Out on the track that fateful day
I had just turned to train a mile
When old man Finn, asked where I'd been
could he tag along for awhile
"Of course" I said, he turned his mare
we set out for the quarter pole
The leisured mile, we made in style
a two forty clip was the goal
Reaching the quarter then the half
we were on track to make the grade
Three quarters down, I turned around
to see Finn looked a bit afraid
His mare was at a full gallop
bitten by a horse fly I thought
Over the rail, with Finn in trail
their fates tied to the lessons taught
He'd been thrown over the withers
came down ******* the limestone track
Finn was old , but cut from the mold
of men who go forward not back
I pulled my horse up, turned around
hoping to help him if I could
He'd had a stroke, his hip was broke
he lie gasping against the wood
We then took up a collection
to help the old man convalesce
Each man knew, Finn's chances were few
as this made of his life a mess
Kind and charmed I knew him to be
five handsome young sons to his name
Sadly then, those who knew him when
said life would never be the same
I had saved a thousand dollars
a sizable sum for a lad
As I was young, my life unsung
I had given them all I had
My father threw a fit that night
"I can't believe you sometimes son
Hard as it is, in the horse biz
how can I look past what you've done"
Each of us knew the hardships then
we shared part and parcel the same
But as a boy, I took no joy
in most truths of that deadly game
I ran my horse four days later
The Finn's drove in every race
my mare in back, of the pack
that night circled the field in place
Each of them smiled as I rode by
hell they might just as well have waved
While each was as drunk, as a skunk
yet they were all so well behaved
From that night on they cared for me
I laughed as I knew I'd been played
Life was no chore, it gave back more
I was proud of the friends I’d made
Tate
When I raced horses I met some of the most interesting souls. To them the family made up of fellow horsemen were their world. In many ways they taught me most of the values I hold dear. If my heart were a hard drive three quarters of it would be filled with the thoughts, feelings and lessons they gave freely to me. I remember when this happened I was 19. The Finns were a tight knit family. We were racing the secondary circuit. No one seemed to have any money most of the time. The blow dealt the Finn family that day was so devastating I couldn't help but feel it. I thought to myself I am so young I can always make more money. It was just a matter of what was the right thing to do. After that the Finns regularly schooled me. Each time I was in to race my own horse Fred or Merle or one of the others would roll up alongside and make sure I not only got out in the end, but that also knew when to move. When you are young in that sport there are so many things to think about and do in a race such as monitoring the stopwatch. A young man gets confused and overwhelmed by all of it. One occasion Freddy came alongside in the last turn and yelled " Hey Tate it's time to pull"! Then he promptly went wide to let me out. It is so much better to have friends when one is in such a profession. They can help you or they can crush you. The arrogant man will bite the dust.
