There once was a racehorse owner from the east coast named Samuel Riddle. He was always confident in his work and he later acquired a horse named War Admiral. War Admiral won the Kentucky Derby, crushed the field in The Preakness, and was made Triple Crown champion after finishing first in the Belmont Stakes.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country was a man named Charles Howard. He was just starting out in the horseracing business and settled for a sad looking named Seabiscuit for $2,000 dollars, which in those days was pretty cheap. In Seabiscuit’s first race while in the hands of Charles Howard, during the post-race an announcer said, “This next Seabiscuit couldn’t win a church raffle!” Seabiscuit did not win due to a bad ride given by his jockey, John Pollard, but every last person in the grandstand new that the little horse was going to hit it big someday.
In the beginning of Seabiscuit’s career, nobody wanted to give him a chance. He was an awkward colt, with awkward features and an awkward stride; while War Admiral was graceful in every aspect. No trainer wanted to bring their owner a small homely horse; they had eyes only for the good looking ones.
Most colts and fillies have a point where they’re on the track and they decide to push against the wind a bit, pick up their pace, and give their all. Some horses decide that running is not appealing to them and they never really try.
Charles Howard once said “When a little guy doesn’t know he’s a little guy, he can do great things.” Seabiscuit always seemed to believe he was the hottest horse on the track. I, along with the rest of the human population, sometimes convince myself that I know what I’m doing and I can win any race I want. That’s when I need to have the reins shortened a bit to bring me back to reality. As students, we are just beginning to get a feel for the track. We’re testing what we have and are beginning to use or developing skills.
When we’re a bit older, we’ll open up our stride and figure out what kind of horses we are and what kind of tracks we belong at. Amongst us are people with the personality of a horse that possesses the heart and speed of a Stakes Horse, that belongs at tracks like Santa Anita. On the other hand, there are people with the personality of a horse that does their best but belongs at a track that isn’t so great. Lastly, there are some people amongst us that never push against the wind and truly try.
I believe a horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves: strong, powerful, and beautiful. Even as students, in our heart of hearts, we might have some idea of what kind of horse we are and want to be, what races we want to win, and what tracks we want to run at. For now, we have just have to trust our trainers, or teachers, and owners, or parents, to train us well, and put us in the right races that will eventually lead to bigger ones. All we have to do is listen to our jockey’s signals and do the best we can.
I would encourage everybody to be like a thoroughbred. Be big in heart, high in courage, and go on to finish every race. Finish them strongly, don’t realize in the final furlong you won’t ever catch the lead, run as if you’re neck and neck and it’s going to be a photo finish. You never know, it might be your nose that crosses the line first.
