"The other thing that is so often misunderstood is that horses are very tolerant of man's ignorance. They can put up with a lot of miscommunications before they react to it. Paying attention to them, asking and rewarding is better than giving them a crack over the head. Talking to them in a calm voice, being kind, giving them a pat or a kind word is the language they understand."
Julie Krone
If you attended or observed the New Orleans Fairgrounds meet this year, you realized what a special person and gifted jockey Julie Krone was. The Fairgrounds meet was the last full meet of her carreer. She retured shortly thereafter. Starting about a month and a half after the opening day (Traditionaly; Thanksgiving Day), this was Julie's first meet in New Orleans. We were not expecting the quality of what is called a typical Julie Krone meet.
Julie finished third in the jockey standings, collecting wins at about a 15-20% her first month. She finished the season with a win rate of 50%.
Patient rider that she is,that style fit in perfectly with the longest stretch in the country. But what completely amazed this writer, was her ability with front runners. With her patience and ability to get a horse to relax, put her on the lead and the race was over coming out the gate. Another attribute, her work on habitual front runners. Getting them to relax and come from off the pace to win. (Is there any way we could get a SIM jockey like this?)
An obligation that you took on, whether you knew it or not, while handing in your first stable application. That you would do the bet that you can to take care of and understand the needs of your stable.
Secondly, to learn all that you can about your horses. This is a learning experience for us all. If at any time you can say that you've learned pretty much everything about horses and horseracing; undoubtedly you've missed the best part af the sport.
Four things that you as an O/T should take the time to research about your SIM horse:
To find these out, one has to ask their horse to perform certain styles, the analize the horses' performance of the race. The horse will tell you what he needs, you have to attune yourself in reading these signals. This will enable you to decipher the certain needs and wants of your horse.
Watching the visuals (to view the race in the viewer), can be decieving. For all the excitement and action that is in a race, may cause distraction for what your really trying to decipher from the race. It's easy to loose focus. This is why being able to interprate PP's (past performance lines), is essential.
This SIM game is a wonderful expierence. You may be highly motivated, ambitious to learn about different breeds and sires. Or you may use this game for pure pleasure and entertainment. Either way, you'll have a better knowledge of this great game of horseracing.
One thing to remember; It is far better to learn all you can about one horse,
than to have 50, and know little or nothing about.
"I watch my horses in the morning, in the paddock and during the warm-up before the race. You're always trying to learn what the horse likes or dis-likes and then incorporate that into something you can do to help the horse. Horses have a magnificent memory so you want to apply things, create situations that have been positive for them in the past"
Julie Krone
