Feel free to post your favorite John Henry story here.
26 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I was at the Horse Park a couple of yrs ago and I was petting John thru his gate(don't tell Cathy) and he kept raising his head to get my fingers closer to his mouth. This went on for about a minute he would raise his head and I would pull my fingers out. So, finally I say "John I'm not going to stand here and let you bite me!!!" In true John Henry style he walks away from the gate to the other side of his stall with his back to me......
i finally met John Henry for the first time the week of the Derby this year. I dragged a coworker/friend all around KY to meet the cool horses. We went the KHP one morning followed by Old Friends. My friend is not horse oriented at all but she remembered John Henry! He was out in his paddock that morning and would not give us the time of day. We called and called then decided we looked like idiots and I KNOW JH was laughing at us. the best part was that seeing him made my friends day. she's still talking about it with our other (very jealous) coworkers.
Great story, a similar situation happened to me this past February. It was about 6 degrees outside and the wind was blowing about 25 miles per hour. After standing outside watching John for about an hour, and probably suffering hypothermia, I figured I had enough and went on my way. John just turned and looked at me as I left. Then I had to ask myself: "Who really was the smarter one?"
Dr. John: Do you remember meeting the other John Henry "idiots" the day after his birthday outside his paddock? There were just the five of us. Well, that was the best photo opportunity we had with him, wasn't it? I look at our video of him often...makes me feel closer to him even though we live all the way in Burbank! I hate it when people say he didn't have the "looks" of a champion throughbred!! During his racing days he was beautiful in my eyes! Now, he has the face of a survivor. He still knows the camera (as you can attest). I hope your photos turned out as good as ours (one is used as my background). John Henry: we love you more and more every day! Every day we are blessed to have you with us. We look forward to seeing you again in October. And, Little John, we will NOT miss your 33rd birthday. XOXO JAG
Yes, I definitely remember that rainy Saturday afternoon. It was a great picture taking opportunity! I will be seeing John this weekend. I talked with Cathy yesterday (Tuesday), and she said John (and all the others) are doing fine.
Thanks for dropping by the blog site, please stop by often, and post frequently!
I am looking forward to JH's 33rd birthday also. I should probably start making the JH buttons now! :-)
Seems odd to me that there are no John Henry races posted for the website. SO, here is one I just watched on youtube. Look under the subject of John Henry.
This the the Arlington Million 1981 VS The Bart - sit back and enjoy.
The first time I saw John was in 2005, and Cathy was talking about him as she was leading him down the walk at the Champions Barn. This chatty woman next to me would not stop talking. John stopped right even with us, and just gave her The Look. I could not have said it better: "Listen up. You might learn something. She is talking about me!"
Hey Everyone. My favorite story with JH has to be when I was honored to have John's hoof painted and stamped on my book. He was the final signature added among with everyone I had met from Steve Haskin's beautifully written book. It was a wonderful moment he gave me as my journey with him came to an end.
HELLO ALL YOU JOHN HENRY FANS! I just found this blog and I'm flattered, but geez don't you think someone would have let me know, after all there are personal stories and family photos here. The Kentucky Horse Park just got me a new Apple Saddletop computer with high speed connection so I can Turf the Internet. My hooves are kind of big for the keyboard and sometimes my hay gets stuck between the keys, but we'll work things out. Anyway, I have many funny stories that have never been made public, but because so many horses, jocks and trainers are involved I need to consult my lawyers. Everyone knows I'm pretty wealthy and I don't want to get sued. Gotta go now....One of my "moms" just brought my evening snack....a mug of cocoa and a piece of carrot cake. Take care, J.H.
I got to see John run over 5 years in New Jersey, New York and California. I also saw Kelso and Forego. One thing they all had in common was an incredible will to win. John's will and the love of the people who have cared for him at KHP through the years has made a great life story even better. Forego and 'Willie' originally brought me to the KHP, John has kept me coming back all these years. In all that time, he's only tried to bite me once! Here's the address of the video of my last visit with John on 6-14-2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iI3pqomrgQ
Dr John and all, Here is part of an email I sent my friends in June: Healthwise, he is looking pretty good. They have taken to bargaining with him to take his medicine in return for a walk around the Park. Important to get the medicine in him, important to give him something else to look at, important to help tone his muscles and important to enable him to find some grass. His paddock grass is DOA because they haven't had any rain. The walk produced one of the funny stories. He went for a walk on Saturday morning just before the first Parade of Breeds show. John led the girl over to the chute to the arena and when Linda (who is doing the announcing) saw him she introduced him to all who were there and John proudly walked through the ring. Still a ham when he wants to be.
When I got there on Thursday, he had his head out of the front window of his stall and had this goop hanging from his lip that looked like tobacco juice. So I walked up and asked him if someone had given him some Red Man and he let go a glob. I started laughing and he let go of another one. I told Cathy about it and she laughed and said that what he was spitting was his supplements. (The good news there is they give him his Cushings meds first, so they did go down the hatch.)
Any way, his back is a little lower and his hips are a little bony, but, he is healthy and if they get some rain and his grass grows out, he'll be doing fine.
Great story, thanks for sharing it with us! When I was at the KHP this past weekend, the paddock areas did look pretty dry. Hopefully the rain will come soon!
I recall reading a jockey's comments after the '84 Turf Classic at Belmont where John went wire-to-wire at a mile and a half. John took the lead early and McCarron slowed the pace down to a stroll. All the other jocks wanted to save their mounts until the end, so JH wasn't challenged. This jockey said when he saw John hit the top of the stretch without breaking a sweat, I knew I was in trouble, I knew ALL of us were in trouble.
Everything Chris used to say about "JohnJohn" was so true. When I saw him win and what a win at the age of 9 in the Jockey Gold Cup, I was waiting for his arrival at the paddock. Sure enough, as Chris had related,I applauded and said "here comes the champ." Sure enough he stopped right in front of me, kept looking at me, and when he won, sure enough the big little guy looked at the tote board.
I met him, up close and personal at the KHP some years ago. And "this mean old grump", would not let me leave his stall, his head on my shoulder and grabbing my shirt so I wouldn't leave. Same thing when Cathy brought him out of his stall so the visitors were able to see this awesome guy. His head on my shoulder like a little baby. Love him, then, now and forever.
you betcha Dr. John...my kind of champ, with much attitude, and, believe it or not, lots of affection, at least towards me. That Gold Cup race was one for the ages, JohnJohn was 9, the equivalent of a 63 year old man running the NY marathon.
My friend and I went to the horse park a few years ago (She's a horsey fan (any horse); I'm not a fan of horses per se, but I just love John Henry (He's not your average, run-of-the mill horse!). Anyway when no one (and I mean Cathy, Tammy, ect.) was around, my friend reached under John's stall gate and fed him not one, but two chocolate donuts. She then made the mistake of moving in the direction of Cigar's stall to feed him as well. Well, no sooner had she turned away from John than we heard a loud CLANG...metal against metal...and again BOOM..and also this guttural sound...like a "GRRRROOOOrrrrrrerrrr"... John, of course, was hitting his shoe on the gate and roaring at the top his lungs. (How dare my friend turn away to go feed Cigar?) My friend had this shocked expression on her face, like this was totally unexpected. But being a John expert of sorts, I wasn't the least bit surprised. (If John is unhappy, you are going to know about it.) Needless to say we high tailed it out the Hall of Champions as fast we could. John had nearly busted us--but at least we got this great story to tell about this one-of-a-kind horse.
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My favourite was at a race. We were watching John racing The Bart with that amazing finish and my friend wasn't a fan of John so said ' i'm leaving i know the bart has won" so she walked away and when i told her the result when i was stroking john the next day (she didn't want to known the result till the next day which was hard to do with all the comments and things) she suddenly fell in love with him!!!!!! :)
26 comments:
I was at the Horse Park a couple of yrs ago and I was petting John thru his gate(don't tell Cathy) and he kept raising his head to get my fingers closer to his mouth. This went on for about a minute he would raise his head and I would pull my fingers out. So, finally I say "John I'm not going to stand here and let you bite me!!!" In true John Henry style he walks away from the gate to the other side of his stall with his back to me......
Great story, we won't tell Cathy! :-)
i finally met John Henry for the first time the week of the Derby this year. I dragged a coworker/friend all around KY to meet the cool horses. We went the KHP one morning followed by Old Friends. My friend is not horse oriented at all but she remembered John Henry! He was out in his paddock that morning and would not give us the time of day. We called and called then decided we looked like idiots and I KNOW JH was laughing at us. the best part was that seeing him made my friends day. she's still talking about it with our other (very jealous) coworkers.
Hi Wendyu,
Great story, a similar situation happened to me this past February. It was about 6 degrees outside and the wind was blowing about 25 miles per hour. After standing outside watching John for about an hour, and probably suffering hypothermia, I figured I had enough and went on my way. John just turned and looked at me as I left. Then I had to ask myself: "Who really was the smarter one?"
Thanks again for sharing, stop back!
John
Dr. John: Do you remember meeting the other John Henry "idiots" the day after his birthday outside his paddock? There were just the five of us. Well, that was the best photo opportunity we had with him, wasn't it? I look at our video of him often...makes me feel closer to him even though we live all the way in Burbank! I hate it when people say he didn't have the "looks" of a champion throughbred!! During his racing days he was beautiful in my eyes! Now, he has the face of a survivor. He still knows the camera (as you can attest). I hope your photos turned out as good as ours (one is used as my background). John Henry: we love you more and more every day! Every day we are blessed to have you with us. We look forward to seeing you again in October. And, Little John, we will NOT miss your 33rd birthday. XOXO JAG
Hi Lovejohnhenry,
Yes, I definitely remember that rainy Saturday afternoon. It was a great picture taking opportunity! I will be seeing John this weekend. I talked with Cathy yesterday (Tuesday), and she said John (and all the others) are doing fine.
Thanks for dropping by the blog site, please stop by often, and post frequently!
I am looking forward to JH's 33rd birthday also. I should probably start making the JH buttons now! :-)
Thanks!
Dr. John
Seems odd to me that there are no John Henry races posted for the website. SO, here is one I just watched on youtube. Look under the subject of John Henry.
This the the Arlington Million 1981 VS The Bart - sit back and enjoy.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JT0PivA8zHw
Thanks!
Dr. John
The first time I saw John was in 2005, and Cathy was talking about him as she was leading him down the walk at the Champions Barn. This chatty woman next to me would not stop talking. John stopped right even with us, and just gave her The Look. I could not have said it better: "Listen up. You might learn something. She is talking about me!"
Hey Everyone.
My favorite story with JH has to be when I was honored to have John's hoof painted and stamped on my book. He was the final signature added among with everyone I had met from Steve Haskin's beautifully written book. It was a wonderful moment he gave me as my journey with him came to an end.
HELLO ALL YOU JOHN HENRY FANS!
I just found this blog and I'm flattered, but geez don't you think someone would have let me know,
after all there are personal stories and family
photos here.
The Kentucky Horse Park just got me a new Apple
Saddletop computer with high speed connection so
I can Turf the Internet. My hooves are kind of big
for the keyboard and sometimes my hay gets stuck
between the keys, but we'll work things out.
Anyway, I have many funny stories that have never
been made public, but because so many horses,
jocks and trainers are involved I need to consult
my lawyers. Everyone knows I'm pretty wealthy and I don't want to get sued.
Gotta go now....One of my "moms" just brought my evening snack....a mug of cocoa and a piece
of carrot cake. Take care, J.H.
Hi JH,
Thanks for stopping by the blog site and giving us an update. I hope you enjoyed your carrot cake. Please visit often!
Thanks!
Dr. John
I got to see John run over 5 years in New Jersey, New York and California. I also saw Kelso and Forego. One thing they all had in common was an incredible will to win. John's will and the love of the people who have cared for him at KHP through the years has made a great life story even better. Forego and 'Willie' originally brought me to the KHP, John has kept me coming back all these years. In all that time, he's only tried to bite me once! Here's the address of the video of my last visit with John on 6-14-2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iI3pqomrgQ
Hi Bobc,
Thanks for your comments and your video of John on your last visit. I remember seeing Forego and Bold Forbes years ago at the KHP.
I just saw John this past weekend, July 13 and 14, and he looked great! He is going for daily walks around the park now!
Thanks again for your comments, please stop by often!
Dr. John
Dr John and all,
Here is part of an email I sent my friends in June:
Healthwise, he is looking pretty good. They have taken to bargaining
with him to take his medicine in return for a walk around the Park.
Important to get the medicine in him, important to give him something else to look at, important to help tone his muscles and important to enable him to find some grass. His paddock grass is DOA because they haven't had any rain. The walk produced one of
the funny stories. He went for a walk on Saturday morning just before the first Parade of Breeds show. John led the girl over to the chute to the arena and when Linda (who is doing the announcing) saw him she introduced him to all who were there and John proudly walked through the ring. Still a ham when he wants to be.
When I got there on Thursday, he had his head out of the front window of his stall and had this goop hanging from his lip that looked like tobacco juice. So I walked up and asked him if someone had given him some Red Man and he let go a glob. I started laughing and he let go of another one. I told Cathy about it and she laughed and said that what he was spitting was his supplements. (The good news there is they give him his Cushings meds first, so they did go down the hatch.)
Any way, his back is a little lower and his hips are a little bony, but, he is healthy and if they get some rain and his grass
grows out, he'll be doing fine.
Hi Bobc,
Great story, thanks for sharing it with us! When I was at the KHP this past weekend, the paddock areas did look pretty dry. Hopefully the rain will come soon!
Please stop by often!
Dr. John
I recall reading a jockey's comments after the '84 Turf Classic at Belmont where John went wire-to-wire at a mile and a half. John took the lead early and
McCarron slowed the pace down to a stroll.
All the other jocks wanted to save their mounts until the end, so JH wasn't challenged. This jockey said when he saw John hit the top of the stretch without
breaking a sweat, I knew I was in trouble, I knew ALL of us were in trouble.
Bob in PA...
Thanks Bob in PA. That is great! I just saw John yesterday, 7/26/07 and he looked great!
Dr. John
Everything Chris used to say about "JohnJohn" was so true. When I saw him win and what a win at the age of 9 in the Jockey Gold Cup, I was waiting for his arrival at the paddock. Sure enough, as Chris had related,I applauded and said "here comes the champ." Sure enough he stopped right in front of me, kept looking at me, and when he won, sure enough the big little guy looked at the tote board.
I met him, up close and personal at the KHP some years ago. And "this mean old grump", would not let me leave his stall, his head on my shoulder and grabbing my shirt so I wouldn't leave. Same thing when Cathy brought him out of his stall so the visitors were able to see this awesome guy. His head on my shoulder like a little baby. Love him, then, now and forever.
Thanks Linda, great story, thanks for sharing it with us! He still is the champ, and he knows it too! :-)
Dr. John
you betcha Dr. John...my kind of champ, with much attitude, and, believe it or not, lots of affection, at least towards me. That Gold Cup race was one for the ages, JohnJohn was 9, the equivalent of a 63 year old man running the NY marathon.
My friend and I went to the horse park a few years ago (She's a horsey fan (any horse); I'm not a fan of horses per se, but I just love John Henry (He's not your average, run-of-the mill horse!). Anyway when no one (and I mean Cathy, Tammy, ect.) was around, my friend reached under John's stall gate and fed him not one, but two chocolate donuts. She then made the mistake of moving in the direction of Cigar's stall to feed him as well. Well, no sooner had she turned away from John than we heard a loud CLANG...metal against metal...and again BOOM..and also this guttural sound...like a "GRRRROOOOrrrrrrerrrr"... John, of course, was hitting his shoe on the gate and roaring at the top his lungs. (How dare my friend turn away to go feed Cigar?) My friend had this shocked expression on her face, like this was totally unexpected. But being a John expert of sorts, I wasn't the least bit surprised. (If John is unhappy, you are going to know about it.) Needless to say we high tailed it out the Hall of Champions as fast we could. John had nearly busted us--but at least we got this great story to tell about this one-of-a-kind horse.
Hi Anonymous,
Great story, I can visualize John acting in that manner. You are absolutely correct, if John is unhappy, you will know it!
Thanks for the story!
Dr. John
...please where can I buy a unicorn?
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My favourite was at a race. We were watching John racing The Bart with that amazing finish and my friend wasn't a fan of John so said ' i'm leaving i know the bart has won" so she walked away and when i told her the result when i was stroking john the next day (she didn't want to known the result till the next day which was hard to do with all the comments and things) she suddenly fell in love with him!!!!!! :)
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