Draped In Roses – Theodore Beats the Odds in True Kentucky Fashion

By Delores Kuhlwein

The rose garland is a well-known tradition at the Kentucky Derby, and it has been that way since 1896. In fact, the garland is the reason for the race’s nickname, The Run For the Roses.

The garland, with more than 400 roses, according to the Kentucky Derby, is “sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the Twin Spires and number of the race’s current renewal on the other. Each garland is also adorned with a “crown” of roses, green fern, and ribbon. The “crown,” a single rose pointing upward in the center of the garland, symbolizes the struggle and heart necessary to reach the Derby Winner’s Circle.”

That struggle and heart perfectly fit the description of another young horse, this one owned by Hannah DeJonghe.

Approximately four days after he was born, Theodore, Hannah’s colt by Easy On The Eyez and out of Saving My Own Tail, aka “Janie,” became septic with a bacterial infection.

As many breeders know all too well, a septic infection can be deadly, so the DeJonghe family jumped into action.

‘We took him to one vet hospital that’s didn’t fit his needs, so we had to pull him, stabilize him, and rush him 5 hours to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Kentucky,” Hannah says.

Theodore, Hannah explains, wasn’t expected to make it due to how sick he was.  “But he pulled through after going to Hagyard!” she exclaims.

In celebration, the DeJonghe’s beloved home vet, Dr. Christine Greiner, made him a rose garland, as Hannah says, “for beating the odds in true Kentucky fashion!!”

Hannah says that in addition to what he’s already proven to be, Theodore is special to her because she bred and raised his mom, Janie. They also lost one of her other foals, which makes his will to live even more poignant. “I have a lot of hopes and dreams for Theodore.”

The colt has a very strong will to live, adds Hannah.  “Even when a couple of vets told me he wouldn’t make it, he kept fighting to live.”

Theodore doesn’t have a registered name yet, Hannah says, but they are working on one that suits him.  Whatever he is named, Hannah knows she has a special colt in her barn – one with plenty of heart.