Derby day is here! The excitement of the first race for the triple crown is palpable. I don’t have many race designs available yet in jewelry, though more are coming. However, anytime I think of the races I can’t help but reminisce about my very first experience going to the track.
I arrived at the track well before dawn. It was a cold fall morning. I walked past the betting windows that hadn’t yet opened. Past the bleary eyed trainers who had come inside for a cup of coffee and to warm up old and cranky bones. I made my way out to the track and stood by the rail under a large light. The track itself was in total darkness except for the patch of bright under my light and there was not another soul anywhere out there. It was pitch black, and absolutely silent. After a few moments there was a horse brought out somewhere towards the back of the track. I couldn’t see him, but in the absolute stillness of that early morning standing there alone I could hear him. He was restless and from the sound of things being a bit difficult. But then his exercise rider let him go. I could feel the vibration of his hoof beats as he flew faster and faster around the track. I could hear every snorting breath he took. Hoof beats and snorts came closer and closer louder and louder until in an absolute instant he flew through my one little circle of light. It was magic. My heart beats faster just thinking about it all these years later. I wish I could capture that feeling in art, but how do you capture an experience that is mostly a sound, a vibration you can feel in your fingertips on the rail? The visual experience was a fraction of a second. A blink takes longer. But oh to capture that feeling! I’m still working on that in my head. I probably will be forever. I’ve gone back to the track, numerous tracks, numerous times trying to recreate that first moment, but it's never been quite the same.
Anyway, if you love the excitement of a fast thoroughbred I invite you to consider my racehorse that I’ve shown here in silver. The details in it are something I am truly proud of and like all of my pieces I hope that it brings a smile and a happy memory to anyone who wears it.
Good luck and safe journeys to every horse and jockey racing this year and every year.