Celebrating Saratoga’s Equine Sanctuaries

King Congie runs for his dinner. Click here to order a print of this photo (without the text).

Last weekend, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, NY, where I live, held it’s first ever “Celebrating Saratoga’s Equine Sanctuaries” event. The event’s purpose was to bring awareness to some of the various aftercare facilities and programs for retired thoroughbreds. The free event, which included and 50/50 raffle and a silent auction, benefited the museum, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga, and good old Old Friends at Cabin Creek, where I volunteer. I was there to represent the farm as well as capture some photos of the event. Here are some of my favorites.

Dan and Cathy are ready to welcome visitors to our table!
Although horses were the star of this show, I also met an adorable dog named Brooke who let me take a few photos of her.
Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga, which retrains thoroughbreds and standardbreds as therapy horses, brought a few of their equine pals with them. This is Kid Blast, a retired thoroughbred, who brought in a respectable $151,000 at the track. Visitors were allowed to give him a pet.
I can’t resist an eye shot.
This is a thoroughbred mare from Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga whose name I never got.
Upset, the miniature horse mascot of Impressions of Saratoga and Dark Horse Mercantile (where you can purchase some of my illustrations!) was there with his pal Poppy. I got some amusing photos of the pair.
Some more Upset shots!
I also made this pair of illustrations of Upset based on a photo I took. Which one do you like better?
I produced a video (see it below!) using my own photos and those of Connie Bush, a fellow volunteer and photographer. It was so thrilling to see it on the big screen at the museum! Pictured above is our beloved and recently departed Zippy Chippy.
Happening concurrently on Union Ave., where the museum is located, was the first annual Cars on Union car show. I stopped by briefly to grab a few shots of the more interesting looking cars.
The event also gave me the opportunity to test out my new mirrorless gear (a blog post about that is forthcoming!). Here’s a photo of the museum I took on my Canon EOS RP with my 14-35mm lens.
The museum famously has painted jockeys out front.

After the event ended, I decided to head to Cabin Creek to see the boys we were celebrating all day! An itch to continue playing with my new gear may have factored into that decision as well. 😉 The rain was no match for my weather sealed Canon EOS R5 and 100-500mm lens. It’s almost as if Mother Nature wanted me to test the weather sealing (good news: it works!).

Here’s Naughty New Yorker in the rain. Click here to order a print of this photo.
Doc N Roll is showing off his gymnastics skills! Click here to order a print of this photo.
Doc in the rain. Click here to order a print of this photo.
Doc’s pal Strummer in the rain. Click here to order a print of this photo.
Click here to order a print of this photo.
Click here to order a print of this photo.
Click here to order a print of this photo.
I love watching Red Down South and his new buddy Bold Illusion interact. They are still getting to know each other. I waited for a long time to get this shots.
There I go again with my eye shots.
King Congie runs for his dinner!

Here is the video I produced with Connie’s and my photos (email subscribers, please click here to view the video).

Additionally, I made a short video comprised of some of the photos I took at the event. Email subscribers, please click here to watch the video.

To see more of my Saratoga area photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. To see more of my equine illustrations be sure to follow @togadoodles on Instagram. All photos and illustrations in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.

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