LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — You often hear a lot about Keeneland's spring and fall meets, but maybe not as much about the Keeneland sales.
The September Sale is the beginning of a yearling's story and plenty of unwritten chapters, but everyone there has a story and it begins with the love of the horse.
"Keeneland's just — there's no place like it," said ringman Ashley Hobgood. "The air, the smell of the horses, the number of people. We're all here for the love of the horse."
Hobgood is often in the ring talking with the horses. She tries to keep them calm in perhaps an unusual environment. It all began with her early love for the horse.
"I'm not the best school student," she said. "Because things didn't capture my attention, but in history, when we talked about the war horses — caught it."
Hobgood worked at a therapeutic riding center when she was younger. She started taking lessons to learn how to jump, but the nerves sometimes got the best of her.
"I held my breath," she said. "And when you hold your breath, everything tightens. She told me that I had to either sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' or talk so I would make sure I was breathing."
She credits the horses for being therapeutic to her; therefore, she hopes to return that to the horse during the sales.
"Well, it goes back to — they've helped me become comfortable in the ring because now I don't have to worry about not breathing," she said. "That ring is comfortable to me."
"It's bigger than any childhood dream that I've ever dreamed of and I was a pretty big dreamer," Hobgood said.
She calls this job more than just a job — but a dream come true.
