From The Publisher – Lost Heroes

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14 – July/August, 2023

By Tom Grabe

The sudden passing in May of beloved trainer Bruce Walquist made me think about the loss of those like him and how the hole left by their absence is filled. Over the past 25 years of publishing The Equine Chronicle, we have seen numerous icons in the horse industry–two-legged and four-legged–leave us. The list is too long and storied to select a few names to mention here, but each of these people and horses were amazing in their own way and they cannot be replaced. The industry we all enjoy was built on the shoulders and backs of these household names and those that came before them. There is no doubt that the people we remember all had faults, they all made mistakes, and they all made the organizations they were involved with better. There is no doubt that the horses we have lost left a legacy of greatness that drove the industry in a new direction.

The loss of a legend always raises the question of who will fill the void with their absence. Who is capable of hoisting an entire industry on his or her back and carry it through the rough patches while at the same time making it better? Is that even possible given the incredible size and complexity of today’s registries? The irony of this is that the people who accomplish this Herculean task usually don’t even know they are doing it. They just do what comes naturally. In fact, they don’t see it as work at all and, most times, they don’t recognize the burden that their iconic status puts upon them. The horses that become household names don’t know they are famous (although many of them seem to have an appetite for the spotlight that rivals any movie star), but they seem to know they are special.

Click here to read the complete article
14 – July/August, 2023