TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/998879
Racehorse Project. The de Sousas even received Cozmic One fan mail from a second-grade class in Ohio. "It was pretty insane when I posted about de Sousa Stables partnering with Team Zenyatta to have Cozmic One in the Makeover. My Facebook went from fewer than 1,000 likes to over 3,000 in a day," Isabela de Sousa said. "It's incredible to see all the support he has gotten. I think it is really special to have a horse with such a big fan base." Sergio de Sousa added, "We are bringing awareness to the Makeover and the Thoroughbred. There were plenty of peo- ple who didn't know about the Makeover that do now. The key to retirement is retraining. I think it is hard to move a horse that you don't know anything about. With shows like the Makeover, these horses and the people retraining them now have more of an audience." In April, Isabela de Sousa rode Cozmic One in a Retired Race- horse Project demo at the Kentucky Horse Park held during the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, one of the most popular riding competitions in America. She was thrilled with his performance and behavior at the event, which was his first big public outing as a riding horse, and she was even ap- proached by fans wishing to take pictures with Cozmic One. "He's a great ambassador for the breed," Isabela de Sou- sa said. "He shows that these horses are really able to have a second career. He shows how talented Thoroughbreds are and that they can do more than one thing in life." "We also had Mr. Commons at the demo, who made over a million dollars," Sergio de Sousa said. "How cool is that? We want to see more horses doing well and more and more peo- ple attending the Makeover. If the show continues taking off, we should have alumni classes, but we would need sponsors for it. I think racetracks and casinos, who make money off these horses, should have a hand in financing it. We really need to focus on more positives in our industry to make it more attractive."