Daughterofthewoods raced three times in her career and each time, the pint-sized chestnut broke like a bullet and was quickly in front of her rivals.
She was bred to be speedy too, as a daughter of leading Canadian stallion Old Forester and from a dam, Avenging Kat, who was a quick 2-year-old stakes winner in British Columbia.
Alas, Daughterofthewoods could not keep that power going for more than a furlong or two and owner and breeder Robert Heggie and trainer Stuart Simon realized racing was not the little speedster’s strong suit.
Heggie, who has raced three good winners from Avenging Kat, put the filly up for adoption through LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society in the early part of summer, 2017. As fast as the filly was out of the gate, she found a new owner just as quickly.
Melanie Robson, 43, had been perusing the LongRun Facebook page, seeking a riding horse for herself and her daughter Emily. It had to be a low-key horse, not ‘hot’, as Robson had not ridden in many years while raising her family.
“My daughter started taking riding lessons and when I went to the barn, it was killing me,” said Robson. “So, I started looking around for affordable horses to buy and that is when someone told me about LongRun.”
Robson, who began riding at a very young age and comes from a long line of equestrians including her mother and aunt, stumbled upon photos of Daughterofthewoods, nicknamed Pixie, and just knew she had to meet the filly.
“I had had an off-track thoroughbred before that I rode,” said Robson, who lives near Uxbridge, ON. “He proved to be a little too strong for me, so my mom rides him dressage now.”
Daughterofthewoods, being the quick little firecracker out of the starting gates that she was, turned out to be just the right speed for Robson.
“At first, I saw her on Facebook and, well, she looked so cute, and that nickname! I just had to go and see her.”
Robson took Pixie for a test ride at LongRun’s Hillsburgh Farm and could not believe the 3-year-old was so quiet.
“I was trotting around on her and she was the quietest horse I had ever ridden. In fact, it was funny; as soon as I took my leg off her, she stopped trotting.”
Robson adopted Daughterofthewoods one week later and has been enjoying riding the filly three times a week and sharing her with her daughter.
“I have ridden her inside, outside, down the driveway. I recently discovered that if you point her at a jump, she’ll jump it. And Emily has been trotting her over poles.”
Robson will work with Pixie in the spring of 2018 through some flatwork exercises and is excited for the future with her new horse.
“Sometimes you just know when you meet a horse, that she’s the one for you,” said Robson. “Everybody around me were so happy that I finally got a horse again and really, she is just perfect for me.”
