UPDATE
On Feb 7, 2009, they entered Charlie’s Moment in a $200,000 Stakes Race at Santa Anita and had asked me to work on him the morning of the race. Security is very strict before a Stakes Race and you must be licensed by the Racing Board to get near the horse. So, unfortunately, I was not allowed to touch him, as I had not received my license yet. In any case, Charlie finished last that day.
May 24, 2009, Charlie was entered in a $100,000 Stakes Race at Hollywood Park. One of the owners expressed concern because this was a 7 Furlong race against some pretty tough opponents, and Charlie simply had not made a showing in the shorter distances. I made them an offer, “let me massage Charlie a week before the race and again the day before the race and if he doesn’t finish in the money, I won’t charge you.” They agreed! Charlie took the lead before the first turn and never let another catch him! He won by two lengths!! It was very impressive, to say the least! As a matter of fact so impressive, he was purchased right after the race by a Sheikh and shipped to Dubai! I later found out it was Godolphin Racing that purchased him. Their founder (Drum Roll Please!) is Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai H.H. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Incredible! I’m having the time of my life out here, and still very impressed by the power of this massage technique!
Most Sincerely,
— Berta
“So I want to share with you, that just 3 weeks home from school, I was at Hollywood Park race track massaging racehorses. ”
Geary,
I just have to write this note I hope you’ll share with your future students. As you know, I came to your school just so I could help my own horse when I became dissatisfied with the therapist who had been working on him. Little did I know what was to come!
What you teach at your school, your massage technique is powerful stuff! I mentioned that I was going to your school to my chiropractor, who, unbeknown to me then, is an owner of some racehorses. He said he would love to try it out on his horses. So I want to share with you, that just 3 weeks home from school and I was at Hollywood Park race track massaging racehorses. I must say the trainer seemed captivated with the first horse’s demeanor during the massage. The second one I did, he said he couldn’t believe it was the same horse and that he’d never seen him that calm before.
And of course, the faces the horses made was a “telltale” sign as well that they did indeed love every minute of it! While I was “working,” I also overheard the trainer tell the owner that he was very impressed at how thorough the massage was. Saying that over the years he had seen many people come in and do massages and that “they all seemed to be in a hurry, and the horses never relaxed like this!” He had not seen anybody take the time that I did and just marveled at how much the horses enjoyed it. The horses trained the next day and it went so well (his words: “he was just gliding down the track!”) they had me at Del Mar the next Saturday massaging for Sundays’ big stakes race. (I’m not giving the names of the horses or trainers as to not reveal their secret weapon – ME!!! Thanks to you!) And they did very well too!
What a thrill it has been for me, to have the opportunity to work on these amazing horses, to have played a part in their enhanced performance, and to get behind the scenes at the races. And, I am confident that if I was just another massage therapist doing “fluffy stuff,” they surely would not have asked me back.
And it just goes on! Sharing this story with a few friends has resulted in appointments for more massages and I’ve been asked to do a clinic at a local facility that has approximately 160 horses boarded there!
So to future students, what you have the opportunity to learn is an amazing and powerful tool that not only can enrich the lives of the horses you work on but your own life as well.
And to you, fine teacher, I will always be grateful that God put that love in your heart for what you are doing, it shines through and through. I am so glad to choose your school.
Sincerely,
— Berta Delight Pinon, CESMT
B Delight’d Equine Massage