LEXINGTON, Ky. — Military veterans and retired racehorses are both finding new beginnings together at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Secretariat Center.
Secretariat Center program director Caroline Tatum says caring for the horses takes a special commitment. “Christmas, it’s raining, it’s snowing, it’s cold. So, you have to show up for them every single day dedicated to taking care of them, even if you’re sick. What if he’s sick, right?” Tatum shared.
Established twenty years ago, the center specializes in rehabilitating and rehoming horses, including those with a background in racing. Their goal is to help horses that have had busy lives have a second chance.
Bill Nelson is the center’s executive director who embraced the partnership with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System in Lexington to help veterans find new careers. Bluegrass Community and Technical College says they’re extending a three-week essential course to military veterans who are looking for a path to Kentucky’s signature industry.
“I can’t build more stalls in my barn, but I can do more outreach to more people through our program. So one of the great groups that I thought of — of course, I’m a 20-year retired Navy veteran, and I just left the veteran’s administration here in Kentucky — was talking to Remi at BCTC to see how we could bring our two programs together to benefit both groups,” he said.
Nelson says veterans are often seeking jobs after they leave military service. “According to Garrison, the commander down there, about 85% of the veterans that matriculate out need employment pretty soon after they leave the service,” Nelson said about Fort Campbell.
Remi Bellocq is the liaison for the equine industry program with BCTC.
“Four key things for employers in the horse industry are: Is that employee going to show up on time? Do they enjoy working outdoors and cold weather, hot weather? Are they able to get up early in the morning and are they reliable? And those are four factors that you find with all the military veterans that we’ve trained in the past,” Bellocq said.
The school says the partnership not only gives participants the basics but also real experience before they head into a full-time two-year certification or academic program with KCTCS.
“They don’t know how to get into working with horses because they’re really big and scary for normal people, and they don’t have a connection to working with horses,” Tatum explained. “Doing something that you don’t know anything about can be daunting, but we’re going to teach them from the ground up so they feel educated, so they feel safe,” Tatum explained.
Nelson says the center has rehabilitated nearly 800 horses in their 20 years of work and they’re hoping veterans can help them continue their work.
Nelson says nearly 400 military people out of Fort Campbell leave active duty annually and seek jobs.