TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1099087
"People do photo shoots with him in the tunnel. He will even stand beside wheelchairs. When I found out he was solid enough to do that, I started encouraging it. They tend to stay back, and I want them to feel includ- ed. One guy was very memorable. You could see he so badly wanted to be around the horses, and when Sunny had his head in his lap, you could tell it made his day." While Sunny is the afternoon star, Riesenbeck often rides her other horse, Money, in the mornings during training hours. A bay gelding by Spanish Steps with a wide white blaze, Money bowed a tendon as a 3-year- old and never raced. Now also 12, the Thoroughbred (whose registered name is, in fact, Money) is less into the role of ambassador and more into his work. "Money is so athletic, and he's great with the babies," said Riesenbeck. "He really likes the younger horses and it helps calm them down. I can maneuver with him. He's got a great brain and is agile. If I work Money in the afternoons, though, he has to wear earplugs because of the crowds. It takes a special brain for that. I work him four months of the year, and then I send him home for turn out, and we trail ride." A recent addition to the team, Riesenbeck is appre- ciative of the fact that besides being able to rely on her horses, she can also count on her fellow riders and their mounts as well. "Last year was my first year at Keeneland," she said. "I had been at the training center for nine years, and they transferred me out here. To be a woman as an outrider for Keeneland feels pretty good. It was quite an honor. We are all friends, and you don't always get that. To have that friendship and to know we have each other's backs is really nice."