A Good Hand on a Horse…the Grooms of Meadow Stable

                                       

In honor of February as Black History Month, we’d like to share some stories about the African-American grooms of The Meadow in Doswell, Virginia, birthplace of Secretariat.  Though they were never well known like Secretariat’s racetrack groom Eddie Sweat and exercise rider Charlie Davis,  the grooms in Doswell were the first to take care of Big Red and the other champions of Chris Chenery’s Meadow Stable.  

Though some of the men had passed away before Kate Tweedy and I started working on “Secretariat’s Meadow” in 2007, we were able to interview several of the grooms over time and even do a videotaped oral history.  They shared stories that had never been told and we are greatly indebted to them for so vividly enriching our book.

Here is the excerpt of their chapter from”Secretariat’s Meadow:”

” A Good Hand on a Horse…the Grooms of Meadow Stable.”  

They grew up working with their hands in the rural Caroline County of the post-Depression years.  Local jobs were scarce and mostly limited to cutting pulpwood for the local sawmill, working on the railroad, in a mechanic shop or as a farm laborer. But the calloused black hands of the men who became the grooms of Meadow Stable would touch some of the greatest Thoroughbreds in racing …and leave their own indelible imprint on the history of The Meadow.

Their names did not appear in the headlines or record books, but Lewis Tillman, Sr. and Lewis Tillman, Jr., Bannie Mines, Alvin Mines, Charlie Ross, Wesley Tillman, Garfield Tillman, Raymond “Peter Blue” Goodall, Howard Gregory and others from the closeknit web of local families most assuredly contributed to the success of Meadow Stable. Personally selected for their jobs, these men would be entrusted with the daily care of the valuable broodmares and their foals, helping with the early training of skittish colts and fillies, the transportation of finely-tuned racehorses and the handling of powerful stallions in the breeding shed.

Wesley Tillman came to work at The Meadow as a youngster.  In 1946, at the age of twelve, he began helping in the hay fields with his grandfather Samuel Tillman during the summer.

“My grandfather said, ‘If you’re big enough to walk all the way down here to the farm, you’re big enough to work.’  So he gave me a pitchfork and I started throwing hay on the wagon. That was my first job,” Tillman said. He made two dollars a day.

 By age eighteen, he was helping his uncle Lewis Tillman,Sr., who was in charge of the broodmare barn. They would turn the horses out in the morning after feeding and get them back up in the evening.  In the meantime, they would clean out the stalls and put in fresh bedding. When the mares and foals came back up from the Cove in the evening, they would feed them and put them in their stalls for the night. Wesley also pulled night watch duty when mares were getting ready to foal.

 His next job was “up the hill” to the yearling barn. “That’s when I started breaking horses,” Tillman said.  “You had to be real gentle with any horse and take your time with them. If you groomed them right, they would even get to like you so you could get them to cooperate with you.”  

 The next stop for young horses was the training center located across Route 30 where they would begin to learn the fundamentals of racing. The grooms would saddle the horses up for the exercise riders for the day’s work on the Meadow track. Afterwards, the grooms would wash the horses, brush them down and put them on the hot walker (a mechanical walking machine) for awhile. Lastly, they would lead them back to the barn and turn them out into the fields until feeding time. In between their grooming duties, the men would cut grass, fix fences, paint barns or do other chores around the farm.

Tillman, along with other grooms, sometimes traveled with the horses when they were shipped out as two-year-olds to the training stables in Hialeah, New York or Delaware. As they would see, it was a different world outside the rolling green fields of The Meadow. 

“Everybody was treated equally at the farm,” Tillman said.  “I didn’t see any racism.  We were all like a big family.”   

But on the road, in those days of segregation, “coloreds” were not allowed in many restaurants or hotels.  “I had to stay back in the back with the horses from here to New York,” Tillman explained.  When the van stopped for lunch, the white driver, Bill Street,  would bring him his meal which he ate in the van as the racehorses munched their hay and occasionally sneezed on his food.  If the grooms did take a break from the van, they had to go the back door of the restaurant to get a sandwich or eat in the kitchen with the cooks. Mostly they shrugged it off as part of their job.  

At the racetrack, the Meadow grooms would stay with the horses for maybe three or four weeks.  “We had our bunks right on the end of the barn, so  if anything happened, like if the horses would get down in the stall or start kicking,  we’d be right there with them,” Tillman said.   After new grooms were hired and the horses were settled in, the Meadow grooms would return to Virginia to start working with the next crop of young hopefuls.

Alvin Mines first came to The Meadow at the age of eight or nine, tagging along with his grandfather Lewis Tillman, Sr., who was affectionately called “the Mayor of Duval Town.”  (their nearby community)   He remembers playing in the fields with the other grandchildren until feeding time when his grandfather would call the mares and foals up from their pasture in the Cove.

“Man, the horses used to come running up, maybe about fifteen of them with their colts and the foals,” Mines recalled. “I remember we’re grabbing round his leg because we thought the horses would run us over. He said, ‘Don’t worry, the horse is not going to bother you.’ And sure enough, they’d come up and they’d just circle around you and go on.”

Alvin began working at Barn 33, also known as “First Landing’s Motel” around 1974. (First Landing was the sire of Riva Ridge.) There with groom Clarence Fells he helped with the visiting mares who were to be serviced by the Meadow stallions. Often the mares had foals at their sides, who did not want to leave their mothers for even a few minutes.

“I had to hold the foals and then you were in a rassling match!” Mines said.

Next he worked at the broodmare barn with his uncle Lewis Tillman, Jr.  Later he went across the road to work at the racetrack/training center, with his brother-in-law Raymond Goodall. Goodall was the chief groom for Riva Ridge.

He taught the short and stocky Alvin how to handle the tall, high-headed Thoroughbreds who often did not want to have a halter or bridle put on them. It seemed that farm manager Howard Gentry liked to test the young groom by giving him the tallest horse in the barn to lead.  Mines recalled being jerked off the ground more than once.

The grooms who had a special way with horses were highly respected at the farm.  This was particularly true of Howard Gregory, who worked at The Meadow for nearly thirty-two years.  He was known as “the stud man.”

He began as a farm worker, making twenty-five dollars a week in the 1940s.  Like the other grooms, he had no prior experience with horses, other than some farm mules. He simply learned by doing, mostly under the watchful eye of Howard Gentry, who supervised all the breeding.

He had been working at the training track for several years when Gentry offered him the job taking care of the stallions, along with a raise. “He told me I had a good hand on a horse and no fear,” Gregory recalled. “I had five young children to take care of, so I took the job. I did not know what I was getting into!”

He took charge of six stallions, each of which had his own paddock. Breeding time was around 2:00 p.m. each day in the breeding shed. Some days there would be four or five mares to be serviced. 

 “I had three horses that died in there,” Gregory noted.  “One was Third Brother, a full brother to Hill Prince. He just dropped dead after breeding the mare.” Another time, a stallion fell over dead, nearly crushing Howard Gregory and Howard Gentry against the wall.

One stallion, named Tillman in honor of Lewis Tillman, did little to flatter his namesake. He was especially rank and ill-tempered. “That horse looked to kill you!” Gregory said, adding that the horse would charge at any groom who entered his paddock.  Gregory was the only one who could handle him. “I had many people come watch me,” he said of those who came to learn his techniques.

His favorite stallion was First Landing.  “He was very, very mannerable,” Gregory noted. “When I would take him around to breed, you’d never hear him squeal or make a whimper or nothing.”

Despite the inherent dangers of his job, Gregory said, “I would turn back the hands of time” to do it all over again.

Charlie Ross also came to the Meadow in the early years. He would earn the distinction of being the last Virginia groom to take care of Secretariat before the colt was shipped down to Lucien Laurin’s training stable in Hialeah in January 1972. Though track groom Eddie Sweat and exercise rider Charlie Davis were more closely affiliated with “Big Red” during his meteoric racing career, it was Charlie Ross, along with trainer Meredith “Mert” Bailes, who helped start Secretariat under saddle. 

Ross had been working at the farm for over twenty years when Secretariat was transferred over to the training center and became one of his charges. He held the colt while Bailes first “backed” him, laying himself over the colt’s back to get him accustomed to human weight. He was the groom who led Secretariat around with his first rider, Bailes, in the saddle. 

“Yeah, he sat up on the saddle in the stall and I turned him around in the stall, waiting until he got used to that. Then the next move we would take him out in the big round shed and we’d walk him around in there until he’d get used to that,” Ross recalled.  He added that Secretariat did not act up or buck like some of the other horses did in those circumstances.

Typically taciturn, Ross admits he was a part of history. Then a flash of pride breaks through and he says, “They called me The Man,” for his way with horses. He agreed that the early care a young horse receives can influence him for life.

Alvin Mines put it best.  He said, “I think the horses, once they got the feel of the grooms that were working with them, there was something that growed up in them, you know. They go to someone else’s hands when they leave here, but I think the horses always know who had the first hand on them.”

 Meadow groom Lewis Tillman holding a colt for his Jockey Club ID photo. Photo by Bob Hart. 

Note:  To see what the grooms said about Secretariat and Riva Ridge as colts, read Chapters 11 and 12 in “Secretariat’s Meadow.”

by Leeanne Meadows Ladin

copyright 2011

This excerpt may not be reprinted without permission.

Author Adventures with Big Red on the Red Carpet

 

In the spirit of Secretariat’s record-smashing performance in the Derby, you could call the Kentucky leg of our “Barnstorming Book Tour” the “Every Furlong Faster” tour.

Kate arrived in the Bluegrass State direct from the red carpet, having attended the “Secretariat” movie premiere in Hollywood.  Her first book event was the Secretariat Festival in Paris, KY on October 2. 

Our publisher (Wayne Dementi) and I left Richmond, VA at 7:00 am on Sunday, October 3 to rendezvous with Kate for the Kentucky premiere that evening.  We arrived in Lexington around 4:00 p.m., with plenty of time (I thought delusionally) to primp and preen for this elegant occasion.  That notion was quickly dispelled when we learned that we needed to be at the Kentucky Theatre well before the starting time of 6:00 p.m.

 There I was, rather bedraggled after nine hours on the road. Likewise, Kate had been signing at the World Equestrian Games all day. It was like a starting gate clanged open. We set a new world’s record in getting “glammed up” and thank heaven, there were two bathrooms downstairs at the home of our gracious host !  

In the end, it didn’t really matter. When Diane Lane stepped out of her limo in front of the theatre, looking sleek and impossibly beautiful, no one else existed on or near the red carpet. She was so gracious and poised in her strapless gown, unfazed by the cold drizzle that had the rest of us shivering.  Then Kate’s mother, Penny Chenery, arrived in her limo, resplendent in a shimmering blue evening jacket. The crowd happily greeted her as one of their own. Penny lived in Lexington for many years before moving to Colorado and still keeps a few racehorses here.

Kate, Wayne and I walked the red carpet  behind Penny.  I had not expected to do that and was very proud to be part of that entourage as the Disney team waved us through.  Kate shared the stage with Governor Steve Bashear and Disney officials and welcomed the audience on her family’s behalf.

This was my third time to see the Secretariat film and it was every bit as thrilling as when I first saw it in Denver. Punctuating  the enjoyment were the exuberant reactions of the Kentucky  audience, who cheered each time Diane Lane as Penny showed her mettle in a challenging situation. They left no doubt that Penny Chenery still reigns as “the First Lady of Racing.” 

And just as if it were June 9, 1973 again,  everyone was shouting and clapping and even crying as Secretariat thundered across the screen in his Belmont,  a blaze-red Pegasus taking flight above the turf and lifting a nation with him.

As if that experience was not enough, I was fortunate to sit at a table during the reception after the movie with several Hall of Fame jockeys. Let me unabashedly drop a few names:  Ron Turcotte, Jean Cruguet, Steve Cauthen. They all signed a copy of “Secretariat’s Meadow,”  as did Otto Thorwarth who plays Ron in the movie. I also collected signatures from  Governor Bashear AND  Diane Lane, who wrote a special inscription to my husband who has loved her since “Lonesome Dove.”  I later accosted Calvin Borel in the lobby and he signed my program.

Meanwhile our intrepid publisher, who I had vainly tried to chaperone, got his picture taken with Diane Lane.  He would be the first to tell you that the nine-hour drive from Virginia was worth it!

That was just our first night in Kentucky.  More to come on our visit to Claiborne Farm and signing at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Leeanne Ladin

left to right:  Kate Tweedy, Charlie Stone, Bill Nack, Leeanne Ladin, Tom Foley (who played Jim Gaffney in the movie)  

Kate, Charlie Stone, Bill Nack, Leeanne, Tom Foley

Secretariat’s Meadow Galloping into Kentucky

Our Barnstorming Book Tour is going along at a fast clip!  October will kick off with a crowded field of events!

First,  Kate and Penny will be going to LA for the long-awaited premiere of the Secretariat film on Sept. 30. We will look for them on the red carpet!  Or maybe it will be a blue and white carpet for the Meadow Stable colors?  

Then our jet-setting Kate lands in Paris, KY for the Bourbon County Secretariat Festival on October 2 where she will be meeting and greeting fans and signing “Secretariat’s Meadow.”  On October 3, she is signing at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington for our good friends with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.  That evening, Wayne Dementi (our publisher)  and I meet up with Kate for the special screening of the film and a book signing.

On October 4, we have signings at the International Equestrian Festival in Lexington and at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville. Wayne and I have to get back to Richmond on October 5, but Kate stays to continue signing at WEG and IEF through October 6.

On October 7, Kate rejoins us in Richmond for another round of book events  through October 14. The complete schedule for the book tour is posted on www.secretariatsmeadow.com  We promise to post lots of pics and video.  Be sure to check our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Secretariats-Meadow-The-Land-The-Family-The-Legend/107942289227260?v=wall#! for for daily updates from Kentucky!

It’s starting to feel like Secretariat’s Derby where he ran every furlong faster!

Leeanne Meadows Ladin

co-author, “Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, The Family, The Legend”

A Rocky Mountain High for Secretariat’s Meadow

Have been on a “Rocky Mountain high” since our whirlwind trip to Denver for the advance screening of the Secretariat movie on Sunday September 12.  Over 400 guests of the Chenery family attended and so did Entertainment Tonight! They interviewed Penny and Kate and shot a lot of footage of the crowd.  The LA premiere is September 30 and this segment is supposed to air sometime before that, we think.

The movie was everything I had hoped it would be. Three things impressed me the most :  the thrilling, hoof-pounding (and heart-pounding) racing scenes; Diane Lane’s portrayal of Penny facing her many challenges with determination, class and style; and the emphasis on The Meadow, Secretariat’s Virginia birthplace. As a Virginian, that was very meaningful to me.

After the screening, the crowd, which had filled two theatres, surged back into the lobby, buzzing about the movie. People were saying that  even though they knew the ending, the  movie was still very exciting .  There were many comments about how the movie would show what a great role model Penny Chenery was (and is!) especially for women and girls.

 The movie is sparking a resurgence of interest in this great champion by letting us “boomers” relive those glory days of his Triple Crown  and it’s introducing him to a whole new generation.    Never did I imagine, as I sat in front of our black and white TV in 1973, screaming as Secretariat won the Belmont in another zip code from the rest of the field, that I would be signing a book about him at a movie screening. We sold 10 cases of books in one hour!

And I get to do it all over again on September 22 with the Virginia Thoroughbred Assoc. in Northern Virginia at a special screening they are hosting.  Hope we can do as well as we did in Denver!  I certainly don’t mind this kind of writer’s cramp!

Leeanne Meadows Ladin

Secretariat’s Meadow – Out of the Gate and onto Amazon Bestseller List in Horse Books

This glory may be fleeting but I’m going to savor the moment. At this writing, Secretariat’s Meadow is ranked #1 in several categories on Amazon:  bestseller overall in Horses and Horse Racing books and bestseller in  new releases for Horses and Horse Racing books.  Not a bad way to kick off our Barnstorming Book Tour!

Once I learned to navigate all the categories and sub-categories on Amazon, I made several happy discoveries. Secretariat’s Meadow was also #1 Most Wished For Book and Most Gifted Book in those categories. Those hourly rankings have since changed, but hey – it was great while it lasted!  At this hour, the book is #3 in new releases in Individual Sports and #15 in overall Sports.

Discovering all these categories has only intensified my compulsive need to check the rankings several times a day. Yes, this sounds like giddy new author syndrome. But while this is my fifth book, it is the first one with a national audience. That’s a whole new horse race!

I’m  just happy to be on this ride!

Leeanne Ladin

co-author, Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, The Family, The Legend

 

We’re on Blog Talk Radio

We now have our own channel on Blog Talk Radio called Free Rein Radio. It gives us “free rein” to talk about our favorite subject…”Secretariat’s Meadow,” along with other horse-related and book-related topics.

Kate and I will use it to recount our author adventures on our “Barnstorming Book Tour.” The show will also offer Big Red’s fans lots of behind-the-scenes  stories about the legendary horse, the upcoming Disney movie  about Secretariat and Kate’s mother, Penny Chenery, and the Virginia farm where he was born.

You can listen to our first show where I talk to Kate live from Saratoga where she was signing books at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and at trackside with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.  Here’s the link. Free Rein Radio | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio

Let us know what you want to know about Secretariat and we’ll talk about it on our show!

Kicking off our Barnstorming Book Tour!

 

And they’re off!”  

 We are out of the starting gate for our “Barnstorming Book Tour” to promote “Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, The Family, The Legend.”  Kate Chenery Tweedy and I are the co-authors of this new pictorial history about Secretariat and his Virginia birthplace, The Meadow.

This blog will be our report from the field as we embark upon a book tour that is taking us from Doswell, Virginia to Denver, Colorado, from Saratoga to Santa Anita and many places in between.   So saddle up and come along for the ride!

We’ve been doing “pre-publication” events since March when we formally announced the book at the celebration of Secretariat’s 40th birthday at The Meadow, his birthplace in Doswell, VA. 

This summer we knew we had to be at Saratoga, where the nation’s Thoroughbred racing community has been gathering for over a century.  Our publisher Wayne Dementi acquired a quantity of advance copies  so that Kate could do sales and signings at the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame August 14-15 and with the TRF on TRF Day at the track today on August 18.

The timing was perfect for giving a sneak preview of Secretariat’s Meadow. Thirty-eight years ago on August 16, 1972, a strapping chestnut colt burst onto the racing scene with his electrifying win in the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga. Kate was with her mother Penny Chenery at the track and saw Secretariat’s bold run.  As she says in our book, ” It was my first inkling that Mom’s rollercoaster ride in racing may not end with Riva Ridge.”

Riva Ridge had won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont in 1972 , two -thirds of the Triple Crown, catapulting Penny Chenery and Meadow Stable into the national spotlight.  No one could have imagined what was in store for 1973.

So far,  Secretariat’s Meadow is showing  lots of promise at its first official sales outing.  Kate says the book got a tremendous reception at the racing museum, at Saratoga Impressions gift shop, and at Saratoga Saddlery. I’m awaiting her report on TRF Day.  Then she jets off to Chicago for the Arlington Million this weekend.

More book tour news  coming soon as we get closer to publication in early September!

Leeanne  Meadows Ladin