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A Valentine for all times: The love between Steve and Kelly
By Susan Kayne
For Capital Region Independent Media
Once upon a time, for real, in the world of horse racing, there was a valiant and spirited Thoroughbred named Steve’s Adventures. Born on “Earth Day,” the 22nd of April in 2011, this magnificent steed was destined for greatness from the very beginning. His journey, however, would take him through twists and turns that no one could have predicted.
Steve’s Adventures began his racing career with enthusiasm and vigor. He was a true champion, winning eight races and earning over $133,000 in prize money. His elegant grace and competitive spirit captured the hearts of many, and he gained a devoted following of fans who cheered for him with unwavering loyalty.
But life in the racing world is not always as glamorous as it seems. Despite his victories, Steve’s Adventures faced his share of challenges. An injury during one of his races required pins and screws to be placed in his lower leg, but even this setback couldn’t deter his determination to win. He made a remarkable comeback and continued to shine on the track.
However, despite his proven loyalty and generous heart, Steve was betrayed. After his racing career ended, he found himself in the hands of someone who promised to give him a loving home. Tragically, that promise was broken, and Steve was reduced to a mere shadow of his former glory. His once-majestic frame was reduced to skin and bones, and he ended up in a horse meat broker’s pen.
Weighed, tagged and sorted for slaughter, Steve’s life was diminishing before his eyes, and he had no power to do anything about it.
When Unbridled learned of Steve’s dilemma and imminent death, our community of supporters leapt into action to raise the funds to save Steve. On the fateful day of May 19, 2018, Unbridled purchased Steve’s Adventures. He emerged from the broker’s lot, forlorn, skeletal and in terrible condition. But hope dawned on the horizon, and his journey to redemption had just begun.
Steve needed special attention to recover from his ordeal. Unbridled entrusted his quarantine period to the loving care and skilled hands of Cindy Noll. It is imperative to quarantine horses for at least 30 days, preferably 60 to 90. Before arriving at the broker’s lot, these horses often go through a series of auctions where they come into contact with various diseases and contagious conditions. To prevent the spread of illness to healthy horses, it’s essential to keep them in quarantine for a designated time span.
Under Cindy’s watchful eye, Steve’s Adventures slowly started to regain his strength. He was groomed, well-fed, and given the care he desperately needed.
The transformation was nothing short of miraculous. His emaciated body began to resemble that of a horse once more, and his spirit, though dimmed, was still burning deep within.
Steve’s recovery came in waves; Cindy’s compassion had rekindled the spark in his eyes. Despite the hardships he had endured, Steve’s Adventures remained a true Thoroughbred; he was raring to run about despite the poor condition of his body. In every step of his recovery, he stood as a testament to the resilience and heart of these magnificent creatures.
Once he regained his health, Steve joined the herd of “rescues” at Unbridled to prepare for adoption. His future was about to take another pivotal turn. Kelly Evans, an inexperienced rider with a heart full of love for horses, stumbled upon Steve’s story on the internet. She was captivated by his spirit, and by the sparkle in his eyes that hinted at his inner champion.
Kelly reached out to me, expressing her deep desire to meet Steve. When they finally met, it was clear that there was a connection, a bond that transcended words. Kelly had fallen in love with Steve at first sight, and Steve seemed to sense that he had found his true companion.
However, there were challenges to overcome. Steve was a hot-blooded former racehorse, full of energy and fire. Kelly was an inexperienced rider, and it was clear that Steve needed someone who could handle his spirit, especially as he continued to regain his full strength. My head told her that it might not be a good idea to pair these two, but my heart knew that there was something undeniably special between Kelly and Steve.
In lieu of an adoption fee, I made a heartfelt request to Kelly. I asked her to take regular lessons to build a strong and safe relationship with Steve. Kelly wholeheartedly agreed and began taking lessons with her trainer, Jules Therese. Jules soon became a treasured friend of Unbridled, and the bond between Kelly and Steve deepened.
Through hard work, dedication, and a whole lot of love and patience, Kelly and Steve’s relationship flourished. They had many lessons together, and the synergy between them grew into a bonded trust. They safely celebrated trail rides and gallops across the meadow, living life to the fullest.
Unbridled Sanctuary often has a dozen or so horses ready for adoption at any given time. But what made Steve and Kelly’s story special was the dedication they both showed to building a successful relationship. Steve, despite his past as a racehorse, yearned for a purposeful life under saddle, and Kelly was determined to learn how to ride and provide him with the fulfilling life he deserved.
Adopting a horse is a significant commitment, one that involves understanding the horse’s perspective, investing time, money, effort and emotional labor, and creating an environment in which both horse and human can thrive. Kelly and Steve’s journey was a testament to what can be achieved when love and dedication come together, under the guidance of a compassionate, patient and skilled trainer.
Steve’s Adventures had been through hell after his racing career, but he had regained his pride, his body, and his spirit. He continues to thrive, living his best life every day, safe and protected, thanks to Kelly, who cherishes him as a family member and her true love, her Valentine for all time.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, let us all be inspired by Steve’s Adventures and Kelly’s unwavering love. Consider opening your heart to a horse in need, just like Kelly did, and experience the joy of finding your Valentine for all time in the heart of a rescued horse.
Susan Kayne is the founder and president of Unbridled Sanctuary, an equine rescue on the border of Albany County and Greenville.
Engineering an American chestnut
By Thomas Christopher
For Capital Region Independent Media
The application of genetic engineering to food crops is controversial, and rightly so.
Critics worry that changing genetics may have harmful, unanticipated effects on food safety and the environment. In fact, this has sometimes been the case. Almost as soon as it became possible, genetic engineering was coopted by chemical companies to create herbicide-resistant strains of crops such as corn or soybeans, so weeds could be controlled by indiscriminate applications of toxins such as glyphosate.
The resulting orgy of chemical usage has resulted in widespread contamination of soils and water supplies, as well as contaminated foods becoming a routine feature at local supermarkets.
So there are real reasons for caution. It’s important to remember, however, that genetic engineering has precisely the same goal as conventional plant breeding, which has been transforming the genetic material of plants for millennia.
The difference is that conventional plant breeding, which depends on moving pollen from one plant to the flower of another in the hope that the offspring will include the desirable traits of both parents, is hugely inefficient. It’s like pulling the handle on a biological slot machine. Getting the exact genetic combination you want from a cross of two plants may require hundreds or even thousands of crosses. That’s possible when you are working with a fast-maturing annual crop. However, it makes breeding trees a very protracted process.
It has been almost a century, for instance, that plant breeders have been working on the American chestnut tree. This was once a foundation of the forest ecosystem in the eastern United States. The American chestnut was hugely common, an estimated 25% of all our hardwood trees. Its abundant crops of nuts were an important food source for wildlife and human inhabitants, too.
Growing to towering heights with trunks 10 feet or more in diameter, the American chestnut produced a light but strong and rot-resistant timber that was an important source of income throughout the tree’s range.
The impact was severe when the accidental introduction of the chestnut blight, a fungus from Asia, in the early 20th century resulted in the death of virtually every American chestnut tree, an estimated 3.5 billion in all.
By the 1920s, plant breeders were already engaged in crossing surviving American chestnuts with Asian relatives that had a natural resistance to the blight. The goal was to produce a tree with the physical characteristics of the American species but the resistance of the lower growing Asian ones.
However, after hundreds of thousands of crosses over the course of a century, success has eluded these efforts. Apparently, the genetic coding that endows the Asian trees with blight resistance is linked with genetic material that gives them their low and spreading pattern of growth.
That’s why in 1989 the American Chestnut Foundation, an organization dedicated to returning this tree to the forest, approached scientists at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a request that its scientists apply the techniques of genetic engineering to this species. In response, the genetic engineers were able to insert into the American chestnut genome a single gene taken from wheat, which did endow the tree with blight resistance — the genetically engineered trees still contract the blight but it is no longer harmful to them.
This success began the long process of getting the genetically engineered tree approved by government agencies for transplanting into the wild. In the course of this process, researchers have studied everything from the potential impact of the GMO trees on pollinators and other insects that may feed on them, to the possible impact of the blight-resistant tree roots on mycorrhizal fungi in the surrounding soil. No problems have emerged, and the trees have been approved for release, perhaps as soon as this summer.
Wild American chestnuts have continued to send up shoots from their stumps, occasionally bearing flowers before the blight cuts them down again. By interbreeding these with the genetically engineered specimens, it is planned to create a genetically diverse but blight-resistant population that can, over time, return this keystone species to our woods.
The importance of this project is more than just the restoration of one species. In an era when introduced pests and diseases are attacking so many native trees, genetic engineering offers an efficient and effective response that, in my view, we cannot afford to reject.
In the process, we can redeem a technology that has so often been used for environmental harm.
Be-a-Better-Gardener is a community service of Berkshire Botanical Garden, located in Stockbridge, Mass. Its mission, to provide knowledge of gardening and the environment through a diverse range of classes and programs, informs and inspires thousands of students and visitors each year. Thomas Christopher is a volunteer at Berkshire Botanical Garden and is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including Nature into Art and The Gardens of Wave Hill (Timber Press, 2019). He is the 2021 Garden Club of America’s National Medalist for Literature, a distinction reserved to recognize those who have left a profound and lasting impact on issues that are most important to the GCA. Christopher’s companion broadcast to this column, Growing Greener, streams on WESUFM.org, Pacifica Radio and NPR and is available at berkshirebotanical.org/growinggreener.
