, the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show Presented by Heider Family Stables raised more than $180,000. All proceeds from the event go directly to support New Vocations’ efforts to rehab, retrain and rehome retiring racehorses.
Held May 31 – June 2 at Highfields Event Center, New Vocations’ annual show brought together 179 retired Thoroughbred racehorses from 11 different states, showcasing the versatility of the breed. Both familiar faces and new, excited exhibitors competed in a variety of classes including dressage, hunter, jumper, in-hand, Western and pleasure. New classes this year included a Mini Jumper Stakes and a Championship In-hand class.
“New Vocations is proud to have started the first all-Thoroughbred horse show in the country over 20 years ago. It’s been wonderful to see the event grow and play a large role in our efforts to spotlight the Thoroughbred’s versatility while raising much needed funds for our program,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations’ Thoroughbred Program Director. “We are very grateful for the continued support from our sponsors, many of which are Thoroughbred owners, breeders and industry organizations. With their continued support, we are able to put on such a first class show year after year.”
Show highlights included:
● The winner of the Open Hunter Derby was Geranium, owned and ridden by Ted Gregory. Geranium, sired by Elusive Quality, had 9 starts and $32,844 in earnings.
● The winner of the Open Jumper Stakes was Korban, owned by Ava Chase and ridden by Tatiana Parker. Korban was sired by Benchmark, had 28 starts and $255,000 in earnings.
● New winners emerged for our War Horse In-Hand classes, with Diamond Bachelor, shown by Alison Andrews, winning the War Horse In-Hand 50+ Starts Class. Diamond Bachelor, sired by War Front, had 62 starts and $445,840 in earnings. The winner of the War Horse In-Hand $100k+ Class was Twisted Tom, shown by Paul Smith, sired by Creative Cause, Twisted Tom made an impressive $939,435 on the track. The War Horse Classes are generously sponsored by 100% Racing.
At the show’s exhibitor party, New Vocations presented several special awards recognizing the following entrants:
● The youngest Thoroughbred competing – Tuella, owned by Mary Purser, born on 4/6/2021.
● The oldest Thoroughbred competing – Crash Override, owned by Lara Anderson, born on 3/22/1994.
● The Thoroughbred who sold for the highest price at auction – New Vocations graduate Ajhar, owned by Tanner Price, sold for $800,000 at Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 2018.
● The Thoroughbred with the most career starts – Kings House, owned by Lara Anderson, with 119 starts.
● The Thoroughbred with the highest earnings – New Vocations graduate, Drafted, owned by Katie Tarasevich, with $1,171,593.
● The most recently raced Thoroughbred – Cartier Cat, owned by Lara Anderson, raced on 5/18/2024.
New Vocations is grateful to all sponsors, donors, and exhibitors for over two decades of support. Dates and additional details for the 2025 New Vocations All-Thoroughbred show will be available at newvocations.org/events and on New Vocations’ social media channels as they become available.
